As of August 2, there is no official announcement from Niger, Mali, or Burkina Faso regarding a halt to exports of uranium and gold to France and the United States.
The claims made on social media platforms, including X (formerly known as Twitter) and Facebook, suggesting such a ban have not been confirmed by any of the mentioned countries, Reuters reported.
It is essential to be cautious about information circulating on social media, especially if there is no official source or confirmation from the respective governments. In this case, the X post mentioning the supposed ban on uranium and gold exports is unverified.
Niger is a significant producer of uranium and is the world’s seventh-biggest producer, according to the World Nuclear Association. However, Burkina Faso and Mali do not currently mine uranium, though Mali has a uranium deposit. Uranium is a crucial fuel for nuclear energy and has various other applications, including in treating cancer, naval propulsion, and nuclear weapons.
Niger is a supplier of uranium to the European Union, but the EU’s nuclear agency, Euratom, stated that there would be no immediate risk to nuclear power production in Europe if Niger were to cut its deliveries due to sufficient inventories.
Regarding the United States, Niger also supplies uranium to the country, but it is not among the top five sources of American uranium imports. The primary US uranium suppliers are Kazakhstan, Canada, Australia, Russia, and Namibia, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
The price of uranium has only slightly risen since the coup in Niger, and French nuclear fuels company Orano, which operates uranium mines in the country, confirmed that operational activities continued as of August 1.
As for gold, all three countries – Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso – produce and export it. Mali was the 11th biggest gold producer in 2022, while Burkina Faso was 12th, and Niger ranked 27th, according to the World Gold Council.
Various news organisations reported on the possibility of Niger stopping uranium and gold exports to France starting from July 31. However, these articles lacked evidence or official comments from local authorities. The BBC also published an article mentioning a potential halt of uranium exports but later corrected the piece by removing the reference to the junta stopping uranium exports to France.
