US backs Global Atomic’s Niger uranium mine with $414M loan

Canadian uranium developer Global Atomic (TSX: GLO) has won conditional support for a $414.2 million (C$580 million) U.S. government loan to build its Dasa mine in Niger, reviving financing that had been delayed by political risk after the country’s 2023 military takeover.

The debt financing is about 40% higher than the initial $295-million the International Development Finance Corp. proposed in 2024. It’s in line with expanded costs for the mine, considered to host one of Africa’s highest-grade uranium deposits, which could start production in 2028.

“[This] is a significant milestone for the company, and we thank the U.S. Development Finance Corporation for their support,” Global Atomic CEO Stephen G. Roman said in a release on Wednesday. “The company has entered into uranium off-take agreements representing 11% of the current mine plan and has completed underground development down to the ore zone.”

Tide turning?

The financing progress supports signs of change for Niger after it and other governments in the Sahel region in recent years have feuded with Western miners as they sought to re-negotiate mining rules amid an atmosphere of resource nationalism. Niger accounted for about 2% of global uranium mine production in 2024 and is the world’s seventh largest producer of the nuclear metal by volume. Dasa is about 770 km northeast of the capital Niamey.

The loan approval could also suggest renewed U.S. business confidence in Niger, after approval of the 2024 proposal kept slipping due to the Sahel country’s perceived jurisdictional risk, Red Cloud Securities equity research head David Talbot said in August.

The $295-million debt financing was delayed after the U.S. called Niger’s 2023 military takeover a coup, temporarily pausing the development bank’s involvement. Later delays came as the loan went through extended credit, investment and board-level review due to Niger’s political risk.

Instability in the country persists. An attempted coup by a faction of the Niger army against the government of President Abdourahamane Tiani in late August was suppressed by the military with the help of Russian forces stationed in the country.

Global Atomic shares surged 45% to C71¢ apiece on Wednesday in Toronto after the DFC announcement, before settling to C62¢ each on Friday morning, valuing the company at C$301.5 million. The stock has traded in a 12-month range of C44¢ to C$1.03.

Loan conditions

Disbursement of the financing depends on Global Atomic identifying a viable route to export processed uranium oxide (U₃O₈) from Dasa, extending the project mining convention and the mining permit to align with the facility and securing assurances for government approvals for loan repayments, the company said.

The miner must also negotiate an agreement with the Niger government and loan documentation with the DFC.

Once in production, Dasa is expected to produce 68.1 million lb. of U₃O₈ over a 23-year period, based on a throughput of 1,000 tonnes per day, according to a feasibility study from 2024.

Discounted at 8%, Dasa has a post-tax net present value of $917 million and an internal rate of return of 57%, assuming a base-case uranium price of $75 per pound. The study estimated initial capital costs of $208 million and a payback period of 2.2 years.

The site hosts 73 million lb. in probable reserves of U₃O₈ in 8 million tonnes, grading 4,113 parts per million uranium oxide. Global Atomic has signed offtake agreements for 1.3 million lb. of uranium a year.

Tricky relations

Unlike some of its foreign peers, the company has managed to avoid disputes with the government. Atomic Eagle (ASX: AEU) last month regained control of its Madaouela project in Niger, two years after the government revoked the mining permit of predecessor company GoviEx Uranium amid a dispute that led to international arbitration.

French miner Orano held a 63% interest in the Somaïr uranium mine before the Niger government nationalized the site last year. Niamey later awarded a permit to state miner Tsumco for the In Azaoua area where Somaïr previously operated.