Niger has intensified its overhaul of foreign mining agreements with the cancellation of a 58-year uranium concession linked to France at the strategic Arlit deposit, marking one of the most significant escalations yet in its broader resource nationalism drive.
The decision, announced after a Cabinet meeting on May 18, 2026, chaired by military leader Abdourahamane Tchiani, terminates a concession originally granted in 1968 to France’s Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), the predecessor of Orano.
The Arlit site is one of Niger’s most historically important uranium-producing regions, long central to Franco-Nigerien nuclear cooperation.
Authorities said the revocation followed Orano’s alleged failure to pay surface royalties on parts of the mining perimeter.
The government reportedly issued a formal payment assessment in April 2025 and a notice in September 2025, before concluding that the company had not complied within the stipulated deadline under Niger’s mining code.
