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Le NIGER demande prix juste pr son aluminum

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Aiglenoir
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Le NIGER demande prix juste pr son aluminum

Message par Aiglenoir » févr. 05, 14 8:44 pm


http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/ ... class="printarticle">
Special Report: Areva and Niger's uranium fight
http://s1.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/ ... EA140JU500" alt="Photo" border="0">

6:58am EST

By Daniel">http://blogs.reuters.com/search/journal ... _cl#Daniel Flynn and Geert">http://blogs.reuters.com/search/journal ... d_cl#Geert De Clercq

ARLIT, Niger/PARIS (Reuters) - When France began mining uranium ore
in the desert of northern Niger in the early 1970s, Arlit was a cluster
of miners' huts stranded between the sun-blasted rocks of the Air
mountains and the sands of the Sahara.

The 1973 OPEC oil embargo changed that. France embraced nuclear power
to free itself from reliance on foreign oil and overnight this remote
corner of Africa became crucial to its national interests.

Arlit has grown into a sprawling settlement of 117,000 people, while
France now depends on nuclear power for three-quarters of its
electricity, making it more reliant on uranium than any country on
earth.

Niger has become the world's fourth-largest producer of the ore after Kazakhstan, Canada and Australia.

But uranium has not enriched Niger. The former French colony remains
one of the poorest countries on earth. More than 60 percent of its 17
million people survive on less than $1 a day.

Arlit is a dusty and neglected place, scoured by desert sandstorms
and barely touched by the mineral wealth it ships off to Europe each
year. "There are neighborhoods which go without water for three weeks at
a time," said Deputy Mayor Hassan Hamani. "There are schools where the
pupils have to sit on the floor or study in straw huts."

Now Niger's government is demanding a better deal from Paris, and
specifically from state-owned nuclear company Areva. The two sides began
talking more than a year ago but failed to clinch an agreement before
Areva's 10-year mining contracts expired on December 31.

Areva suspended production at its two sites in Niger in mid-December:
the open-cut Somair mine at Arlit and giant underground Cominak pit
nearby. The company says the closure was for maintenance but Synamin, a
union that represents mining workers, called it a negotiating tactic.
Production resumed at the start of February.

Areva and Niger's just-expired agreements have never been made
public. But Reuters has reviewed documents which reveal that Areva's
mines pay no export duties on uranium, no taxes on materials and
equipment used in mining operations, and a royalty of just 5.5 percent
on the uranium they produce. A spokesman for Areva declined to confirm
the authenticity of the documents and did not comment on their contents.

Niger's President Mahamadou Issoufou says the deals are a throwback
to the post-colonial era, when France played a dominant role in the
economies of its former African territories. His government wants to cut
the tax breaks and raise the royalty rate - its largest source of
income from the mines - to as much as 12 percent.

That would be more than the 5 percent charged by most Australian
states, but bring Niger into line with the 13 percent charged by
Canada's uranium-producing province of Saskatchewan over the past
decade. In Kazakhstan, the official rate is 18.5 percent. Areva produces
uranium in both Canada and Kazakhstan but would not detail the
royalties it pays in those countries. (It explores for uranium in
Australia but does not mine it there).

Mining Minister Omar Hamidou Tchiana, leading the negotiations for
Niger, told Reuters the government wants to increase uranium revenues to
at least 20 percent of the budget, from just 5 percent at present.

"For 40 years, Niger has been one of the world's largest uranium
producers, but it's still one of the poorest countries on the planet,"
he said. "At the same time, Areva has grown to be one of the world's
largest companies. You see the contrast?"

Areva, which produced nearly one fifth of the world's uranium in
2012, says a higher royalty rate would make its business in Niger
unprofitable.

With uranium prices down about 70 percent from their peak in 2007, a
diplomatic source in Paris said Areva would not agree to a big increase
in what it pays Niger. "Niger needs to take into account that Areva is
not in great financial health and that the uranium price is low and not
about to increase anytime soon," said the source.

TAX BREAKS

A new deal is important for Areva, but vital for Niger.

With global revenues of 9.3 billion euros ($12.56 billion)in 2013,
the French firm is almost twice as big as Niger's entire economy
according to the IMF. Loss-making and with net debts of nearly 4 billion
euros, it is still Niger's biggest private employer and its largest
exporter.

Areva does not provide a profit breakdown for its operations in Niger
but says its current deal with the country is fair. It says that over
the past 40 years Niger has received around 80 percent of ‘direct
benefits' - taxes and dividends - from its two uranium mines, with Areva
taking the rest.

It estimates that its mines paid a total of 82 million euros to Niger
in dividends and taxes in 2011, and 123 million euros in 2012.

