Vol 66 No 9 | BURKINA FASOMALINIGER The juntas join the gold rush 2nd May 2025 On 23 April, Niger advanced its mineral development by partnering with Emirati firm Suvarna Royal Gold Trading LLC. The deal, formalised in Niamey, establishes Royal Gold Niger SA,...
Vol 66 No 6 | BURKINA FASOMALINIGER Security tops the Ecowas agenda 21st March 2025 Above all, civilian governments in the regional bloc want cooperation with the military leaders against jihadist insurgents Through his visits to the military rulers of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso in the week ending 14 March, Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama may have helped thaw...
Vol 66 No 3 | BURKINA FASOMALINIGERRUSSIA Sahel-exit tests western miners and Russia’s military muscle 29th January 2025 Everybody is losing as the Sahelian juntas break with the Ecowas bloc – except for the jihadi militias The crowds in Bamako, Ouagadougou and Niamey celebrating their countries’ break with the regional bloc, the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) on 29 January belie the...
Vol 66 No 2 | BURKINA FASOMALINIGERMINING Sahel’s juntas challenge western miners in geopolitical gold rush 17th January 2025 The fight over one of the world’s biggest gold mines points to the changing balance of power in the region The stand-off between General Assimi Goïta’s military regime and Canada’s Barrick Gold has reached a critical point with the mining conglomerate suspending work at the Loulou-Gounkoto complex after...
DISPATCHES Vol 66 No 1 | NIGERNIGERIA Junta accuses Nigeria of French kiss 31st December 2024 Regional security in the Sahel is deteriorating amid claim and counter-claim The diplomatic chill between the Sahelian military juntas and France grew colder over Christmas after Niger’s junta leader General Abdourahamane Tiani accused France of allying with militant groups,... READ FOR FREE
Vol 65 No 23 | NIGER Yellowcake shutdown 14th November 2024 Uranium production will effectively cease with the decision by France’s Orano to suspend activities at the Arlit mine operated by Société des mines de l’Aïr (Somaïr), due to...
Vol 65 No 21 | NIGER Junta’s stance threatens uranium exports 17th October 2024 In its haste to expel western mining companies, the junta risks being left with no one to exploit its most valuable export General Abdourahamane Tiani’s military junta has carried out its threat to revoke the uranium mining licences of companies deemed not to have progressed their projects quickly enough, but...
Vol 65 No 14 | BURKINA FASOMALINIGER The juntas dig in as instability worsens 4th July 2024 Burkina’s leader Captain Traoré wants five more years in power but his army is losing badly against the jihadis The standing of Burkina Faso’s transitional leader Captain Ibrahim Traoré, who seized power in September, has hit a new low. But public opinion is the least of his...
DISPATCHES Vol 65 No 14 | NIGERFRANCE Niamey junta cancels France’s Orano permit in uranium mine 25th June 2024 The regime’s action against the French nuclear group sends a message to Paris and may open to the mine to a Russian investor Niger’s military junta’s decision to revoke the operating licence of French nuclear fuel producer Orano at the Imouraren mine in northern Niger, which sits on an estimated 200,000... READ FOR FREE
Vol 65 No 13 | BENINNIGER Patrice Talon tests strength of General Tiani’s junta 12th June 2024 Vitriol flows both ways as hopes fade of a speedy end to the fight between Niamey and Cotonou The arrest of five Nigérien oil technicians in Benin at the beginning of June has sparked accusations of ‘kidnapping’ and ‘hostage-taking’ from General Abdourahamane Tiani’s regime and has...