Orano condemns illegal shipment of uranium stored at the SOMAÏR site

Today, Orano learned from media reports that a shipment of uranium had left the SOMAÏR mining site in Arlit, northern Niger.

Orano states that it is not the initiator of this shipment and strongly condemns it.

Having lost operational control of its Niger mines since December 2024, the group has no official information on the quantity of uranium transported, its final destination, or the conditions under which this transport was undertaken in terms of safety and security.

This shipment is in breach of the decision handed down in favor of Orano on September 23, 2025, by the ICSID arbitration tribunal in the dispute between Orano and the State of Niger concerning the SOMAÏR uranium mine. The court of arbitration had ordered the State of Niger “not to sell, transfer, or even facilitate the transfer to third parties of uranium produced by SOMAÏR” held in violation of Orano's rights.

Orano will continue to steadfastly defend its interests and reserves the right to take any additional action necessary, in particular criminal proceedings, including against third parties, in the event of preemption of the material in violation of its offtake rights.