Geopolitical Briefing: Sub‑Saharan Africa
20 June 2025
- Niger nationalises the Somair uranium venture, expelling France’s Orano amidst military-government tensions.
- Mali begins construction of a Russia-backed gold refinery near Bamako to enforce domestic processing and reduce Western dependence.
- Burkina Faso finalises state control of five gold mining assets, consolidating strategic resource authority through SOPAMIB.
- Malian army and Russian Africa Corps suffer joint attacks in northern regions, highlighting entrenched security threats post-Wagner withdrawal.
Niger nationalises Somair uranium venture (19 June 2025)
Niger’s military government issued a televised decree declaring full nationalisation of Somair, the uranium venture with 63% ownership held by France’s Orano. This followed the expiration of its mining agreement in December 2023 and new allegations of unfair conduct by Orano (reuters.com, reuters.com, reuters.com, en.wikipedia.org). France’s legal challenges have begun, but Niger’s decisive move signals a strategic severing of neocolonial ties to assert full sovereignty over its uranium resources.
This accelerates the shift toward autonomous resource control and amplifies alignment with non-Western partners , reflecting enhanced economic independence, reduced Western leverage, and room for Chinese or Russian entry.
Mali starts building Russia-backed gold refinery (17 June 2025)
Malian authorities and Russia’s Yadran Group, with Swiss backing, began constructing a 200 t/year gold refinery in Senou (georgetownsecuritystudiesreview.org, reuters.com). As interim President Goïta enforces legislation requiring domestic processing, this facility is projected to quadruple current output and serve as a regional hub for processing gold from neighbouring nations.
This move advances domestic value retention from mineral exports, diminishes Western supply-chain dominance, and solidifies economic integration with Russia, reinforcing political autonomy and regional trade integration.
Burkina Faso finalises nationalisation of five gold mining assets (12 June 2025)
By a formal decree, Burkina Faso transferred two operational gold mines and three exploration licenses to its state mining company, SOPAMIB (reuters.com, reuters.com). The move culminates a long-planned strategy to shift foreign-controlled assets into sovereign hands, aligning with regional mining reforms across Sahel states.
This consolidates the military government’s grip on strategic minerals, elevates domestic processing potential, and reinforces greater alignment with Russian partners, thereby strengthening sovereign resource management and economic agency.
Twin attacks hit Malian army and Russia’s Africa Corps in Timbuktu (2 & 7 June 2025)
Armed Islamist groups launched coordinated assaults on military installations, including the Timbuktu airport garrison, killing over sixty soldiers (reuters.com, en.wikipedia.org). These attacks coincided with the withdrawal of the Wagner Group and arrival of Russia’s formal “Africa Corps” force (en.wikipedia.org). The incidents underscore persistent instability despite foreign security assistance and challenge the internal capacity of the junta and its partners to secure borders and quell insurgency.
This highlights vulnerabilities in internal security, underscoring the need for stronger domestic control amid continued reliance on external (e.g., Russian-backed) forces.
