Editing Economy of Niger (section)

===Mining===
{{main|Mining in Niger}}
The persistent uranium price slump has brought lower revenues for Niger's uranium sector. Uranium no longer provides the majority of national export proceeds. The nation enjoyed substantial export earnings and rapid economic growth during the 1960s and 1970s after the opening of two large uranium mines near the northern town of [[Arlit]]. When the uranium-led boom ended in the early 1980s, however, the economy stagnated and new investment since then has been limited. Niger's two uranium mines ([[SOMAIR]]'s open pit mine and [[COMINAK]]'s underground mine) are owned by a French-led consortium and operated by French interests.
[[Image:MineArlit1.jpg|thumb|right|The open pit [[COMINAK]] [[uranium]] mine at [[Arlit]].]]

Exploitable deposits of gold are known to exist in Niger in the region between the [[Niger River]] and the border with [[Burkina Faso]]. Substantial deposits of [[phosphate]]s, [[coal]], [[Iron ore|iron]], [[limestone]], and [[gypsum]] have also been found. Numerous foreign companies, including American firms, have taken out exploration licenses for concessions in the gold seam in western Niger, which also contains deposits of other minerals.

Several oil companies explored for petroleum since 1992 in the Djado plateau in north-eastern Niger and the Agadem basin, north of Lake Chad but made no discoveries worth developing at the time. In June 2007, however, [[China National Petroleum Corporation]] (state-owned by the People's Republic of China) signed a [[United States dollar|US$]]5 billion agreement to extract oil in the Agadem block, as well as build a {{convert|20000|oilbbl|m3}} per day [[oil refinery]] and a 2,000&nbsp;km [[Pipeline transport|oil pipeline]] in the country; production is expected to start in 2009.<ref>{{cite news |title=Niger set to become oil producer |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7434092.stm |work=[[BBC News]] |date=2007-06-03 |access-date=2008-06-07 |archive-date=2008-07-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080731025642/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7434092.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

Niger's known coal reserves, with low energy and high ash content, cannot compete against higher quality coal on the world market. However, the parastatal SONICHAR ([[Société nigérienne de charbon]]) in [[Tchirozerine]] (north of [[Agadez]]) extracts coal from an open pit and fuels an electricity generating plant that supplies energy to the uranium mines.
[[Image:Niger 2008 oilrig.jpg|thumb|right|A test [[Oil well]] in the [[Tenere Desert]], January 2008.]]