Niger: growing financial difficulties will force SOMAÏR to suspend operations
Orano notes that since the announcements made last July, the financial difficulties of the mining company SOMAÏR, the 63.4% subsidiary of the group, which operates the Arlit uranium mine in Niger, have continued to grow.
Since the events of July 26, 2023, and the closure of the main supply and export corridor, Orano and SOMAÏR have made every effort to maintain dialogue with the Nigerien authorities. In the meantime, they have implemented offsetting measures to ensure the maintenance of industrial facilities and equipment, and maintain full employment and compensation for all employees, while waiting for production to resume at full capacity.
In spite of Orano's efforts to find alternative possibilities to export the uranium produced by SOMAÏR and to relaunch commercial activities, all the proposals made to the Nigerien authorities have remained unanswered.
Moreover, SOPAMIN, the shareholder representing the State of Niger with a 36.6% stake in SOMAÏR, has not paid any of its debts to the mining company for the past 15 months.
The major financial difficulties facing SOMAÏR have forced the company to suspend its activities, as an interim measure, as of the end of October. The limited remaining financial resources will be used in priority to pay employees’ salaries and to maintain the industrial facilities until the end of the year.
The group deeply deplores the negative impact of SOMAIR’s worsening situation on its employees and subcontractors and is concerned about the damaging repercussions it might have on the region’s economic, social and societal development.
Since the events of July 26, 2023, and the closure of the main supply and export corridor, Orano and SOMAÏR have made every effort to maintain dialogue with the Nigerien authorities. In the meantime, they have implemented offsetting measures to ensure the maintenance of industrial facilities and equipment, and maintain full employment and compensation for all employees, while waiting for production to resume at full capacity.
In spite of Orano's efforts to find alternative possibilities to export the uranium produced by SOMAÏR and to relaunch commercial activities, all the proposals made to the Nigerien authorities have remained unanswered.
Moreover, SOPAMIN, the shareholder representing the State of Niger with a 36.6% stake in SOMAÏR, has not paid any of its debts to the mining company for the past 15 months.
The major financial difficulties facing SOMAÏR have forced the company to suspend its activities, as an interim measure, as of the end of October. The limited remaining financial resources will be used in priority to pay employees’ salaries and to maintain the industrial facilities until the end of the year.
The group deeply deplores the negative impact of SOMAIR’s worsening situation on its employees and subcontractors and is concerned about the damaging repercussions it might have on the region’s economic, social and societal development.