KEY POINTS
- Niger junta nationalizes SML over alleged breaches.
- Mine’s Australian operator accused of neglecting investment plan.
- Nationalization further aligns with push for local resource control.
Niger’s military government has nationalized the country’s only industrial gold mine, citing “serious breaches” by its Australian operator, in the latest sign of the junta’s tightening grip over the nation’s natural resources.
The decision was announced Friday on state television in Niamey, with junta leader General Abdourahamane Tiani signing the order to take control of the Societe des Mines du Liptako (SML). The mine, which lies on the banks of the River Niger, was previously operated by McKinel Resources Limited, an Australian group that acquired a majority stake in 2019.
Niger junta nationalizes gold mine over alleged breaches
The junta accused McKinel of failing to honor a $10 million investment commitment, resulting in tax and wage arrears, worker layoffs, mounting debts, and production stoppages. Officials said the nationalization was necessary to “save this highly strategic company” and to also ensure that resource revenues benefit Nigeriens directly.
The mine produced 177 kilograms of industrial gold in 2023, compared to 2.2 tonnes from artisanal miners, according to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. Financial troubles and security threats, including a May bomb attack in the jihadist-hit Tillaberi region that killed eight mine workers, disrupted production.
Resource nationalism takes root across the Sahel
The move is part of a broader trend among West African juntas to reclaim control of extractive industries from foreign companies. In June, Niger nationalized the local subsidiary of French uranium producer Orano. Burkina Faso and Mali have taken similar steps, intensifying scrutiny of foreign operators in the resource-rich but politically unstable Sahel region.
“This measure reflects the vision of the president of the republic to promote the full appropriation of natural resources by the Nigerien people,” the junta’s statement further read.
For Niger, the nationalization underscores both its economic nationalism and the urgent need to stabilize mining operations in the face of persistent insurgent violence. The military has deployed over 2,000 troops to secure the western gold-mining belt, but attacks by armed groups continue to pose a significant threat to workers and production.
