And they may well be able to buy up, at a favourable price, all or part of the up to 1,400 tonnes of semi-processed uranium “yellowcake” concentrate that is awaiting export from the Sominak mine operated by Orano at Arlit that was seized by the state in June.
Stocks first piled up after the West African regional bloc, Ecowas, imposed a trade blockade on Niger following the overthrow of Mohamed Bazoum, the country’s civilian president, in July 2023. But even after sanctions were lifted the new military regime prevented Orano from resuming shipments.
At one stage China also showed interest in buying some of the concentrate.
The Nigeriens even explored contacts with Iran until the US warned them off pursuing any sale in that particular direction.
Of course, the picture of a Nigerien nuclear power station that Tsivilev has painted poses huge questions – technical, economic and in relation to security in a region notorious for Islamist militancy.
Indeed, the French never seem to have felt the option was worth serious consideration.
For while the refining of ore into yellowcake can be done in Niger, the subsequent conversion, enrichment and transformation into nuclear fuel was being carried out abroad, at Orano’s plant at Cap de la Hague in Normandy.
From there it was delivered to France’s nuclear power stations.
Building a nuclear plant can take years and such projects require a huge amount of capital investment, and once operational they need a large and secure power supply.
Furthermore, viability depends on the availability of industrial and domestic consumers who can afford the price of the power being generated.
There are also questions over whether a nuclear power plant could be safely built and protected in today’s fragile and violent Sahel region. Jihadist armed groups control large areas of terrain in Mali and Burkina Faso, and parts of western Niger which makes the area highly insecure.
Given the time, the costs and the complications of developing the nuclear sector in Niger, this remains a distant prospect.
It probably does not offer an early means of easing the current pressure on energy supply or its need for economic diversification.
But in a sense, these technical questions are missing the point.