However, the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), a
global coalition of governments, including Niger's, and of companies
seeking to improve the accountability of natural resource revenues,
estimates Areva's mines paid a total of 66.3 million euros to Niger in
2011. 2012 figures are not yet available.

The latest contracts show Areva received a range of tax breaks and
benefits in Niger, some of which were standard under Niger's 1999 mining
law. Signed on November 9, 2001 and effective for 10 years from January
1 2004, the contracts state that Areva was:

* Exempt from any export duties on its uranium production.

* Exempt from all entry taxes, customs duties and value-added tax, on
materials, equipment, machines, parts and petroleum products used in
mining operations, including everything from sulfur and other chemicals
used to process ore, vehicles, and even protective clothing.

* Protected by a stability clause so that an increase in royalties tax under a new 2006 mining law did not affect them.

* Protected so that if another uranium miner negotiated better terms,
Areva would automatically benefit from the same conditions.

* Guaranteed that any audit of the mines ordered by Niger will remain strictly confidential.

* Granted an exoneration of up to 20 percent of corporate income tax to help fund future prospecting.

Areva held a monopoly over uranium mining in Niger until 2007. Its
sole competitor, Somina, a joint venture between the government and the
overseas arm of the China National Nuclear Corporation, was launched a
year after the introduction of a 2006 mining law that sharply reduces
tax breaks.

Mining Minister Tchiana said Areva's tax breaks cost the government
23 million to 30 million euros a year in potential tax revenue, and any
new contracts will have to adhere to the 2006 law.

The Areva spokesman said the tax breaks were important to encourage
research and development in the mining sector and to allow its mines to
continue production despite depressed uranium prices and rising
production costs. He said the mining companies pay the standard
corporate tax rate of 30 percent.

Unions in Niger and transparency campaigners say Areva has also
become more aggressive about minimizing its profit - and thus its tax
bill - in the country in the past few years.

A confidential Niger Mining Ministry document seen by Reuters shows
production costs at the Somair mine doubling in just five years, from
19,783 CFA francs ($40.75) per kilogram in 2006 to 40,146 CFA francs per
kg in 2011. At Cominak, costs per kg rose from 27,277 CFA francs to
45,603 in 2010, the undated document showed.

"Our objective is to lower these production costs so that Niger can
profit more," said Minister Tchiana, adding that the government had
commissioned an independent audit of Areva's Niger operations. The
report, by Netherlands-based consultancy BearingPoint, has not been made
public.

Areva strongly denies artificially hiking costs. It says higher
charges are due to the complex technical characteristics of new ore
deposits that have helped increase production by one-third in the last
five years, as well as to a rise in the cost of fuel for vehicles and
machinery and of sulfuric acid used to process uranium.

"THE EXPECTATIONS OF THE PEOPLE"

At the Somair mine outside Arlit, lumbering yellow trucks work round
the clock hauling grey-green ore from the bottom of vast 100-metre-deep
pits. The ore ends up in a processing plant where it is turned into
yellowcake. At night, stadium lights illuminate the pitch-black of the
desert, while the metallic clanging of the plant's grinder cuts the
silence.

The just-expired contracts state that Areva would provide electricity
and water to Arlit and help maintain the road linking it to the town of
Tahoka, more than 300 miles to the south. Yet the road is all but
impassable for long stretches, forcing trucks to drive in the desert
sands, where some wrecks lie rusting. Areva says it has given 1 percent
of the revenues from its mines annually to a government body responsible
for maintaining the road, meeting the terms of its contract.

By night, much of the town is in darkness. An Areva water tower does
supply the town, though residents - who are not entitled to free water
or power under the terms of Areva's contract - pay the state water
company.

Some in Arlit feel angry that the mine has not brought greater
prosperity. Around 2,000 mine employees live in neat estates, with a
clubhouse and restaurants. The rest of the city is dirt-poor, with
unpaved streets and ramshackle mud-brick homes.

Officials and NGOs often point to high levels of corruption as a
reason for poor delivery of services. Local governments - which benefit
from a 15 percent share of the royalties tax under the 2006 mining law -
complain that payments are more than two years overdue. Local officials
say the mining companies pay the royalties to the central government
every month, and the delays are Niamey's responsibility.

Mining Minister Tchiana declined to comment on this, saying it was a
finance ministry issue. A spokesman for the ministry did not respond to
requests for comment.

Niger has a turbulent political history marked by rivalries and
coups, and even though Issoufou's government has made progress in
tackling corruption, the country still ranks 106th out of 177 countries
in Transparency International's annual corruption perceptions index.

Still, Rhissa Feltou, mayor of the regional capital Agadez, says Areva's two mines do too little for development in the north.

"These companies are not paying enough in tax," said Feltou. "We are
bitter about the presence of extractive industries here ... Mining is
not responding to the expectations of the people."

