Why does the Dasa project now overshadow Niger’s historic uranium mines?
Niger’s uranium sector is undergoing a dramatic realignment. A $414 million American investment in the Dasa project stands in stark contrast to the production collapse at SOMAÏR (Société des mines de l’Aïr), the long-standing operation historically managed by French group Orano. This situation reflects the broader geopolitical and mining shift taking place in Niamey.
The paralysis of SOMAÏR and the fallout with France
SOMAÏR has suffered a massive production deficit, with output plummeting by more than 80% compared to its nominal capacity. The root causes are logistical: export routes have been blocked, the border with Benin has been closed, and transporting uranium concentrate (yellowcake) to the port of Cotonou has become impossible. This logistical and financial asphyxiation led Orano to suspend its activities, and eventually the Nigerien transitional government revoked the permits and took control of the site. For Niamey, SOMAÏR represented the old neocolonial model it sought to break away from, even at the cost of an almost total halt in production at this historic mine.
Dasa steps in as Washington seizes the opportunity
While SOMAÏR’s uranium remains stranded or underexploited, the Dasa project—led by Canadian company Global Atomic—has become Niger’s new mining backbone.
- Replacing lost volumes: The Dasa deposit boasts some of the highest uranium grades in the world, poised to largely offset SOMAÏR’s extraction losses for the international market.
- Washington’s pragmatism: The $414 million injection from the U.S. DFC demonstrates that while French players like Orano are paralyzed or sidelined by political disputes with the junta, the United States is securing its future supplies through financial structures and North American companies viewed as more neutral by Nigerien authorities.
Reconfiguring mining sovereignty
This parallel reveals that General Tiani’s regime finds itself trapped by its all-military approach, forced to turn back to Euro-American investments that were once criticized when it first took power.