Oil and mining industry of Niger

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Known and exploited Mineral resources of Niger, data derived from US Geological Survey. Colored circles represent current mining centers. Unexploited but proved resources in parentheses. * Gold: Au * Coal: C * Diamond: Dm * Iron ore: Fe * Limestone: Ls * Phosphate: P * Petroleum, crude: Pet * Tin: Sn Niger mining map.png
Known and exploited Mineral resources of Niger, data derived from US Geological Survey. Colored circles represent current mining centers. Unexploited but proved resources in parentheses. * Gold: Au * Coal: C * Diamond: Dm * Iron ore: Fe * Limestone: Ls * Phosphate: P * Petroleum, crude: Pet * Tin: Sn

The mineral mining industry is a crucial piece of the Economy of Niger. Exports of minerals consistently account for 40% of exports.

Contents

Mineral commodities produced in Niger included cement, coal, gold, gypsum, limestone, salt, silver, tin, and uranium. In 2006, Niger was the world’s fourth-ranked producer of uranium. [1] A new mining code was adopted in August 2006 and the former National Mine research Office (ONAREM), whose responsibilities included organizing mining exploration programs, was replaced by two newly established entities: the geological and Mining Research Center and the Mining Company of Niger (SOPaMin). SOPaMin is to hold the state’s shares in the existing uranium companies and is in charge of engaging in commercial transactions, such as uranium sales. Since the adoption of the new Mining Code, the government has issued a significant number of new mineral exploration permits. Niger joined the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) in 2005 and, as part of the EITI efforts, appointed in late 2006 a national consultative committee, which included representatives of the general public. A first audit report reconciling revenue paid by mining companies with government receipts was scheduled to be issued in late 2007. [2] [3]

Minerals in the National Economy

Niger’s mineral sector accounted for about 3% of the GDP and for about 40% of exports. according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), a renewed interest in the generation of nuclear energy had led to increased demand for uranium, encouraged investment expansions at existing uranium mines, and promoted exploration. Foreign direct investment in the sector by renowned French company AREVA from 2008 to 2012 was projected to be $1.4 billion, which would double the country’s uranium production capacity [2] [4]

Uranium

Arlit mine open pit uranium mine operated by SOMAIR near Arlit, Niger MineArlit1.jpg
Arlit mine open pit uranium mine operated by SOMAIR near Arlit, Niger

Niger produces about 5% of world uranium output, providing Africa's highest-grade uranium ore. It produced 2,020 tonnes of uranium in 2022, down from 2,991 tonnes in 2020 and 4,821 tonnes in 2012. [5] [6]

From the 1950s, Niger has been known to have large uranium deposits in the desert north of the Agadez Region, which is located about 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) northeast of Niamey. [2] In 1971, the first mine was opened outside Arlit and operated by SOMAIR, a national company with Areva and the government of Niger as shareholders. SOMAIR is owned by Areva at 63.4% and the government of Niger at 36.6% and employed about 600 people.

From 1978 to 2021, the second uranium mining project in Akokan near Arlit produced 75,000 tonnes of uranium. [5] It was operated by COMINAK, a national company, like SOMAIR with Areva and the government of Niger as shareholders. COMINAK was owned by Areva NC at 34%, the government of Niger at 31%, Overseas uranium resources development Company of Japan at 25%, and Enusa industrias avanzadas, S.a. of Spain at 10% and employed about 1,100 people. The underground mine of Akokan was the largest underground uranium mine in the world. [7] The mining activities created an economic boom in the country, as Nigerien budgets flourished in the 1970s due to record uranium prices. Extracted uranium from SOMAIR and COMINAK was initially sold entirely by French concessionary corporations, with contracts later revised to give Niger both an overall contract payment, rent, and a smaller amount of ore it could sell on world markets. [8]

In addition to the mines of SOMAIR and COMINAK, the Azelik mine at 200 kilometres (120 mi) of Arlit was opened in 2011 and operated by SOMINA. The stakeholders in SOMINA are: China National Nuclear Corporation at 37.2%, the government of Niger through the national mining company (SOPAMIN) at 33%, ZXJOY, a Chinese, at 24.8% and KORES, a Korean national company, at 5%.

Uranium ore mined in the Arlit area (Agadez Region) is extracted as Triuranium octoxide. The SOMAIR mine has uranium reserve of 14,000 tonnes (with U3O8 @ 0.3%) as of 2011 and a production capacity of 2,700 tonnes per year. [9] [10] The COMINAK concession totaled 29,000 tonnes (U3O8 @ 0.4%) and had a production capacity of 1,500 tonnes per year. [9] [10] The Azelik mine operated by SOMINA has a production rate of 700 tonnes per year in 2011, and is expected to increase to 2500 tonnes per year by 2015. [11]

