Niger's Tuareg Rebels Could Appulse World's Fourth Better Uranium Producer

The next abeyant clasp on uranium accumulation could arise from terrorism, not nature.


The world's seventh and eighth uranium bearing mines are begin in the Republic of Niger: the underground Akouta and the accessible pit Arlit. Calm they produced 3434 tonnes of uranium in 2006, according to the World Nuclear Association. This accounted for added than eight percent of the world's mining assembly endure year.


How abominably would this appulse a bound uranium bazaar if either of the Niger mines chock-full producing?


A Paris-based agent for the Niger Movement for Justice (MNJ), Seydou Kaocen Maiga, told reporters this weekend, "This arena has been declared a war breadth by the government and in this bearings we cannot acquiesce the Chinese to abide extracting accustomed assets while civilians are getting killed."


He had fabricated this account afterwards Tuareg and added drifting tribes, led by the awful accomplished alive Aghaly ag Alambo, kidnapped China Nuclear All-embracing Uranium (Sino-U) agent accepted administrator Zhang Guohua. The kidnapping took abode abreast Ingall, an breadth which is currently getting heavily prospected for uranium deposits, and which we discussed about 15 months ago.


Ag Alambo appears to be arising as a folk hero a part of the drifting tribes, who ascendancy arctic Niger and breadth the uranium mines are located.


We accept been afterward the Tuareg adventure back April, if thirty armed MNJ nomads attacked Niger's Akouta uranium mine, controlled by an AREVA subsidiary. A aegis bouncer and three others were killed. There had been two antecedent agitated incidents afore then, but none were uranium mining related.


Little took abode until June if addition 20 MNJ associates boldly, but unsuccessfully, attacked an all-embracing airport amid in Agadez. This is addition breadth getting prospected for uranium deposits. In backward June, a broadly admired aegis expert, Neil Thompson of RED24, issued a biking admonishing advising 'against all non-essential biking to the arctic locations of Niger.' Thompson was aforetime the Detective Superintendent in the UK's Civic Crime Squad, is a accomplished earnest negotiator, and has formed carefully with adopted intelligence and law administration agencies.


Thompson aswell wrote in his biking advisory, "The aggregate of boundless Tuareg discontent, a awful motivated and added able Tuareg anarchical group, and the Niger government's accepted political position suggests that a protracted, and possibly bloody, battle in arctic Niger is now awful likely, and may even advance to neighbouring countries." The MNJ has been alive for the accomplished six months, as the atom uranium amount accomplished a celebrated high.


A anniversary afore the Chinese uranium controlling was kidnapped, Thompson warned the MNJ would "attack 'softer' targets, such as adopted companies and personnel."


Earlier this year, Niger's Minister of Mines and Energy, Mohammed Abdoulahi, said his agents was reviewing about 100 analysis applications from 26 companies. Afterwards Namibia had bankrupt the 'exploration license' window, abounding chose to accompany uranium opportunities in Niger.


Most acquisitive were the Chinese. The country had arise aggressive affairs to body new nuclear reactors to abide fueling China's alarming GDP growth, while at the aforementioned time acquisitive to abate its allotment of carbon dioxide emissions. China is the world's better customer of atramentous and hopes to abate its atramentous assurance through the use of nuclear, accustomed gas and added beneath pollutive alternatives.


The Tuareg rebels accept complained about Chinese workers demography the jobs of bounded workers. Ag Alambo issued a admonishing that he was against to adopted companies bartering Niger's civic army, which has been detaining and killing civilians during a barbarous bounded aegis crackdown.


At the basis of the contempo Tuareg hostilities is the appeal to accept greater ascendancy over Niger's mineral resources, abnormally the country's uranium interests. Uranium comprises added than 70 percent of the country's exports. Ironically, Niger derives 100 percent of its electricity from drop fuels. The electricity-producing ability bulb the rebels attacked beforehand this year generates ability to abundance uranium.


In 1998, the Tuareg nomads were promised greater freedom by the Niamey-based government in southern Niger, but all promises arise to accept been broken. Rebellion by the tribespeople has been sporadic, yet violent, back the 1960s.


Thompson arise in his biking advisory, "Sources on the arena advance that the accumulation (MNJ) is abundantly fabricated up of adept Tuareg militants, who were chip into the Niger aggressive beneath the acceding of the 1998 acceding and after defected."


In catechism is who dictates how the acreage is acclimated - whether for agronomics or uranium mining. The Tuareg nomads wish the abundant acreage for their camels, goats and sheep.


The agronomics and livestock sectors accommodate about 80 percent of the country's employment. Only 15 percent of Niger's acreage is arable, and herein lies the problem. The Chinese accept been exploring abreast the haven of Indall, which because of its alkali diapirs could host abounding uranium deposits.


But the acrid plains authority a cultural significance. Each September, as they accept for centuries, Tuareg, Peul and Arab nomads accumulate for the anniversary 'salt cure.' During their anniversary reunion, they barter account of their drifting campaign while their livestock abrade on the grass of the oasis.


An MNJ agent explained that if Indall became a mining town, it would be a 'disaster.'


And a adversity is what could possibly action amid now and September, afore the anniversary drifting gathering, should the MNJ insurgents abide targeting uranium interests in Niger.


This is not an aberrant episode, accessible to burning resolution. The acceptable Tuareg affairs has been annoyed back the 1970s because of desertification and drought, abnormally the astringent droughts of 1972-74 and 1984-85. Having begin themselves affected assimilate the bread-and-butter and political sidelines, they took up accoutrements in the 1990s. This led to the resolution of 1998, which was never honored. Dissatisfaction has apprenticed the nomads to rebel. One able commented, "The Tuareg botheration in Niger was never resolved."


And now the Tuareg and added nomads arise to accept affiliated calm to accost their territory, which includes uranium prospecting licenses awarded to adopted operators.


Most acceptable to be impacted should the Akouta underground uranium abundance ache any accident is AREVA, which owns 34 percent of the Cominak, the aggregation which mines this deposit. Added adopted companies captivation interests are Japan's Overseas Uranium Resource Development Aggregation (25 percent) and Spain's Enusa (10 percent). Uranium concentrates, produced in Niger, are mostly alien to Comurhex (France) for conversion.


Recent contest appearance a abandonment from statements fabricated by Dr. John North, then-director of uranium campaign North Atlantic Assets and Northwestern Mineral Ventures, who told us, "My acquaintance with Niger is that it's a peaceful, autonomous country with no civilian unrest."


Just as with chestnut strikes, or the abeyant thereof, demography abode in South America, assembly disruptions can appulse a metal's price. The aforementioned could be said for uranium, abnormally for one of the world's arch producers.


Our abstracts are awful abstract and should not be construed as investment advice. However, to the south in Nigeria's Niger Delta, addition agitator group, MEND - Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta - has been dictating the world's gasoline prices as a aftereffect of their kidnappings.


It's Africa. Anything can happen. Even with the uranium price.