Somaïr (Arlit) is a mining facility operated by Orano in Niger. It produced 960 tU/yr in 2024.
Niger's only producing uranium mine, an open pit at Arlit operating since the 1970s. Orano held 63.4% until the Niger government nationalised it in June 2025; exports had already been halted since July 2023. The loss of Niger removed a long-standing pillar of French fuel supply, and is why Orano's Kazakh joint venture now matters so much more to it.
| Stage | Mining and milling |
|---|---|
| Operator | Orano |
| Country | Niger |
| Reported output | 960tU/yr |
| Figure applies to | 2024 |
| Status | operating |
| Commissioned | not stated |
| Coordinates | 18.7400, 7.3800 |
No disclosed capacity, so its share of world mining capacity cannot be stated.
Orano also operates:
- Malvési and Philippe Coste (Tricastin) (conversion)
- Tricastin deconversion (W plant) (deconversion)
- Georges Besse II, Tricastin (enrichment)
- Project IKE, Oak Ridge (enrichment)
- Melox, Marcoule (fabrication)
- Moinkum and Tortkuduk (KATCO) (mining)
- La Hague (reprocessing)
Other mining facilities
| Facility | Capacity | Status |
|---|---|---|
| McArthur River / Key Lake | 7,808tU/yr | operating |
| Cigar Lake | 6,501tU/yr | operating |
| Husab | 4,437tU/yr | operating |
| Karatau (Budenovskoye 2) | 3,299tU/yr | operating |
| Inkai, sites 1-3 | 2,992tU/yr | operating |
| Akdala and South Inkai | 2,803tU/yr | operating |
| Olympic Dam | 2,693tU/yr | operating |
| Moinkum and Tortkuduk (KATCO) | 2,388tU/yr | operating |
| Rössing | 2,205tU/yr | operating |
| Smith Ranch-Highland | 2,116tU/yr | operating |
| Khorassan 1 | 2,030tU/yr | operating |
| White Mesa Mill | 2,000short tons ore/day | operating |
| Central Mynkuduk | 1,650tU/yr | operating |
| Budenovskoye 1, 3 & 4 (Akbastau) | 1,545tU/yr | operating |
| Four Mile | 1,503tU/yr | operating |
| Kharasan 2 (Baiken-U) | 1,315tU/yr | operating |
| South Moinkum and Kanzhugan | 1,273tU/yr | operating |
| Ross Central Processing Plant | 1,154tU/yr | operating |
| Khiagda | 1,103tU/yr | operating |
| Priargunsky | 1,047tU/yr | operating |
| Honeymoon | 942tU/yr | operating |
| Irkol | 940tU/yr | operating |
| Yining | 850tU/yr | operating |
| Western Mynkuduk (Appak) | 830tU/yr | operating |
| North and South Karamurun | 830tU/yr | operating |
| Lost Creek | 769tU/yr | operating |
| Zarechnoye | 741tU/yr | operating |
| Langer Heinrich | 691tU/yr | operating |
| Dalur | 588tU/yr | operating |
| Alta Mesa | 577tU/yr | operating |
| Willow Creek | 500tU/yr | operating |
| Fuzhou | 350tU/yr | operating |
| Caetité (Lagoa Real) | 340tU/yr | operating |
| Tummalapalle | 220tU/yr | operating |
| Shaoguan | 200tU/yr | operating |
| Tongliao | 200tU/yr | operating |
| Jaduguda mine and mill | 200tU/yr | operating |
| Turamdih mine and mill | 190tU/yr | operating |
| Northern Mining Directorate (Uchkuduk) | not disclosed | operating |
| Central Mining Directorate (Zarafshan) | not disclosed | operating |
| Mining Directorate No. 5 (Zafarabad) | not disclosed | operating |
| Southern Mining Directorate (Nurabad) | not disclosed | operating |
| Ingulska | not disclosed | operating |
| Smolinska | not disclosed | operating |
| Novokostiantynivska | not disclosed | operating |
| Moab Khotsong | not disclosed | operating |
At the market indicator. 960 tU produced in 2024, valued at US$ 89.68 per lb U₃O₈ spot, comes to roughly US$ 224 million a year, or US$ 241 million at the long-term indicator. Treat both as scale, not revenue: most volume moves under contracts signed years earlier at prices neither figure reflects, and nothing here is netted against the cost of producing it. The indicators, and forty years of history behind them, are on fuel market prices.
Sources
- World Nuclear Association, Uranium in Niger · retrieved 2026-09-06
How these sources are used, including the corrections applied on top of them and what is deliberately left blank · download the underlying data