How dependent is France on Nigerian uranium?

A week after the coup perpetrated in Niger by General Abdourahamane Tiani, France completed, on Wednesday August 2, the evacuation of six hundred French nationals. This uncertain political context also raises economic concerns.

In France, the fears relate more particularly to the exploitation of Nigerien uranium, and the possible consequences for our energy independence. A fundamental natural resource for the operation of French nuclear power plants, the uranium extracted in Niger has been exploited for more than four decades by the French group Orano (formerly Areva), which specializes in the nuclear fuel cycle.

Three mines operated in Niger

The multinational, 90% owned by the French state, partially operates three mines in Niger, of which only one is active:

Orano has so far announced the continuation of its extraction activities, despite the coup in Niger. “The teams on site are mobilized to ensure the continuity of activities at the sites of Arlit, Akokan and at the headquarters in Niamey with the support of the teams in France”, the group announced on its website on Thursday August 3. .

Niger, among the three most importing countries in France

To operate the fifty-six nuclear reactors distributed in the eighteen French power plants, the operator EDF needs around 8,000 tonnes of natural uranium on average each year. After the cessation of extraction on French soil in the early 2000s, France turned to several countries simultaneously for its supply. This diversification of suppliers is a guarantee of security for EDF.

Over the past ten years, the 88,200 tonnes of natural uranium imported into France came mainly from three countries: Kazakhstan (27%), Niger (20%) and Uzbekistan (19%). Niger being an important place, but overestimated by certain political leaders, in the supply of France.

Globally, however, “Niger has become a secondary producer over the years as production costs there are high and prices plummeted until 2016 after [the nuclear accident in] Fukushima “, explains Teva Meyer, lecturer at the University of Haute-Alsace and researcher at IRIS, to Les Echos. Thus, in 2022, Niger represented only 4% of world production, far behind Kazakhstan (43%), Canada (15%), Namibia (11%) and Australia (8%).