Niger’s military government has accused French state-controlled nuclear group Orano of dumping hazardous radioactive waste near a former uranium site, escalating an already tense standoff over control of the country’s uranium industry. Officials said about 400 barrels containing highly radioactive material were found abandoned at Madaouela, near the northern mining town of Arlit, long a center of Niger’s uranium production.
The Mining Ministry said inspectors recorded radiation levels of up to 10 microsieverts per hour at the site, compared with a natural background level of around 0.5. Authorities also reported the presence of substances capable of causing respiratory harm, describing the materials as “dangerously high-risk.” Justice Minister Alio Daouda said the findings amounted to “mass crimes” against the environment, public health and national sovereignty, promising legal proceedings against the French nuclear group.
“This illegal dump illustrates Orano’s persistent disregard for Niger and its people since the beginning of uranium mining,” Daouda said, adding that the government “will not back down in the defense of its sovereignty.”
Orano, which is 90 percent owned by the French state, rejected the accusations. The company told Reuters it does not hold an operating license for the Madaouela site and has carried out no activity there.
The allegations mark the latest escalation in a deepening conflict between Niamey and Orano over ownership and operation of key uranium deposits. Niger is the world’s eighth-largest producer of yellowcake and historically provided between 15 and 17 percent of the uranium used in France’s nuclear-powered electricity grid.
Tensions rose further last week when Niger reportedly defied a World Bank tribunal order and moved more than 1,000 tons of uranium from the Somair mine, which Orano had operated since 1971 until the military authorities nationalized it in June. Orano condemned the transfer as a violation of international court rulings prohibiting the sale or movement of uranium produced at Somair.
The military government maintains it is exercising sovereign control over its natural resources. Alongside seizing Somair, it revoked Orano’s permit at the large Imouraren deposit last year, arguing the company had acted in an “irresponsible, illegal, and unfair” manner.
The confrontation underscores the shifting geopolitical dynamics in West Africa, where France’s longstanding influence has weakened amid rising nationalist sentiment and disputes over resource governance.
