Orano - Annual Activity Report 2025 98 3 RISK CONTROL AND VIGILANCE PLAN Vigilance plan Environmental monitoring of mining activities and end-of-life remediation Orano Mining conducts environmental studies throughout the lifecycle of mining and industrial projects. Environmental impact studies (EIS) are carried out for each new mining project or whenever a major modification to industrial facilities is expected. These studies comply with current regulatory requirements and are subject to public consultation for approval by local authorities. The process of conducting and reviewing an impact study is relatively similar across the various regulations in force in the countries where Orano Mining operates. These studies help establish a mapping of impacts, better understand the various physical, ecological and socio-economic components of the environment, assess the risks associated with the project, and identify mitigation measures to be integrated preventively within the facilities to reduce risks at source. These studies also indicate the principles for mine rehabilitation at the end of the mine’s life, potential offset measures, and the principles for environmental monitoring of activities. As an example, detailed impact studies continued in 2025 on the Zuuvch Ovoo and Dulaan Uul sites in Mongolia to assess the impacts of the mining project in ISR and propose mitigation measures as well as environmental monitoring principles. An update of the impact study of the Trekkopje project in Namibia was also launched, in connection with the reassessment of the project’s Detailed Feasibility Study (DFS). This update was carried out in two phases, the first in early 2025 to allow the resumption of exploration work feeding the DFS, and the second over 2025 and 2026 to reassess the impacts according to the new project design. In 2025, field studies were conducted in Canada to update the environmental reference point (zero points) of the Midwest project area. This updated information will support the request for authorization to use the SABRE mining technique (innovative extraction technique developed by Orano engineers) to exploit the Midwest deposit. Furthermore, Orano has a strict policy for the responsible management of its sites at the end of their lifecycle, aiming to avoid risks to populations and the environment while enabling the reuse of sites for other purposes. This policy is implemented within Orano Mining, which makes the remediation and postmining management of its sites a priority. Orano Mining is committed to planning and designing the end-of-life phase of sites in consultation with the authorities and relevant stakeholders, implementing all measures related to environmental protection and social issues, and ensuring the financial provisions to fulfill commitments for site closure and remediation. There are several phases involved in the remediation of a mining site: ● a study phase which consists of defining the remediation strategy best suited to the site by taking into account its specific constraints; ● a mining work phase that is determined depending on the nature of the mine and the facilities concerned; ● a post-works monitoring phase, which consists of checking the ways in which uranium and its decay products, as well as various other substances related to mining activities, and the local geological context (metals, minerals, etc.), may be transferred at sites and in the surrounding area. The main objectives of a remediation plan are as follows: ● ensure the long-term stability of structures (dikes, underground mining works, etc.) in terms of public safety and health; ● minimize the residual impact of former activities; ● limit the surface area of land subject to use restrictions; ● successfully integrate the site into the landscape of its environment in order to preserve local biodiversity and allow potential reuse of the site depending on the level of easement; ● enable good post-operational social and societal management; and ● support the reconversion of the site. All Orano Mining’s sites are covered by a specific remediation plan. Since the beginning of its mining activities, Orano Mining has carried out the decommissioning of facilities, the remediation and the monitoring of its former uranium mining sites in France, Gabon, the United States and Canada. Responsible management of tailings Since August 5, 2020, Orano Mining has committed to implementing the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM) developed by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the Principles for Responsible Investment (an investor network supported by the United Nations), and the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) following the tragic Brumadinho tailings facility collapse in Brazil. Supported by an integrated approach to tailings management, this Standard aims to prevent catastrophic failures and improve the safety of tailings management facilities worldwide. This standard includes 77 requirements covering social, environmental, economic and technical dimensions, with the objective of “zero damage”. In 2023, Orano published information about its tailings facilities classified according to the Standard as having “extreme” and “very high” consequences. Since August 7, 2025, Orano has also published information for its other tailings facilities. Orano reported on the storage of mining tailings at Cominak and Somaïr in northern Niger. However, following the political events of July 2023 in Niger, Orano no longer has physical access to the sites and declared the loss of operational control of these two sites on December 4, 2024. As a result, Orano can no longer communicate or provide updates on them, and therefore cannot include them in its reports (1) . Orano Mining considers the responsible management of tailings to be a strategic issue and is working to implement the requirements of the standard for its tailings facilities and to disclose and update the results each year for its facilities. Orano Mining has also adopted a management policy for the storage of ore processing residues and industrial effluents. Signed by all members of the Orano Mining Management committee, the policy has applied to all of its sites since October 2023. (1) For more information on the situation in Niger, see Section 2.1.2.1.
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