Niger’s ruling military government has cancelled the concessions of three gold mining companies and rejected a licence extension request from a British oil firm, citing failure to meet contractual obligations.
The announcement was made on Thursday in a government statement.
Niger, a major producer of uranium, gold and oil in West Africa, has been under military rule since a 2023 coup that brought a junta to power.
Since taking control, the government has taken steps to assert stronger sovereignty over the country’s natural resources.
According to the statement, concessions awarded between 2017 and 2020 to three gold mining and processing companies—Comini, Afrior and Ecomine—have been revoked.
The government said the companies failed to honour their commitments under the agreements.
Officials accused the firms of failing to pay required taxes, submit annual technical and financial reports and comply with environmental regulations.
Niger currently operates only one active industrial gold mine, known as Samira.
The military government nationalised the mine last year as part of efforts to strengthen state control over strategic resources.
In a separate decision, the authorities also rejected a request by British energy company Savannah Energy to extend an exploration and drilling licence in the country’s southeast.
The government said the company failed to comply with the terms of an output-sharing contract covering four oil blocks.
According to Savannah Energy, the blocks account for about half of the Agadem Rift Basin, which is Niger’s main oil-producing region.
The company had earlier announced that it recently made a significant oil discovery in the area.
The latest moves signal the junta’s continued push to tighten oversight of foreign companies operating in Niger’s mining and energy sectors.
