The government of Niger has issued TSX-V-listed GoviEx Uranium with a letter, stating that it no longer has rights over the perimeter of the Madaouela mining permit.

GoviEx operated the project and holds an 80% interest in the Nigerien operating company Comima, with the remaining 20% held by the Niger government, of which 10% represents a free-carry interest.

GoviEx notes in a statement to shareholders that the decision to withdraw the company’s mining rights did not follow the withdrawal procedure prescribed under the applicable mining code.

While GoviEx is committed to maintaining transparency and continuing its engagement with government officials and stakeholders, it reserves the right to challenge the decision to withdraw the mining rights before the competent national or international jurisdictions.

Since the start of its operations in Niger in 2007, the company has completed an unprecedented 650 000 m drilling campaign to define its potential mineral resource, which is now among the largest known in the world.

GoviEx has successfully advanced the Madaouela project from its initial exploration phase, through a period of historically low uranium prices, to the publication of its feasibility study in late 2022.

With the recent recovery in uranium prices, the Madaouela project was poised for development and the company had started to advance despite the political changes in Niger since the coup d’etat on July 26 last year.

Over the last year, GoviEx received expressions of interest worth more than $200-million for project-related debt finance, started social and environmental due diligence with a prospective lender, updated its environmental and social impact assessment, started with front-end engineering design and initial ground works, including the construction of an access road, and started exploitation.

In June, the company received its radiological certificate, which is a regulatory requirement prior to starting mining operations.

GoviEx believes that the Niger government’s decision to withdraw the mining rights for the Madaouela project will have a negative impact on the economic and social development of the region.

With a forecast initial capital expenditure of $343-million, as well as considerable employment opportunities, the project was forecast to create up to 800 jobs over its projected 20-year mine life, with substantial royalty payments and taxes payable to the government.

GoviEx is an international company with a diverse portfolio of uranium projects.

The company continues to progress its mine-permitted Muntanga project, in Zambia, and is expected to publish its feasibility study in the second half of this year.

Newswire Bloomberg reported on July 5 that GoviEx’s share price on the TSX had crashed by about 35% on the news of the mining rights being withdrawn.