Agreement clears way for resumption of Niger uranium project

The Convention was formally executed by Atomic Eagle's 60%-owned Nigerien subsidiary, Madaouela Mining Company SA (MAMICO), and the Republic of Niger at a signing ceremony in Niamey. It is effective from signing, Atomic Eagle said. It provides legal, fiscal and regulatory stabilisation measures, establishes the framework for future project financing and offtake arrangements, and supports long-term tenure through an initial ten-year term with subsequent renewal provisions. MAMICO, which is 40% owned by Republic of Niger, will hold the hold the mineral exploitation permit.

Vancouver, Canada-based company GoviEx Uranium Inc, through a wholly owned Niger subsidiary, began operations in Niger in 2007, taking Madaouela from the initial exploration phase through to the publication of a feasibility study in late 2022 and investing some USD160 million in the project over the years. But following a 2023 coup d'état and change of government in the African country, the Government of Niger withdrew GoviEx's mining rights for the project in 2024. 

In December 2024 GoviEx and its Nigerien subsidiary launched international arbitration proceedings under the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes Between States and Nationals of Other States (known as the ICSID Convention), on the basis that the State of Niger - with which it had signed a Mining Convention in 2007 - had breached its obligations. Both parties agreed to suspend those proceedings in January 2025 as negotiations continued. 

GoviEx merged with Tombador Iron in November 2025 to create Australian-listed company Atomic Eagle.

Execution of the new agreement also means that Atomic Eagle will now take the required steps to discontinue arbitration proceedings. The company has also agreed with the State of Niger that an initial USD5 million payment will be made within 30 days of the Mining Convention being executed.

"Formal execution of the Mining Convention completes the commercial resolution announced in August and provides a clear framework under which Atomic Eagle and the Republic of Niger can progress Madaouela," Atomic Eagle CEO Phil Hoskins said. "We appreciate the constructive approach taken by the Minister of Mines and his team throughout this process."

Madaouela, near Arlit in northern Niger, has an estimated of 116.5 million pounds U3O8 of uranium resources, of which 96.9 million pounds are in the Measured and Indicated category and 19.6 million pounds in the Inferred category. These figures were reported by GoviEx under the Canadian NI 43-101 reporting standard and are considered a "foreign estimate" by the Australian Stock Exchange, for which companies must use the Australasian JORC Code.  

Atomic Eagle aims to report a JORC Mineral Resource at Madaouela by the end of the 2026 and is assessing potential development and strategic pathways. These activities will inform the assessment of potential development, funding and partnership pathways for Madaouela alongside ongoing work at the Muntanga project in Zambia, the company said.