French nuclear giant slips into the red following Niger-French breakup

French nuclear giant Orano ended the first half of the year with a loss of €133 million, weighed down by difficulties in its mining activities in Niger due to a "highly degraded" political context since a military regime came to power a year ago.


Issued on: 29/07/2024
A man holds a placard reading "Don't touch!!! Uranium is my life" during a demonstration against Frenh nuclear giant Areva on February 6, 2014 in Niamey. © AFP - BOUREIMA HAMA
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At the end of June 2024, the group noted "the deteriorated situation affecting mining operations in Niger," Orano's chief financial officer, David Claverie, said in a statement.

The coup d'état in Niger on 26 July last year led to a halt in imports of critical materials necessary for uranium exploitation in Orano's Somaïr mine, such as soda ash, carbonate, nitrates and sulphur.

And although uranium extraction continued in the first quarter of 2024 "after several months of early maintenance," Somaïr’s sales were unable to resume "due to a lack of logistics solutions approved by the Niger authorities".

The blockage led the mine into "financial difficulty ... weighing on its ability to continue its operations", the statement read.

In late June, Niger decided to withdraw the licence of Imouraren SA, a company jointly operated by Orano, Niger Mining and Korea Electric Power, and which ran the Somaïr mine.

The situation could eventually lead to "insolvency in the short to medium term, in the coming months", Claverie said.

Niger's junta returns French-run uranium mine 'back to public domain'
In better times: Nicolas Maes (L), CEO of French nuclear firm Orano, signs an agreement on the exploitation of uranium with the Nigerien Mining Minister Hadiza Ousseini in Niamey on May 4, 2023. AFP - BOUREIMA HAMA
Growing French reliance on nuclear

According to figures published by the French Ministry of Ecological Transition, 40 percent of France's energy consumption comes from nuclear, 28.1 percent from petrol, 15.8 percent from natural gas, and 12.9 percent from alternative sources such as wind and hydropower.

French electricity company EDF's figures show that nuclear generates 70.6 percent of the country's electricity supply, compared to hydropower on 11.2 percent, wind power 6.3 percent and solar 2.2 percent.

In February last year, French President Emmanuel Macron called for a "nuclear renaissance" in order to "move away from fossil fuel" via the construction of 14 new nuclear reactors.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine later that month encouraged countries to reduce their dependence on Russian gas imports and gave new impetus to developing the nuclear industry.

As a result, France's dependency on uranium is set to grow substantially in the coming years.

France’s Macron calls for a nuclear power ‘renaissance’, building at least 6 reactors
Other sources of uranium

In order to counter the "loss" of Niger and its mining operations, Orano sought to reassure clients about supply security, which "remains ensured thanks to the diversity of its supply sources" in other regions.

According to an infograph by the company published in 2021, France has been gradually moving away from Niger's uranium.

Most of the "yellow cake" now comes from Kazakhstan (2,840 tonnes), with Niger's Somaïr (1,996 tonnes) a solid second until 2023. The Cigar lake mine in Canada also produces 1,788 tonnes.

Macron is shopping for uranium in Kazakhstan after the loss of Niger

More recently, France has been looking into possible cooperation with Mongolia as well.

Despite its troubles in Niger, the group confirmed its outlook for the end of the year, with stable revenues of around €4.8 billion and a pre-tax margin rate on revenue maintained between 22 percent and 24 percent.

(with newswires)