An agreement reached this week between the government of Niger and uranium developer Atomic Eagle (ASX: AEU) is expected to help improve access to financing for uranium projects in the West African nation, the company’s chief executive told Reuters.
Niger doubled its stake in the Madaouela uranium project to 40%, bringing an end to a dispute with Australia’s Atomic Eagle, the mining ministry said on Wednesday.
The country is one of Africa’s largest uranium producers, holding about 336,000 metric tons of identified uranium resources in 2023, according to the World Nuclear Association in August.
The Madaouela agreement came just days after the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) backed rival Global Atomic’s (TSX: GLO) Dasa uranium project, and at a time when spot uranium prices are almost a fifth higher than a year earlier, at around $89.68 per pound in August, according to industry data.
The recent support secured by Global Atomic is a “fantastic indication that international finance is willing to finance Niger uranium projects again”, Atomic Eagle CEO Phil Hoskins said on Thursday.
Niger tightens control over uranium sector
Military leaders who seized power in a 2023 coup have tightened state control over Niger’s uranium sector, revoking permits held by Orano and GoviEx, now Atomic Eagle, triggering arbitration proceedings and raising investor concerns over resource nationalism.
Atomic Eagle now plans to update feasibility studies, secure environmental approvals and arrange financing over the next two years, aiming to bring the Madaouela project back to construction-ready status, Hoskins said.
Under the agreement, Niger will hold a 15% stake at no cost and a further 25% stake that it must help fund to maintain. Atomic Eagle agreed to cover up to $40 million of Niger’s future funding commitments under the project, the CEO said.
“I don’t believe (the deal) has any negative implications on the ability to develop the mine or the economics,” Hoskins said, adding that the company would consider funding from a range of investors, including China, as it advances the project.
(Reporting by Maxwell Akalaare Adombila, Additionall reporting by Niamey newsroom; Editing by Robbie Corey-Boulet; Kirsten Donovan)
