Niger’s northern desert hosts world-class uranium deposits, but unfortunately it is also playing host to terrorists.
Paris-based Areva, one of the world’s largest uranium miners and nuclear reactor builders, has suffered a deadly suicide car bombing attack at its Somair mine near the town of Arlit, 240 km north of Agadez.
The terrorists descended on Somair at 5:30 a.m. on May 23, killing one worker and injuring 14 more. The attack left the Somair facility badly damaged, with the crushing and grinding units taking the majority of the blow. All production has been halted as a result of the attack.
Launched from lawless southern Libya, the attack was carried out in concert with an even more violent car-bomb assault on a military base in Agadez, with 25 people — all Niger nationals — killed in the two attacks. Ten terrorists are also listed as dead in both attacks.
French special forces rushed to Agadez after the initial attack, wiping out the terrorists who had retreated into a dormitory, according the Associated Press.
Al Qaeda commander Mokhtar Belmokhtar and the radical Islamist group Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa are jointly claiming responsibility for the attacks. Both were part of the insurgency that took over most of northern Mali before it was removed by a French-led offensive in January.
In Madrid on May 28, Areva president Luc Oursel told reporters, “I have one thing to say after this scandalous attack: we will stay in Niger . . . if we leave Niger, we will do exactly what they wanted. We know our responsibility in terms of economic development, in terms of jobs.”
Areva is one of the country’s most important investors, and the country is one of its key sources of production, as it accounted for one-third of Areva’s uranium oxide (U3O8) production. The miner produced more than 4,500 tonnes of U3O8 in the country last year, with 3,000 tonnes coming from Somair.
The country ranks fourth in terms of world uranium production, according to the World Nuclear Association, and accounts for 10% of global supply.
Areva has 63.6% stake in Somair and is the operator, while the government of Niger holds the remaining interest.
The company has two other key assets in the country: a 34% stake in the Cominak uranium mine, and a majority position in the Imouraren mine. It has been in negotiations with China National Nuclear Corp. to sell some of its majority stake in Imouraren.
Areva has been active in Niger for over 40 years, but has recently become a target for extremists. In 2010 seven workers employed by Areva and a subcontractor were kidnapped.
The company says that Niger forces are taking over security of its operations.
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