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Niger selling uranium to Iran would likely cripple Niger's economy by inviting sanctions and significantly reducing the uranium it has to export. Regional sanctions after the July 2023 coup alone forced the junta to significantly cut the government budget by 40 percent and default on debt payments of more than $500 million.[10] The 300 tons of yellowcake involved in the deal would also be nearly half the 700 tons the junta has stockpiled.

The junta would struggle to replenish this loss given that sanctions would lead the French mining company currently operating the mine to stop production, forcing the junta to find a new provider willing to evade international sanctions. The company has already halted production since September to start routine maintenance earlier than planned after sanctions affected logistics.[11] This would severely limit the uranium Niger has to sell, which makes up 75 percent of its total exports.[12] The junta is already trying to speed up the opening of an alternative mining site currently owned by a Canadian company.[13]

https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/africa-file-may-2-2024-iran-pursues-economic-and-military-influence

153 posted on 05/02/2024 11:52:09 PM PDT by AdmSmith (GCTGATATGTCTATGATTACTCAT)
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To: AdmSmith
04JUN2024 Today, Iran is on the verge of a solid uranium partnership with Niger, one of the world's largest producers. In addition, there are repeated unconfirmed reports that the deal for the Iranian purchase of 300 metric tonnes of concentrated uranium for $56 million is in its final stages.

The junta in the capital, Niamey, has recently denied such reports as US-produced “fake news,” but few would be surprised if the uranium shipments Tehran has been expecting for years were to arrive in Iran soon.

The risk becomes even greater when one considers the advanced agreements between the coup plotters in Niger and Russia, according to which the Russian nuclear giant Rosatom is to take over the management of Niger's uranium capacities from the French operators.

Rosatom, a Russian state nuclear company, has been trying to take over the management of Niger's uranium facilities, although the French owner Orano stated that it knows nothing about the deals and is continuing its activities in Niger.

However, the junta in Niamey has shown great affection for Moscow since the coup last July, and the deal with Rosatom would only be a logical continuation of the shift that resulted from the military coup.

Although Niger, the world's seventh-largest uranium producer with about 4–5% of the world's reserves, cannot significantly disrupt global supply, its accelerated slide into secret deals with rogue regimes is cause for concern.

https://tomorrowsaffairs.com/the-uranium-triangle-between-niger-iran-and-russiaa-cause-for-concern

163 posted on 06/21/2024 1:37:55 AM PDT by AdmSmith (GCTGATATGTCTATGATTACTCAT)
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