The Imouraren mine, presently under construction, is expected to have the largest uranium reserves in Niger (120,000 tonnes) albeit at a lower concentration of uranium (U3O8 @ 0.15%). [9] The Imouraren mine, located about 80 kilometres (50 mi) south of Arlit, was granted in July 2006 to Areva for an ore body originally discovered in 1969. One hundred people were employed at the site in 2006 and more than 55 kilometres (34 mi) of development drilling had been completed at the site during a period of one year and more than 2 tonnes of ore had been shipped for testing to Areva’s laboratories [2] [12] It was however decided in 2014 by Areva and the government of Niger following new contract discussions that plan to launch the mine will delayed pending favorable market conditions. [13]

Coal

The history of coal exploration and mining dates back to 1968 when coal reserves were discovered in Anou Araren by an exploration team led by the French Atomic Commission Commissariat à l’énergie atomique. This discovery and the parallel discovery and exploitation of uranium mines in the same region of Niger lead to the creation of SONICHAR in 1975. The goal was to mine coal which will be used as a fuel to power the thermal power plants in order to supply power to uranium mining activities in Arlit. In 1980, coal mining began at Anou Araren and a year later, the thermal power plant was in operation. Since then, coal mining projects have stagnated. In 2008, coal reserves . In 2014, construction for the second coal mine began in Salkadamna in Takanamatt, Tahoua Region. The coal extracted from the mine will supply a 600 MW power plant and coal briquette plant adjacent to the mine. [14]
The Anou Araren coal reserves are estimated at 15 million tonnes and in 2011, 246,016 tonnes of coal were extracted from the mine. [15] [16] The coal reserves at Salkadamna are estimated at 70 million tonnes. [15]

Gold

Exploitable deposits of gold have long been known to exist in south western region of Niger and more recently in northern region of Agadez. Artisanal gold mining was already conducted between the Niger River and the border with Burkina Faso. [17] In 2004, the Samira Hill Gold Mine, operated by Mining company of Liptako, began production. The mining company of Liptako owned by two Canadian companies at 40% each and the government of Niger at 20%. The gold production in 2011 is 1,564 kg from this mine and has decreased steadily since 2008. [18] In 2014, two gold deposits have been found in the Agadez Region in Djado and Mount Ibl, 700 and 360 km from Agadez city, respectively. [19] [20] The site in Djado was discovered in April 2014 and resulted in a gold rush that attracted local inhabitants of Agadez as well as prospectors from neighboring countries like Chad, Sudan and Burkina Faso. Activities at the Djado site were temporarily ceased in order to organize exploration and artisanal extraction activities, to improve infrastructures, principally water supply and to improve the security presence. The site near Mount Ibl was discovered in September 2014. Exploration permits are required for all prospectors prior to accessing the sites.

Cement

The cement extraction industry has existed in Niger since 1964 when the Malbaza cement plant was opened. [21] Located in the Tahoua Region, the cement plant has been the only such project until 2014. In 2011, work for expanding the cement plant of Malbaza began with the expectation to increase its production capacity 13-fold. In 2014, work began for a new cement plant in Keita in the Tahoua Region. [22]
The Malbaza cement plant presently produces 40,000 tonnes per year and, upon expansion, is expected to reach 540,000 tonnes per year. [21] The Keita cement under construction is expected to produce 1 million tonnes per year at startup and 1.5 million tonnes per year afterwards. [22]

Labor issues

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 47.8% of children aged 5 to 14 are working children and 4.3% of them are engaged in hazardous activities in the industrial sector, mining for trona, salt, gypsum and gold. [23] The Department's 2014 List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor reported that Niger's mining industry still resorts to such practices in the production of these goods.

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Economy of Niger</span> National economy of Niger

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arlit</span> Place in Agadez Region, Niger

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 km south by road from the border with Algeria. As of 2011, the commune had a total population of 112,432 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agadez Region</span> Region of Niger

Agadez Region is one of the seven regions of Niger. At 667,799 square kilometres (257,839 sq mi), it covers more than half of Niger's land area, and is the largest region in the country, as well as the largest African state subdivision. The capital of the department is Agadez.

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.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tuareg rebellion (2007–2009)</span> Tuareg insurgency in Mali and Niger

The 2007-2009 Tuareg rebellion was an insurgency that began in February 2007 amongst elements of the Tuareg people living in the Sahara desert regions of northern Mali and Niger. It is one of a series of insurgencies by formerly nomadic Tuareg populations, which had last appeared in the mid-1990s, and date back at least to 1916. Populations dispersed to Algeria and Libya, as well as to the south of Niger and Mali in the 1990s returned only in the late 1990s. Former fighters were to be integrated into national militaries, but the process has been slow and caused increased resentment. Malian Tuaregs had conducted some raids in 2005–2006, which ended in a renewed peace agreement. Fighting in both nations was carried on largely in parallel, but not in concert. While fighting was mostly confined to guerrilla attacks and army counterattacks, large portions of the desert north of each nation were no-go zones for the military and civilians fled to regional capitals like Kidal, Mali and Agadez, Niger. Fighting was largely contained within Mali's Kidal Region and Niger's Agadez Region. Algeria helped negotiate an August 2008 Malian peace deal, which was broken by a rebel faction in December, crushed by the Malian military and wholescale defections of rebels to the government. Niger saw heavy fighting and disruption of uranium production in the mountainous north, before a Libyan backed peace deal, aided by a factional split among the rebels, brought a negotiated ceasefire and amnesty in May 2009.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">SOMAIR</span>

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 Imouraren mine is a large mine located in the northern part of Niger in Agadez Region, about {{cvt|80|km)) 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%.

