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Niger’s uranium, poverty and France’s growing wealth

The $1.5 billion new uranium mine in Niger that is expected to yield 5,000 tonnes of uranium a year once opened will follow in the tradition of the existing two Areva-owned mines. Areva currently operates two uranium mines in Niger that have left poverty in place and radiological contamination behind. The new Imouraren mine – that will be the second largest uranium mine in the world – will continue to deliver most of the profits to France (Areva is 90%-owned by the French government.) The Niger government has only a 33% share in the mining operation but historically any domestic profit has in any case been fed back into the richer southern half of the country

Niger’s uranium, poverty and France’s growing wealth AFRIK.COM 5 May 2009, by Konye Obaji Ori, Patrick K. JohnssonNiger to get the world’s 2nd largest uranium mineThe President of Niger, Mr. Mamadou Tandja has sought peace-talks with rebel groups in the country to reach terms of agreement to share the country’s impending rise of Uranium wealth. According to estimates, Niger will become home to the world’s second largest uranium mine by 2012. To benefit from this development, the president has promised amnesty to rebels who will lay down their weapons. But will the mines profit Nigeriens?…………….

……….Areva, French nuclear energy giant formerly known as Cogema, is building the mine and will take a majority share in it. France has kept close ties with its former colony for its uranium; a relationship which is vital to France’s nuclear energy program. Areva’s uranium mines have helped in shaping France’s place as the world’s fourth uranium producer and the first producer of nuclear power…………………In 2007, anti-Areva protests rocked the country as thousands of Nigeriens marched on the streets against the presence of the French company, following a nearly 40 year Areva operation in Niger that had yielded little development in the lives of the local people and the country………………..

……………Activists from the local branch of the Greenpeace lobby group claim that the potential pollution from the Uranium mines will bring about the forced displacement of the local people……..

……………the fluctuating price in uranium created by the big consumers in a profit maximization system, has brought repeated instability to Niger’s economy as the world’s fourth biggest producer of uranium.

Niger’s uranium, poverty and France’s growing wealth : Niger to get the world’s 2nd largest uranium mine – Niger – Mines – France – Africa

May 8, 2009 Posted by | Niger, politics | , , , | Leave a comment

Press freedom body slams Niger media ‘harassment’

Press freedom body slams Niger media ‘harassment’ NIAMEY (AFP) 4 April 09 — A press freedom organisation Friday condemned the government of the west African state of Niger for “harassing” Dounia, an independent broadcasting group.”The Dounia group is the victim of repeated harassment by the judicial authorities,” Reporters Sans Frontieres (Reporters Without Borders) said in a statement………………………..

The statement follows the arrest of Abibou Garba, director of the Dounia radio and television station, on charges of “disseminating false news” following a discussion of a recent visit to Niger by French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

“We urge the authorities to withdraw the charges against Garba,” RSF said.

Garba and Idi Abdou, a political activist in the Alternative Citizen Space organisation, were charged after a televised discussion on the Dounia channel about the mining of uranium in Niger by the French group Areva.

AFP: Press freedom body slams Niger media ‘harassment’

April 3, 2009 Posted by | Niger, secrets,lies and civil liberties | , , , | 1 Comment

NIGER: Desert residents pay high price for lucrative uranium mining | Economy Environment Health & Nutrition Conflict Water & Sanitation | Feature

NIGER: Desert residents pay high price for lucrative uranium mining IRIN 1 April 09 DAKAR,  – After a visit in late March from French President Nicholas Sarkozy to Niger, residents in the uranium-exporting desert country continue questioning whether AREVA, a company primarily owned by the French government, will honour its promise to protect communities from mining hazards.

Studies and residents’ testimonies have pointed to health and environmental dangers from mining operations owned and operated by both AREVA’s subsidiaries and the Niger government…………………… The AREVA majority-owned mine called COMINAK (Mining Company of Akouta) commissioned an environmental study of its operations in Arlit in 2006, which reported that the number of deaths linked to respiratory infections was twice as high in the mining town (16 percent) as in the rest of the country.

Arlit’s population is 110,000.

“The wind carries dust contaminated with the long-lasting radium [time required for it to lose toxicity is more than 1,600 years] and lead…Samples taken from 5km within site…Sandstorms [and] atmospheric waste from mines could be aggravating factors for pulmonary [illnesses] in the region,” the researchers wrote in COMINAK’s environmental study. ………………. Radioactive waste – possibly used in road construction – may be responsible for the abnormally high levels of radiation, according to CRIIRAD. In 2007 CRIIRAD researchers wrote that radiation levels were up to 100 times above average in front of the AREVA-funded hospital near the COMINAK mine…………………… But environmental studies carried out by CRIIRAD and Sherpa in 2005 in mining communities showed water radiation levels up to 110 times higher than World Health Organization (WHO) safe drinking water standards in industrial areas

IRIN Africa | West Africa | Gabon Niger | NIGER: Desert residents pay high price for lucrative uranium mining | Economy Environment Health & Nutrition Conflict Water & Sanitation | Feature

April 1, 2009 Posted by | indigenous issues, Niger | , , , | Leave a comment

France 24 | Sarkozy backs Areva’s uranium deal in Niger | France 24

Sarkozy backs Areva’s uranium deal in Niger

FRANCE 24.com  27 March 2009

Sarkozy is expected to back a controversial deal signed in January between French nuclear giant Areva and Niger’s government that would lead to the exploitation of the Imouraren mining site in northern Niger, the world’s second biggest uranium deposit……………………………

France takes great pride in a civilian nuclear program that it says is the key to its energy independency. But the reality is more complex, says Yves Marignac, director of the World Information Forum on Energy.

“One hundred percent of uranium in France comes from abroad,” he says. “A large part comes from Niger. With this contract, its share could increase.” The visit comes a day after Areva chief executive Anne Lauvergeon signed an agreement for mining research and exploration with the Congolese government, on the sidelines of Sarkozy’s visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Niger has one big asset compared with rival uranium exporters Australia and Canada, Martignac adds. “It is the only country that has a uranium contract that doesn’t prevent France from using the ore for something else than a civilian nuclear program.”…………………………….

But the deal has come under scrutiny in France. Environmentalists have warned Areva against the temptation to enforce poor safety and environmental standards in the mostly desert region.

There are also mounting allegations that the Niger government expelled nomadic Tuareg tribes to make way for the French operation. Tuareg rebels have threatened to attack the uranium mine and transport as they did once in 2007.

It is a tense situation that contributes to blurring the line between trade relations and neo-colonialism.

“A vice-director of Areva has been quoted saying that the nuclear company has urged the French government to help Niger’s government stamp out the rebellion,” Martignac says.

France 24 | Sarkozy backs Areva’s uranium deal in Niger | France 24

March 28, 2009 Posted by | indigenous issues, Niger | Leave a comment

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