In his office in Niamey, Niger's capital, Minister Tchiana said the
country's 2010 Constitution stated that extractive industries must be
transparent and serve the interests of the country. "Instead of
mountains of waste in Arlit, we want buildings, homes, hospitals and
investment," he said. "After more than 40 years Areva has not even built
a headquarters in Niger."

The firm says it does plenty, spending 6 million euros a year on
health and economic development projects in Niger. There is no public
hospital, but the mines allow residents access to their clinics free of
charge. Areva has also built and renovated local schools.

"We contribute directly through the jobs we are creating and we
generate taxes for the state budget. This is our contribution, but we
cannot do everything," Areva chief executive Luc Oursel told Reuters.

"THE POWER OF FRANCE"

One key sticking point is how to calculate the official price of
uranium. That is used as a basis for all royalties, taxes and profits
and Niger wants to set it as high as possible.

For the past two years the agreed price has been 73,000 CFA francs
($150) a kg, nearly double the current spot price of around $80.

Areva wants the new deal to be based on a formula using spot market
and long-term contract prices, rather than political negotiations,
according to the leaked minutes of a 2012 meeting signed by both sides.
The price would change depending on the spot price on world markets,
according to the minutes, which say this is Areva's proposal. Areva has
not confirmed the authenticity of the document.

Niamey does seem to have had some success in squeezing extra money
from Areva. The minutes of the meeting show that Areva agreed to pay
Niger an extra 35 million euros over three years from 2013 in
compensation for delays to a giant uranium mine it is building at
Imouraren in northern Niger.

President Issoufou insists that mine, which will provide thousands of
new jobs, must start production before he runs for re-election in 2016.

Areva's Wantz said publicly in March that the fee was to pay for
security - even though the current contract says the safety of the mines
is Niger's responsibility.

Security is certainly a big concern. Seven people connected with a
Somair project were kidnapped in 2010 by al Qaeda's local wing, though
all have since been released. In May, the Somair mine was attacked by al
Qaeda-linked suicide bombers, and the region is now crawling with
military.

Some European contractors have pulled out altogether and northern
Niger is considered a no-go zone for Europeans. The Islamist threat has
placed a huge strain on Niger's budget, upping the stakes in the talks.

"We need to control the north of Niger more and, for that, we need
infrastructure for which we must be aided by our international
partners," Foreign Minister Mohamed Bazoum told Reuters.

The question for Issoufou is how hard he pushes President Francois
Hollande on a new deal. Trained in France as a mining engineer, Niger's
president is a longtime democracy activist who has known Hollande since
their days in the Socialist International together. Issoufou even worked
for Areva at one of the mines between 1985 and 1992, including as
Secretary General.

Issoufou started pushing for a better price for Niger's uranium
almost as soon as he was elected in 2011. But despite what the French
diplomatic source describes as a "relationship of trust" between
Issoufou and Hollande, Niger's new demands have raised hackles in Paris.

"The climate that has developed between the two parties is not very good," the diplomat said.

Issoufou said in December that the talks were progressing "normally"
but has suggested Niger may turn to other countries - he did not say
which - to help extract its mineral wealth. The contract negotiations
are front page news in Niger and there have been strikes and
demonstrations against Areva.

A glance at Niger's budget explains why it matters. Western aid
accounts for nearly 40 percent of the state budget, much of it from
France; as a percentage of GDP, Niger's tax revenues are the lowest in
West Africa according to the IMF.

"Today Niger is faced with the power of France. Niger is not
negotiating with a company," said Ali Idrissa, head of ROTAB, the local
arm of transparency campaigner Publish What You Pay.

Areva is prepared to play hardball. The firm threatened to shut
production at Somair in October after Niger failed to find a buyer for
its small share of 2013 production. ($1 = 0.7402 euros) ($1 = 485.5160
CFA francs)

(Flynn reported from Arlit, de Clercq from Paris; Edited by Simon Robinson and Sara Ledwith)




Dernière modification par Aiglenoir le févr. 05, 14 11:08 pm, modifié 1 fois.
Mark 12:10 The stone which the builders rejected is become the cornerstone.



Frontrunner
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Re:Le NIGER demande pirx juste pr son aluminum

Message par Frontrunner » févr. 05, 14 10:37 pm

Le Niger n’aura que dalle !C’est pas la marionnette Mahamadou Issifou qui sera en mesure d’obtenir quoi que ce soit de l’Etat Français.

Ce guignol d’Issifou qui demande à ce que l’OTAN intervienne de nouveau en Libye(alors que l'Alliance Atlantique n'est jamais vraiment partie) doit son « élection » à l’appui de la France, et il devrait donc savoir qu’Areeva ne lui donnera pas un sou



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