Romanian nuclear energy company Nuclearelectrica SA has expressed interest in buying 300 tons of uranium concentrate from a stock of more than 1,000 tons held near Niamey airport since late 2025, according to an exclusive report by Jeune Afrique in collaboration with MDMG Sahel.
The proposed purchase would represent nearly one-third of the uranium stock, which has been caught in a commercial dispute between Niger and French nuclear company Orano as well as geopolitical concerns that the material could ultimately reach Russia or Iran.
Documents obtained by Jeune Afrique and MDMG Sahel detail discussions involving Nuclearelectrica, the Nigerien government and Niger’s state mining assets company, Sopamin.
The uranium, known as yellow cake, has been stored in containers near the runway at Niamey airport for nearly nine months.
Romanian company pursued 300-ton purchase
Nuclearelectrica CEO Cosmin Ghita submitted an expression of interest to Niger on April 13 to acquire the uranium, according to the documents.
Nigerien Mines Minister Col. Abarchi Ousmane responded April 20, saying Niger wanted to “diversify its partners” and explore possibilities for supplying uranium to Romania and Europe. He invited Ghita to Niamey to discuss the proposal.
A day later, Ghita reaffirmed the company’s interest and proposed sending a Romanian delegation led by Gelu Agafiel Maracineanu, deputy director general of FPCU Feldioara, a Nuclearelectrica subsidiary involved in nuclear fuel activities.
The delegation planned to visit Niamey from May 11-15.
On May 14, before the visit had ended, Feldioara interim Director General Marian Comiati wrote to Sopamin expressing the company’s “firm and unequivocal interest” in purchasing 300 tons of uranium.
Details including the quality of the uranium concentrate, contractual conditions and transportation route remained to be negotiated, while Feldioara and Sopamin continued exchanging information about possible terms.
The Romanian side also sought confidentiality around the negotiations, according to the report.
On May 29, then-Sopamin Director General Abdoulahi Garba, who was replaced July 17, told Feldioara that he supported the sale but proposed placing the agreement within a broader framework of cooperation between Niger and Romania.
A source familiar with the negotiations told Jeune Afrique that the purchase had since been finalized.
However, Garba declined to confirm that a final contract had been signed, while Nuclearelectrica explicitly denied that a deal had been concluded.
“No agreement has been concluded and, consequently, no price has been set,” the Romanian company told Jeune Afrique.
Potential transaction valued at around $40 million
The potential purchase could be worth around $40 million, according to Marc Eichinger, a specialist in Niger’s uranium sector.
Eichinger said transactions conducted outside conventional markets can involve discounts of around 30%.
With uranium trading at about $190,050 per ton, he estimated that a price of roughly $133,000 per ton would put the 300-ton transaction at about $40 million, compared with approximately $57 million at regular market prices.
He described such a price as favorable to the parties involved.
The wider stock consists of about 1,050 tons of uranium moved in late November 2025 by Niger’s military-led authorities from the Somair mine near Arlit in northern Niger to Niamey.
According to several sources cited in the report, that uranium was initially expected to go to another buyer: Russia.
Russia’s state nuclear company Rosatom signed a cooperation memorandum with Niger’s Mines Ministry in July 2025 aimed at expanding nuclear-sector cooperation.
French government sources believe Niger and Russia had reached an agreement worth about $170 million for the yellow cake.
The proposed Russian sale was ultimately not completed despite plans to export the uranium through the port of Lome in Togo.
Source: World Nuclear News