Related Research Articles
The gross domestic product (GDP) of Niger was $16.617 billion US dollars in 2023, according to official data from the World Bank. This data is based largely on internal markets, subsistence agriculture, and the export of raw commodities: foodstuffs to neighbors and raw minerals to world markets. Niger, a landlocked West African nation that straddles the Sahel, has consistently been ranked on the bottom of the Human Development Index, at 0.394 as of 2019. It has a very low per capita income, and ranks among the least developed and most heavily indebted countries in the world, despite having large raw commodities and a relatively stable government and society not currently affected by civil war or terrorism. Economic activity centers on subsistence agriculture, animal husbandry, re-export trade, and export of uranium.
The Aïr Mountains or Aïr Massif is a triangular massif, located in northern Niger, within the Sahara. Part of the West Saharan montane xeric woodlands ecoregion, they rise to more than 1,800 m (5,900 ft) and extend over 84,000 km2 (32,000 sq mi). Lying in the midst of desert north of the 17th parallel, the Aïr plateau, with an average altitude between 500 and 900 m, forms an island of Sahel climate which supports a wide variety of life, many pastoral and farming communities, and dramatic geological and archaeological sites. There are notable archaeological excavations in the region that illustrate the prehistoric past of this region. The endangered African wild dog once existed in this region, but may now be extirpated due to human population pressures in this region.
Arlit is an industrial town and capital of the Arlit Department of the Agadez Region of northern-central Niger, built between the Sahara Desert and the eastern edge of the Aïr Mountains. It is 200 kilometers south by road from the border with Algeria. As of 2011, the commune had a total population of 112,432 people.
Orano Cycle, formerly COGEMA and Areva NC, is a French nuclear fuel company. It is the main subsidiary of Orano S.A. It is an industrial group active in all stages of the uranium fuel cycle, including uranium mining, conversion, enrichment, spent fuel reprocessing, and recycling.
The uranium market, like all commodity markets, has a history of volatility, moving with the standard forces of supply and demand as well as geopolitical pressures. It has also evolved particularities of its own in response to the unique nature and use of uranium.
Uranium mining is the process of extraction of uranium ore from the ground. Over 50 thousand tons of uranium were produced in 2019. Kazakhstan, Canada, and Australia were the top three uranium producers, respectively, and together account for 68% of world production. Other countries producing more than 1,000 tons per year included Namibia, Niger, Russia, Uzbekistan, the United States, and China. Nearly all of the world's mined uranium is used to power nuclear power plants. Historically uranium was also used in applications such as uranium glass or ferrouranium but those applications have declined due to the radioactivity of uranium and are nowadays mostly supplied with a plentiful cheap supply of depleted uranium which is also used in uranium ammunition. In addition to being cheaper, depleted uranium is also less radioactive due to a lower content of short-lived 234
U and 235
U than natural uranium.
The Nigerien's Movement for Justice is a largely Tuareg ethnic, northern Niger based militant group. But the MNJ also includes other nomadic ethnicities, within this area, such as the Toubou and the Fulani have also joined the group, which has been battling the Niger government since 2007.
Uranium production is an important part of the African economy, with Niger, Namibia and South Africa creating up to 18% of the world's annual production. Many African countries produce uranium or have untapped uranium ore deposits.
The mineral mining industry is a crucial piece of the Economy of Niger. Exports of minerals consistently account for 40% of exports.
The world's largest producer of uranium is Kazakhstan, which in 2019 produced 43% of the world's mining output. Canada was the next largest producer with a 13% share, followed by Australia with 12%. Uranium has been mined in every continent except Antarctica.
SOMAIR is a national mining company of Niger in the mining area of its northern zone. Established in 1968, it started uranium mining at the Arlit deposit in 1971, mining 0.30 - 0.35% ore down to depth of 60 metres (200 ft) depth. By 1981, the company was producing 2100 tU/yr and by 2006 it was producing 1565 tU at the Tamou deposit. The production peaked to 3065 tU in 2012. The resources, according to the Red Book, are assessed at 23,170 tU, as of 2010, at 42,200 tU of 0.25%U grade recoverable conventionally, and 5500 tU of 0.07%U grade from heap leaching. SOMAIR is one of two national mining companies in Niger, the other being COMINAK in the nearby Akokan.
COMINAK is a national uranium mining company of Niger.
Akokan is a mining town in the Arlit Department of the Agadez Region of northern-central Niger. It is located about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) southwest of Arlit in the Sahara Desert, and roughly 250 kilometres (160 mi) north of Agadez. It is considered to be Niger's "second uranium town". SOMAIR and COMINAK, run by Areva and the Nigerien state, operate uranium mines in the vicinity of the towns of Akokan and Arlit. In the maps of the area, Akokan is classified under "Mine - Agadez-Niger". The Tuareg and Toubou people are local to the area.
The Arlit mine is a large mine located near Arlit, in the northern part of Niger in Agadez Region. Arlit represents one of the largest uranium reserves in Niger having estimated reserves of 47.5 million tonnes of ore grading 0.014% uranium.
The Imouraren mine is a large mine located in the northern part of Niger in Agadez Region, about 80 km (50 mi) south of Arlit. Imouraren represents one of the largest uranium reserves in Niger having estimated reserves of 109.1 million tonnes of ore grading 0.06% uranium. It is the site of a uranium mining project involving French company Areva and SOPaMin. The U3O8 ore grade at nearby SOMAIR is 14,000 tons at 0.3%, COMINAK is 29,000 t at 0.4% and Imouraren 120,000t at 0.15%.
The Madaouéla mine is a large mine located in the northern part of Niger in Agadez Region. Madaouéla represents one of the largest uranium reserves in Niger having estimated reserves of 39.4 million tonnes of ore grading 0.1% uranium.
The Takardeit mine is a large mine located in the northern part of Niger in Agadez Region. Takardeit represents one of the largest uranium reserves in Niger having estimated reserves of 23.5 million tonnes of ore grading 0.018% uranium.
Coal exploitation in Niger is carried out by Société nigérienne du charbon. SONICHAR was created in 1975. It operates an open pit coal mine in Anou Araren in the Agadez Region. It also operates a power plant 2 km away from coal mine. The Anou Araren coal reserves are estimated at 15 million tonnes and in 2011, 246,016 tonnes of coal were extracted from the mine. A new mine in the Salkadamna region was initiated for a new power plant in 2014.The coal reserves at Salkadamna are estimated at 70 million tonnes.
The geology of Niger comprises very ancient igneous and metamorphic crystalline basement rocks in the west, more than 2.2 billion years old formed in the late Archean and Proterozoic eons of the Precambrian. The Volta Basin, Air Massif and the Iullemeden Basin began to form in the Neoproterozoic and Paleozoic, along with numerous ring complexes, as the region experienced events such as glaciation and the Pan-African orogeny. Today, Niger has extensive mineral resources due to complex mineralization and laterite weathering including uranium, molybdenum, iron, coal, silver, nickel, cobalt and other resources.
References
- ↑ "Uranium in Niger". wise-uranium.org. 2012. Retrieved 2013-07-16.
 | This Niger-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |