Niger’s military-led government has issued major uranium mining permits to national state companies, cementing a decisive shift to reclaim control over the West African nation’s strategic mineral wealth.

Under a new decree, the government awarded the In Azaoua mining site to state-owned company TSUMCO SA and granted the Madaouela I project permit to Madaouela Mining Company. The decision completes a two-year push by Niamey to strip operating rights from foreign nuclear firms and place key uranium mines under national control.

Under the new regulatory framework, state enterprises will directly oversee extraction, commercialisation, and revenue collection. Proceeds will be channelled back through Niger’s central bank to fund critical national infrastructure, agricultural development, and healthcare facilities.

Analysing the strategic significance of the move, Political Scientist and conflict resolution analyst Dr David Matsanga noted that the decision reflects a wider drive toward resource sovereignty across member states of the Alliance of Sahel States.

“This venture, now a national company trading on behalf of the government, will sell the minerals, get the proceeds, and bring them back to the central bank,” Matsanga said. “That is what the order is, no more externalising these resources or banking them abroad to make interest, but buying equipment, tractors, fertilizers, hospital medicines, school textbooks, and building roads. This is a great move for the people of Niger.”

–ChannelAfrica–