Niger revokes GoviEx Uranium's mining license

GoviEx Uranium (TSXV:GXU,OTCQX:GVXXF) said on Thursday (July 4) that the Niger government has revoked its rights to the perimeter of the Madaouela mining permit. It is now in the public domain.

The decision comes after a military coup in the country last summer. At the time, GoviEx said operations at Madaouela were moving forward as usual, with stability anticipated. However, this past April the company said it was at risk of losing its mining permit if it wasn't able to start mining at Madaouela by July 4 of this year.

In its Thursday press release, GoviEx states that it has completed 650,000 meters of drilling at Madaouela since 2007, developing it into one of the world's largest-known uranium resources. It also says the license withdrawal doesn't follow the procedure outlined in Niger's mining code — GoviEx has emphasized that while it wants to engage with the government, it may challenge the decision in court nationally or internationally.

Last month, Niger revoked the mining permit for Orano's Imouraren uranium project. The French nuclear fuel cycle company currently produces the energy fuel at the Somair mine in Niger, which is one of the largest uranium mines in the world, but work to bring Imouraren into production was suspended in 2015 due to unfavorable market conditions.

With uranium prices now much higher, Niger had warned it would remove Orano's permit if development work hadn't started by June 19. While Orano said in its statement that infrastructure at the site had reopened on June 4, with other activities in progress, those efforts weren't enough to satisfy Niger.

Bullet briefing — News from First Quantum, Rio Tinto and Ivanhoe Mines

First Quantum faces Cobre Panama audit

Jose Raul Mulino, Panama's new leader, announced during his first address as president that he plans to order a "strict environmental audit" of First Quantum Minerals' (TSX:FM,OTC Pink:FQVLF) Cobre Panama mine, which was shut down last December after protests. Company shares ticked up on the news, but First Quantum has yet to comment.

Rio Tinto signs deals with juniors

Major miner Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO,LSE:RIO,NYSE:RIO) shook hands with two exploration companies this week. It increased its stake in Sovereign Metals (ASX:SVM,LSE:SVML) to 19.76 percent with an investment of AU$18.5 million, and executed an optbion to joint venture for soon-to-be-public Saga Metals' Québec-based Legacy lithium project.

Ivanhoe restarts Kipushi mine

Robert Friedland's Ivanhoe Mines (TSX:IVN,OTCQX:IVPAF) finished the construction and restart of the Kipushi zinc-copper-lead-germanium mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The company has zinc concentrate offtake deals with CITIC Metal (SHA:601061) and Trafigura Asia Trading, with more agreements expected to be signed in the coming months.

INN at the Rule Symposium

The Rule Symposium is scheduled to run from July 7 to 11 in Boca Raton, Florida, and I'll be heading there to speak with Rick Rule himself, as well as experts like Adrian Day, Lobo Tiggre and more.

Email cmcleod@investingnews.com with topics you'd like to see covered.

You can also watch our latest interview with Rule here and click here to sign up for the symposium.