Niger’s government has cancelled concessions held by three gold mining and processing companies as it intensifies efforts to assert control over the country’s natural resources.
The government announced on Thursday that it had revoked mining concessions granted between 2017 and 2020 to Comini, Afrior and Ecomine, citing failure by the companies to meet their contractual obligations Africa News reports.
According to the official statement, the firms had not honoured key commitments, including the payment of taxes, submission of annual technical and financial reports, and adherence to environmental regulations.
Niger currently has just one active industrial gold mine, Samira, which the junta nationalised last year as part of efforts to increase state participation in the mining sector.
Officials have argued that previous agreements allowed foreign operators to extract wealth from the country without delivering sufficient economic benefits to local communities or the national treasury.
The government’s latest announcement also targeted the oil sector. Authorities said they had rejected a request by British energy company Savannah Energy to extend its exploration and drilling licence in the country’s south-east.
The government argued that the firm had failed to comply with the terms of an output-sharing contract covering four oil blocks in the Agadem Rift Basin.Niger is one of West Africa’s key producers of uranium, gold and oil, resources that have historically attracted foreign companies but generated persistent domestic debate over revenue distribution and national benefit.
Across the Sahel, governments have increasingly argued that decades of foreign-led extraction have produced limited developmental gains. Military governments in the region have therefore pushed to renegotiate contracts, increase state ownership in mining ventures, and tighten regulatory oversight.
However, the growing push toward nationalisation and stronger state control has also generated tension with international partners.In West Africa, the United States recently urged Ghana to halt elements of its resource nationalisation policy, reflecting concerns among foreign investors about the security of mining assets and long-term investment conditions in the region.
Supporters of the new policies argue that they represent long-overdue corrections to extractive agreements negotiated during periods of weaker regulatory oversight.Critics warn that abrupt policy shifts and contract cancellations could deter future investment and slow the development of new mining projects.
For Niger’s military authorities, however, the policy direction appears clear. By cancelling mining concessions and tightening control over oil and gold resources, the government is signalling that the country’s natural wealth will increasingly be managed with the explicit aim of boosting national revenues and strengthening economic sovereignty
