Orano and Niger - the dispute continues

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AtomInfo.Ru, PUBLISHED 07.10.2025

An international arbitration court has ruled in favor of the French Orano group in its dispute with the government of Niger, the group claims.

Recall that in December 2024, the government of Niger took control of SOMAIR, a company developing the Arlit uranium deposit.

This step was taken in response to the decision of Orano, the majority shareholder of SOMAIR, to completely suspend operations at the mine due to financial difficulties.

In January 2025, the Orano Group announced that it had filed a lawsuit with the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in order to "protect its rights."

On the center's website, there are two lawsuits from Orano against Niger, registered on March 5, 2025. Their numbers are ARB/25/8 and ARB/25/9. The plaintiff in both cases is Orano Mining SAS, a subsidiary of the French group.

In a statement, Orano said that on September 23, 2025, arbitration prohibited Niger from selling, transferring, and not facilitating the transfer to third parties of uranium mined by SOMAIR, which the group believes was "held in violation of Orano's rights."

There is a record on the center's website of the issuance of a procedural order No.2 on interim measures with a date of September 22, 2025. The text of the document is not provided.

Also on the website, both Orano lawsuits are marked as pending.

The French group also recalled that its representative in Niger, Ibrahim Courmo, was arrested in May 2025. According to the group, the arbitration court called for his immediate release.

Ibrahim Courmo was detained in May 2025 by members of the Niger's foreign intelligence service. In July 2025, the Niamey Court of Appeal issued a ruling on Kurmo's release, but it was not enforced.

Topics: Uranium, Africa, Orano

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