The self-declared military government of Niger has delayed the issuance of new mining permits and mandated an assessment of the industry, according to the Ministry of Mines.
In its statement dated January 22, which Reuters saw on Thursday, the ministry did not give a cause for the license suspension. Calls for comment were not answered by the Ministry of Mines.
As the seventh-largest producer of uranium, the radioactive metal used as fuel for nuclear energy, the West African nation boasts the highest-grade uranium ores on the continent.
In the north, it features a sizable uranium mining facility run by the state-owned Orano of France. Despite a military takeover in July of last year, those activities have gone on.
The nation is also home to several artisanal gold miners. Owned by Nguvu Mining in Ghana, the
