French nuclear fuel cycle company Orano is lodging a second arbitration procedure against Niger following the loss of operational control of the Somair uranium mine.
Orano said it has filed its request for arbitration with the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes.
“This litigation is now Orano’s last possible recourse, after several attempts at amicable resolution have gone unanswered,” Orano said in a statement on 21 January.
Orano said the West African country’s obstruction of the commercialisation of production, and the suppression of Orano's offtake rights, have “only aggravated Somair’s financial situation and the prejudice suffered by Orano”.