Nigerien military authorities have withdrawn the operating permit for a large uranium mine from the French company Orano.
FILE - The Orano logo is pictured at La Defense business district, outside Paris, on Jan. 23, 2018. Nigerian military authorities have withdrawn the operating permit for a large uranium mine from the French company Orano, the company said, significantly escalating tensions between the military junta and the country's former colonial power. Niger, a landlocked country of 26 million, is the world's seventh biggest supplier of uranium, used for the production of weapons and nuclear power.
The Imouraren mine, located in the northern part of the country, is one of the largest uranium deposits in the world, with reserves estimated at 200,000 tons. Mining activities were supposed to start there in 2015, but production was halted after the crash in uranium prices following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan.
“Current market conditions, with a favorable increase in the price of uranium, make it possible to once again consider putting Imouraren into operation,” it said late Thursday. The infrastructure had reopened earlier this month, it added.
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