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· Orano’s COMINAK uranium mine in Niger, owned by the French nuclear group will shut down its operations by the end of March 2021
· The reason the company points out is the depletion of mineral resource base (reserves). The company was in operation in Niger for the last forty years
· It has already announced amounts ranging from US$ 36,000 and US $109,000 will be paid as part of the compensation program, which will take into consideration grade, years of service, the present wage structure of the employees
Orano’s COMINAK uranium mine in Niger, owned by the French nuclear group will shut down its operations by the end of March 2021. The reason the company points out is the depletion of the mineral resource base (reserves). The company was in operation in Niger for the last forty years.
Cominak’s closure would render over 600 employees jobless. The company is working out plans to compensate the employees. It has already announced amounts ranging from US$ 36,000 and US $109,000 will be paid as part of the compensation program, which will take into consideration grade, years of service, the present wage structure of the employees. The company also committed to restore the mining areas that it has been operating for years by planting trees and taking up other rehabilitation works.
High operational costs amidst scarcity of uranium and low prices of the ore on the market are also cited as the reasons for the closure of the company. Prices have fallen in the face of oversupply in the wake of the signing of the Paris climate agreement. In Niger, two subsidiaries of the Orano Somaïr and Cominak operate two large uranium mines located close to the town of Arlit, in the northwest of Niger. Close to 140000 tons of uranium has been extracted from the mining sites since mining began there
