Sahel juntas drive new era in mineral extraction

Niger wants to boost its economy and expand its mining industry by mining copper in the Agadez region. The country granted a permit to national firm Compagnie Miniere de l'Air (Cominair SA). 

"Niger is continuing its programme of diversifying mining production" with a move that "marks its entry into the restricted circle of countries producing this strategic mineral," according to a statement from Niger's military government, which took power following a July 2023 coup.

Ulf Laessing, head of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation's Sahel regional program in neighboring Mali, said the concession is part of Niger's strategy to reduce its reliance on foreign companies for mineral extraction. 

Laessing said that it was impossible to predict how successful the project will be. 

"The copper mine is in the north, not far from Libya, where the security situation is very poor," he noted, adding that Niger is following a trend seen in Burkina and Mali, where military governments rely more on local companies, rather than Western ones.  

Job creation and business growth

The operators of the mine located in Niger's second largest city, Moradi, expect to produce an average of 2,700 tons of copper per year over a period of ten years.

Niger's government hopes that the mine will create hundreds of new jobs and a lucrative business. Copper is currently traded on the world market for $9,700 (€8,789) per ton.

A small scale permit has meanwhile been granted to Nigerien firm Compagnie Miniere de Recherche et d'Exploitation (Comirex SA) at Dannet to produce lithium, a key component of the rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that power everything from cellphones to electric vehicles. 

The company expects to produce 300 tons of lithium a year. The Nigerien state holds a 25% stake in the Cominair copper mine and a 40% stake in Comirex in order to maintain the government's control over the nation's resources.

Impact of military coup

For decades, the desert state was also a major producer of uranium, known as the "white gold" of the renewable energy revolution.

According to the World Nuclear Association, Niger has two significant uranium mines, where around 5% of the uranium produced worldwide was mined in 2022.

Since junta leader Abdourahamane Tchiani seized power in the military coup , uranium production has come to a standstill.

"This is because the border with Benin is closed and uranium can only be exported via Benin," Laessing told DW, noting that only the Beninese port of Cotonou has been licensed to do so, highlighting the difficulties on the ground.

"The government wants to do much more itself and no longer work with French companies or other Western companies," he said.

However, Laessing noted that this does not guarantee the success of "in-house mining" due to a lack of local experience, technical qualifications and the necessary mining equipment.

As long as the border with Benin is closed due to disputes following the coup, said Laessing, "nothing will happen" in uranium production and it is questionable how quickly progress will be made with copper mining.

Decline of French influence

The source of funding for the mining projects is not clear, said Laessing, who suggested that copper mining could be partially financed with revenues from oil production, he told DW.

Niger's former colonial ruler, France, has become unpopular in the Sahel and has lost influence. The junta no longer considers itself bound by partnership agreements from the aegis of Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum, who was ousted in the 2023 coup.

The military junta recently withdrew French nuclear company Orano's license to mine uranium — after 50 years of operation in Niger.

Canadian company GoviEX also no longer has a permit to operate the Madaouela uranium mine.

"These are symbolic acts to make us less dependent on Western companies," said Laessing. "The chances of success is difficult to assess." 

When it comes to raw materials for energy transition, neighboring Mali is also well positioned for the future: In recent months, two new lithium mines have started production, partly in cooperation with China.

The new concessions complement the extraction of mineral resources, which are abundant in the Sahel states of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.

Niger, for example, has significant deposits of uranium, tin and phosphate, as well as crude oil. Burkina Faso has copper, zinc and manganese. Mali has several previously untapped oil fields. All three countries have large gold deposits.

Anti-Western alliances

All three countries are also pursuing an anti-Western course and are looking for new allies: Russia wants to profit from uranium mining through its nuclear company Rosatom; the mining company Azelik is majority-owned by China.

According to the Africa Defense Forum, Niger's ruling junta and Iran have been "working secretly on a deal" to buy 300 tons of uranium. 

"Iranian officials approached the Niger junta in August 2023, about one month after the July 2023 coup," according to an October 2024 article in the military magazine. "The visit was the first step toward circumventing international sanctions aimed at preventing Iran from developing a bomb."

However, in 2024 Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine insisted that "nothing" had been signed with Iran with regards to uranium. 

Following coups between 2020 and 2023, all three Sahel countries are under military governments. In an effort to emancipate themselves from their old partners and avoid sanctions, they also withdrew from the West African bloc ECOWAS — and founded their own Alliance of Sahel States.

"There has long been a strong desire for diversification in international relations in these countries," said Seidik Abba, head of the Sahel think tank CIRES, based in Paris.

Unequal economic relations

Even after the end of the colonial era, economic relations with the West were never on an equal footing, Abba said in an interview with DW.

"The conditions were dictated unilaterally by Western countries. For example, they set the prices for the raw materials they bought from African countries. And that was and is perceived as unfair in Africa," said Abba.

Burkina Faso is Africa's fourth largest gold producer with an estimated 58 tons per year.

"The country has not yet taken the step like Mali, where they want a lot more money, royalties and taxes from Western mining companies in gold production; they still rely on cooperation," said Laessing. "Burkina Faso has understood that it would be difficult to continue producing gold without foreign companies."

After producing 66 tons of gold in 2022, Mali is considered the center of gold production in Africa and exerted pressure on the companies exploiting the gold deposits. Mali's military-led government, for example, is demanding 125 billion CFA francs ($199 million) in back taxes from Canadian gold giant Barrick Gold.

Officially, the government's discourse is that they are now sovereign and pan-African. In practice, though, Laessing noted that foreign companies still play a major role.

Antonio Cascais and Eric Topona contributed to this article.

The article was originally written in German.