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Imouraren: 40 years of experience for a project of the future

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Imouraren: 40 years of experience for a project of the future


		Energy > Mining Imouraren site facilities
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A sustainable partnership…

The Imouraren Project is a further stage in the historical partnership that has brought Niger and the AREVA group together for 40 years.

The Imouraren site is considered to be one of the largest uranium deposits in the world. Its mining will enable Niger to double its current uranium production, making it the world’s second largest uranium producer. AREVA is planning the beginning of the deposit mining as of 2012. Annual production is estimated at nearly 5,000 metric tons (MT) over a period of more than 35 years.

Imouraren is so far the largest mining project ever to be envisaged in Niger and the largest open pit uranium mine in Africa: industrial site dimensions of almost 200 square kilometers, deposit dimensions of 8 kilometers long and 2.5 kilometers wide, 3.8 billion metric tons of rock to be extracted.

To reach these goals, the challenges are many - technical difficulties, high operating costs, isolated facilities - but the means employed are huge, as well. The Imouraren site mining requires an investment of more than 1.2 billion euros and will generate the creation of nearly 1,400 direct jobs.

Over and above the financial benefits of the mine, AREVA will continue and even strengthen its social and economic development policy in Niger. The group is involved in projects to improve health, education and training, transport and access to water and energy for the local populations and works hand-in-hand with all the project stakeholders.