On 23 May 2013, two coordinated attacks perpetrated by Islamist affiliates targeted the two Niger towns of Agadez and Arlit, the first being a military base the other a French-owned and operated uranium mine. In the first attack on the Niger military base, in which eight attackers participated, 23 soldiers and a civilian were confirmed dead by the next day. The second attack by two suicide bombers also claimed a worker at the mine. The Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO) later claimed responsibility, saying "We attacked Niger for its cooperation with France in the war against Sharia ". They also promised more attacks to come in retaliation for Niger's involvement in the Northern Mali conflict. Reports suggested Islamist leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar of being the "mastermind" of both attacks, supervised by his brigade the "Signatories of Blood". These were the first such attacks within the country in Niger's history.

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.

RTA is a village in northern Niger, lying -roughly- halfway between Agadez and Arlit. Administratively, it falls under the Agadez Region, Arlit Department, Dannet Commune.

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References

  1. ↑ Uranium information Centre Ltd., 2007, World uranium mining—nuclear issues briefing paper 41: Melbourne, Australia, uranium information Centre Ltd., July. (accessed November 1, 2007, at "World Uranium Mining". Archived from the original on 2008-03-03. Retrieved 2008-04-15. .)
  2. 1 2 3 4 U.S. Geological Survey/Omayra Bermúdez-Lugo. The Mineral industries of Mauritania and Niger. in U.S. Geological Survey Minerals Yearbook 2006. U.S. Geological Survey/U.S. Department of the Interior (July 2008) Note: this publication is in the Public Domain, and large portions of it are reproduced here verbatim.
  3. ↑ International Monetary Fund, 2007b, p. 5; 2007c, p. 9
  4. ↑ International Monetary Fund, 2007a, p. 9
  5. 1 2 Onstad, Eric (31 July 2023). "Niger is among the world's biggest uranium producers" . Reuters. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  6. ↑ Production and exportation de l'uranium Archived 2014-07-14 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ↑ Archived 2014-07-14 at the Wayback Machine COMINAK, The largest underground uranium mine
  8. ↑ Decalo, Samuel (1997). Historical Dictionary of the Niger (3rd ed.). Boston & Folkestone: Scarecrow Press. ISBN   0-8108-3136-8.
  9. 1 2 3 Brighton Energy Discovers Additional Uranium Mineralization in Niger Archived 2012-10-02 at the Wayback Machine . Orezone Gold Corporation, Marketwire, 2011-05-16.
  10. 1 2 Archived 2014-07-14 at the Wayback Machine Positioning Niger's mining & industrial sector to win
  11. ↑ OpenOil : La SOMINA Archived 2021-03-18 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ↑ Areva NC, 2006, reference document: Paris, France, areva nv, 392 p. p. 62-71
  13. ↑ Archived 2014-07-14 at the Wayback Machine Imouraren mine opening delayed
  14. ↑ Archived 2014-06-28 at the Wayback Machine Beginning of construction for the Salkadamna coal and power plant complex
  15. 1 2 Archived 2014-07-14 at the Wayback Machine Drivers and Impediments Regional Cooperation on the Way to Sustainable Nuclear Energy Systems
  16. ↑ Archived 2014-07-14 at the Wayback Machine La production du charbon au Niger - Annuaire statistique du Niger 2011
  17. ↑ Background Note:Niger Archived 2019-05-24 at the Wayback Machine , United States State Department, Bureau of Public Affairs: Electronic Information and Publications Office. Bureau of African Affairs. September 2008. This article incorporates text from this U.S. government source, which is in the public domain .
  18. ↑ Archived 2014-07-14 at the Wayback Machine Production de produit mineraux Table 27.02
  19. ↑ Discovery of Gold Deposit in Djado in Agadez Archived 2014-10-20 at the Wayback Machine .Last accessed on 9/20/2014
  20. ↑ Discovery of a new Gold Deposit around Mount Ibl in Agadez Archived 2014-09-13 at the Wayback Machine .Last accessed 9/20/2014
  21. 1 2 Archived 2014-07-14 at the Wayback Machine Awaiting for the cement plant of Malbaza
  22. 1 2 Archived 2014-07-14 at the Wayback Machine Launching of construction work for the second cement plant in Niger in Keita, Tahoua
  23. ↑ "Niger, 2013 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor". Archived from the original on 2015-03-03. Retrieved 2015-04-04.
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