An American lifeline at Dasa as SOMAÏR sinks
A $414 million American investment in the Dasa uranium project stands in stark contrast to the production collapse at SOMAÏR (Société des mines de l’Aïr), the historic mine long operated by French group Orano.
This situation illustrates the geopolitical and mining shift now underway in Niamey:
SOMAÏR’s paralysis and the break with France
SOMAÏR has accumulated a massive production deficit — falling by more than 80% from its nominal capacity — due to blocked export routes, closed borders with Benin, and the impossibility of moving uranium concentrate (yellowcake) to the port of Cotonou.
This logistical and financial asphyxiation led Orano to suspend operations, before Niger’s transitional government eventually revoked the permits and took control of the site. For Niamey, SOMAÏR embodied the old neocolonial model it wanted to break away from, even at the cost of an almost total halt in production at this historic mine.
Dasa takes over and American opportunism
While SOMAÏR’s uranium remains blocked or underexploited, the Dasa project (led by Canadian company Global Atomic) is becoming Niger’s new mining lung.
- Replacing volumes: The Dasa deposit has some of the highest uranium grades in the world, intended to largely offset SOMAÏR’s extraction losses for the international market.
- Washington’s pragmatism: The injection of $414 million by the U.S. DFC shows that while French players (Orano) find themselves paralyzed or sidelined by the political dispute with the junta, the United States is securing its future supplies through financial structures and North American companies seen as more neutral by Nigerien authorities.
The reconfiguration of mining sovereignty
This parallel shows that General Tiani’s regime is trapped by its all-military policy and is therefore forced to turn back to European-American investments that were criticized when it came to power.
