Nigerien armedforce authorities haveactually withdrawn the operating license for a big uranium mine from the French business Orano
ByDALATOU MAMANE Associated Press and MONIKA PRONCZUK Associated Press
NIAMEY, Niger — Nigerien armedforce authorities haveactually withdrawn the operating license for a big uranium mine from the French business Orano, the business stated, substantially intensifying stress inbetween the military junta and the nation’s previous colonial power.
Niger, a landlocked nation of 26 million, is the world’s seventh mostsignificant provider of uranium, utilized for the production of weapons and nuclear power. In 2022, the nation provided over a quarter of the uranium utilized in the European Union, according to the bloc’s nuclear energy firm, making it its second-biggest uranium source, after Kazakhstan.
Before the military coup last year, Niger was the West’s significant financial and security partner in the Sahel, the huge area south of the Sahara Desert that hasactually endedupbeing a hot area for violent extremism. But the military junta which took power on the promise of cutting ties with the West vow