Companies including Iron Gold, AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. and Global Atomic Fuels Corp. are considering new projects in Niger, S&P Global Market Intelligence learned on the sidelines of the Mining Indaba in Cape Town, South Africa.
Niger's mining minister, Hassane Baraze Moussa, visited the conference for the second time to promote new projects in commodities including gold, iron ore, phosphate, coal, copper, lithium and cobalt.
Speaking to S&P Global Market Intelligence on Feb. 6, the minister said he had already seen a lot of interest after two days at the conference, with cobalt, lithium and copper projects particularly in demand as appetite for batteries and electric vehicles has surged.
Niger is one of the biggest uranium producers globally. However, the government is seeking to diversify its economy and mitigate its dependence on uranium.
As part of this move, Niger signed a memorandum of understanding with South Africa to cooperate in geology and mining.
