Madaouela Site Drilling
The military junta in Niger plans to withdraw a uranium mining permit held by Canadian company, GoviEx.
The government will take this action if production at the Madaouela site does not begin before July 3, 2024. This announcement was made by the project owner.
The Canadian group, however, claims to be holding discussions to find a solution to this ultimatum, without specifying whether the Niamey requirement can be respected.
Article 39 of the Nigerièn mining code stipulates that the holder of a permit for large-scale exploitation is required to begin work on the development and exploitation of the deposit within two years, the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) reports.
However, GoviEx has had a mining permit valid for 20 years on the Madaouela project since 2015.
Uranium is the leading export product from the extractive sector in Niger, which represented 7.6% of GDP and 6.52% of state revenue in 2020.
