Niger wants to boost its economy and expand its mining industry by mining copper in the Agadez region. The country granted a permit to national firm Compagnie Miniere de l'Air (Cominair SA).

"Niger is continuing its programme of diversifying mining production" with a move that "marks its entry into the restricted circle of countries producing this strategic mineral," according to a statement from Niger's military government, which took power following a July 2023 coup.

Ulf Laessing, head of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation's Sahel regional program in neighboring Mali, said the concession is part of Niger's strategy to reduce its reliance on foreign companies for mineral extraction.

Laessing said that it was impossible to predict how successful the project will be.

"The copper mine is in the north, not far from Libya, where the security situation is very poor," he noted, adding that Niger is following a trend seen in Burkina and Mali, where military governments rely more on local companies, rather than Western ones.

The operators of the mine located in Niger's second largest city, Moradi, expect to produce an average of 2,700 tons of copper per year over a period of ten years.

Niger's government hopes that the mine will create hundreds of new jobs and a lucrative business. Copper is currently traded on the world market for $9,700 (€8,789) per ton.

A small scale permit has meanwhile been granted to Nigerien firm Compagnie Miniere de Recherche et d'Exploitation (Comirex SA) at Dannet to produce lithium, a key component of the rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that power everything from cellphones to electric vehicles.

The company expects to produce 300 tons of lithium a year. The Nigerien state holds a 25% stake in the Cominair copper mine and a 40% stake in Comirex in order to maintain the government's control over the nation's resources.

For decades, the desert state was also a major producer of uranium, known as the "white gold" of the

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