The military takeover in Niger raises concerns about Europe's uranium reliance.

Nigerien security forces launch tear gas to disperse pro-junta demonstrators gathered outside the French embassy, in Niamey, the capital city of Niger July 30. — Reuters

PARIS: The military takeover in Niger raises concerns about Europe's reliance on uranium extracted from that country's mines for its nuclear power facilities.

The north of the nation is home to a uranium mine run by the French nuclear fuel company Orano, which was originally a division of Areva.

The firm stated last week that it was constantly watching the situation but that for the time being, the military's seizure of power has not interfered with the supply of uranium.

Only a small portion of the world's natural uranium production comes from Niger.

According to the Euratom Supply Agency (ESA), which oversees Europe's supply of nuclear materials, it generated 4.7% of the world's total in 2021, far behind Kazakhstan's 45.2pc. According to ESA, with a share of 25.38 percent, Niger was the second-largest exporter of natural uranium to the EU in 2022.

The top three nations supplying natural uranium, accounting for 74.19 percent of the total, were Kazakhstan, Niger, and Canada.

Short-term supply threats

The European Union asserted on Tuesday that the coup did not pose a threat to the bloc's ability to obtain supplies. According to European Commission spokesman Adalbert Jahnz, EU utilities have enough natural uranium on hand to address any short-term supply issues, and for the medium and long terms, there are adequate reserves on the global market to meet EU demands.

For France, which runs 56 reactors that generate more than two-thirds of the country's electricity, Niger ranked third among sources from 2005 to 20 with 19% of the total, following only Kazakhstan and Australia.

According to Alain Antil, director of the Sub-Saharan African Center at the French Institute for International Relations (IFRI), Niger is no longer Paris' key partner for uranium as it was in the 1960s or 1970s.

The foreign ministry of France noted that the country's suppliers were extremely diverse, however, the energy transition ministry of France claimed that the situation in Niger does not pose any risk for natural uranium supplies because EDF, the operator of France's Park of Nuclear reactors, has sought to diversify its suppliers.

Teva Meyer, a researcher at the University of Upper Alsace who specializes in the civilian nuclear energy sector, claimed that EDF has been attempting to diversify its suppliers for the past ten years, looking to countries in Central Asia like Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan as well as Australia.

ESA has never been against having a varied supply base.