So the putschists in Niger have gotten around to doing a little math on their own, and decided that what they’ve been receiving for their uranium is way below market value. They’ve upped the price in an effort to realize more of an equal return from one of their most important national resources. A resource they also know is integral to France’s energy security and independence.

…When it took power, the junta ordered a halt to uranium exports and later gave the French envoy 48 hours to leave. Ambassador Sylvain Itte, however, has stayed on in Niamey despite the expulsion. The government of President Emmanuel Macron doesn’t want to give up its influence or supply of raw materials, but there is little tolerance in Niger.

“Everyone in Niger feels this partnership is very unequal,” said Mahaman Laouan Gaya, a former Nigerien energy minister and the Organization of African Petroleum Producers (APPO) secretary general until 2020.

In an email to DW, Gaya cited what he said were significant inconsistencies. Niger, he wrote, exported uranium worth €3.5 billion ($3.8 billion) to France in 2010 but received only €459 million in return.

“If Niger decides not to export uranium to France, it will have dramatic consequences for France but little impact on the Nigerien economy,” Gaya said.

Now, this is kind of a tangled web, as all things are. The reports of what the price increase was doesn’t really make sense from a business standpoint, even though they might from a Nigerien we-want-the-cash view. The previous price the Nigeriens had been receiving was 4000 Fr (€0.80 cent) per kilogram but they’ve now announced the new price at 137,000 Fr (€200).

The new administration in Niger has raised the price of uranium exports.

Niger provides 25% of the uranium that Europe consumes. The West African state has taken the bold step of increasing its uranium prices from €0.80/kg to €200.00/kg.

Will EU states need firewood for the… pic.twitter.com/laspQ48C9O

— MintPress News (@MintPressNews) September 5, 2023

First, that’s a helluva a mark-up. Secondly, uranium is only trading on the spot market for 56.38 kg, so…isn’t the junta pricing themselves out of a locked in buyer, however much they hate the French (who buy 25% of their uranium from Niger) and maybe the rest of the market? No one else is going to buy those pricey goods either.

Then there’s the question of supply. France and the European Union said they can deal with supply interruptions from Niger because they’ve got plenty on-hand for the short term, and lots of options if things stretched out.

…But doubts and worries about whether the lights could go out in Europe because of the conflict in Niger were dispelled by European Commission spokesman Adalbert Jahnz.

He said the European Union (EU) has sufficient stocks of natural uranium to cushion short-term supply risks. There are “sufficient deposits on the world market in the medium and long term to meet the EU’s needs,” according to Jahnz.

One of those options is the Kazakhstanis, who have already volunteered to fill the Nigerien uranium gaps in Europe’s nuclear program.

Kazakhstan to EU: We can increase uranium exports in wake of Niger coup
Nuclear boss Yerzhan Mukanov says Kazakhstan is ready fill potential shortfalls in supplies from Africa.

Kazakhstan is prepared to ship more uranium to Europe if necessary thanks to worries over supply risks caused by a military coup in Niger, the head of the country’s top state-run nuclear company told POLITICO.

Although “for the moment we don’t see demand,” said Kazatomprom CEO Yerzhan Mukanov, his firm is “of course” ready to increase exports of nuclear fuel to the bloc.

With other supply alternatives besides.

…Kazakhstan is the world’s top uranium miner with a 12 percent share of total reserves and accounting for more than 40 percent of uranium output globally.

Asking Kazakhstan to step up exports “could be a solution” if supplies from Niger shrivel, Nguyen said, which would require additional investment to boost its mining output.

But as the EU tries to diversify supplies, it may also prefer to look to “democratic countries with more similar values” for further supplies, including Canada and Australia, he said.

The junta leaders are going to have to tread carefully as far as pricing their commodity if they want to retain a share of the international market.

On the other hand, as much as France is reviled in Niger, they have to be cognizant of the possibility that they may lose their uranium supplier, even though the major mining operation – and 63% French owned – in the country was considered to be firmly in French hands.

…French nuclear fuels company Orano, which operates uranium mines in the West African country, said on Tuesday that its operations continued despite plans by France to evacuate its citizens from Niger and cut aid. Ninety-nine percent of its staff in the country are Nigerien nationals, Orano said.

There have been discussions between the putschists and another interested party who should have the French and all of the West very concerned.

The Chinese already had a foothold doing goodwill tours of the uranium assets even before coup. I’m sure they’re even more interested now that leadership has had a dramatic change of direction. The Chinese aren’t fussy about how they get a foot or half a leg in the door.

The West African nation of Niger and China have been discussing deals that include an industrial park, an oil pipeline and a uranium mine.

The Chinese ambassador to Niger, Jiang Feng, said China would build an industrial park that would impact industries including agro-food, manufacturing, mining and real estate, according to a tweet from Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum’s official account. It said the deal is a result of a China-Niger Investment Forum held in April.

…Days before comments on these deals, a delegation from the National Uranium Company of China, or CNUC, discussed the resumption of exploration and mining of uranium in Niger’s northern regions nine years after the project was abandoned because of poor sales of the commodity in international markets.

“Prices [of uranium] are now favorable internationally. It is for us to better develop this sector with all the partners, including the CNUC, who already have operating permits,” said Ousseini Hadizatou Yacouba, Niger’s Minister of Mines.

"Ahmed Mousa, the mayor of Ingall, a town in the Agadez region, the district where the main uranium project is taking place, is happy that work is resuming, saying it will provide electricity and other infrastructure for local communities."https://t.co/uxTQbwe8N3

— Daniel Ananda Pradipta (@AnandaPradip) September 3, 2023

Uranium prices bumped up a little on this news today, but it wasn’t a huge spike as the fact there are alternatives to the Nigerien uranium kept things under control.

The French are also preoccupied with negotiations for a “partial retrieval” of their 1500 troops safely from the country, so it looks like Macron has a plateful right now.