Editing Arlit (section)

==Uranium industry==
Founded in 1969 following the discovery of [[uranium]], it has grown around the [[mining industry]], developed by the [[Government of France|French government]].  Two large [[uranium mining|uranium mines]], at [[Arlit mine|Arlit]] and nearby [[Akouta]], are exploited by [[open pit mining|open top strip mining]]. One open-pit mine was built in 1971 by the National Mining Company of Niger, [[SOMAIR]].<ref>[http://www.cogema.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=cogema_en/entite/entite_popup_template&cid=1039473235338&rendermode=liv Somair Company Profile].</ref> The second open-pit mine, as well as a third [[Uranium mining#Underground|underground]] mine, was built by the French Compagnie Minière d'Akouta (or [[COMINAK]]).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.world-nuclear.org/sym/2004/souley.htm|author=Georges Capus, Pascal Bourrelier and Moussa Souley|title=Uranium Mining in Niger; Status and Perspectives of a Top Five Producing Country|publisher=[[World Nuclear Association]]- N.B.: The WNA is a nuclear industry funded group|year=2004}}</ref> All the ore from both is now processed and transported by a French company [[Orano Cycle]], a holding of the [[Orano]] group, itself a state-owned operation of the French ''Commissariat à l'énergie atomique'' (CEA). The [[Nuclear power in France|system of French nuclear power generation]], as well as the [[France and nuclear weapons|French nuclear weapons program]], is dependent on uranium mined at Arlit.<ref>[http://www.acdis.uiuc.edu/research/OPs/Pederson/html/contents/sect2.html France and Nuclear Energy]  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016043517/http://www.acdis.uiuc.edu/research/OPs/Pederson/html/contents/sect2.html |date=16 October 2007 }} and [http://www.acdis.uiuc.edu/research/OPs/Pederson/html/contents/sect7.html French Involvement in Niger] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070704070824/http://www.acdis.uiuc.edu/research/OPs/Pederson/html/contents/sect7.html |date=4 July 2007 }}, both from Pederson, Nicholas R. The French Desire for Uranium and its Effects on French Foreign Policy in Africa. Arms Control, Disarmament, and International Security: Occasional Papers. PED:1. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2000)</ref> [[Orano Cycle]] alone employs 1600 foreign nationals on the site.<ref>according to ''[[Le Canard Enchaîné]]'' (3 August 2005)</ref>{{Update inline|date=February 2019}}

In 2017, 2,116 tonnes of uranium were extracted from the Arlit mines<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/nuclear-fuel-cycle/mining-of-uranium/world-uranium-mining-production.aspx|title = World Uranium Mining - World Nuclear Association}}</ref> and exported to France via truck to the seaport at [[Cotonou]], [[Bénin]]. At its peak in the 1980s, 40% of Niger's uranium production came from Arlit, and uranium represented 90% of Niger's exports (by value).  A major modern road, known as the ''Uranium Highway'', has been built to transport uranium south, but it has bypassed many towns along the way ([[In-Gall]] for example) and has radically changed Niger's transportation system.

===Boom, bust and recovery===
In the late 1980s, Arlit suffered from a steep decline in world uranium prices, and the number of foreign employees in the town was cut to 700, a drop which has rebounded by the first decade of the 21st century.  The value of Niger's uranium "boom" has never recovered its 1980s level, causing dislocation and suffering for the tens of thousands of Nigeriens who flocked to the [[shanty town]]s surrounding Arlit.

Anger at the results of uranium bust, along with a belief that the best jobs were going to those from southern Niger, contributed to the [[Tuareg rebellion (1990–1995)|Tuareg Rebellion]] of the 1990s. As late as 2007, Tuareg nationalists have made a fairer division of profits and jobs for local people a primary demand.<ref>[ l'Humanite, ] June 2007.</ref>

On a macroeconomic scale, Arlit can be said to suffer from [[Dutch disease]], or Dutch curse, a phenomenon where over-emphasis on one particular sector (commonly a highly sought after resource such as oil) hinders normal development of other sectors essential to an economy.

===Environmental impact===
The impact on the local environment of the Arlit mining industry has been criticised by African and European Non-Governmental Organisations, and [[Areva NC]] has especially been accused of a disregard for health and environmental conditions around its operations.<ref>[http://www.criirad.org/actualites/dossiers2005/niger/somniger.html Le dossier sur la mine d'Arlit] de la [[CRIIRAD]]</ref> The French NGO [[Commission for Independent Research and Information on Radioactivity]] has described the surface nuclear waste piles near Arlit as a danger to the area's water supply.<ref name=africanews-20230319>{{cite news |url=https://www.africanews.com/2023/03/19/french-nuclear-giant-to-explore-potential-of-uranium-deposit-in-niger// |title=French nuclear giant to explore potential of uranium deposit in Niger |website=Africanews |date=19 March 2023 |access-date=4 August 2023}}</ref>

==="Yellowcake" controversy===
In the build-up to the [[War in Iraq (2003)|war in Iraq]] there was [[September Dossier#Uranium from Niger|controversy over allegations]] in 2003 that [[Saddam Hussein]] was seeking to purchase uranium from Arlit.{{cn|date=June 2024}}