The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday, July 6, edition that Canadian mining company GoviEx Uranium has lost its right to develop a uranium project in Niger. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe reports that the West African country revoked the mining permit held by French firm Orano SA just weeks ago. The Mines Ministry of Niger informed GoviEx Uranium that it no longer holds the rights over the Madaouela mining permit, which is now in the public domain. GoviEx stated that it reserves the right to challenge the decision to withdraw the mining rights before the appropriate national or international authorities. Orano also faced a similar situation when the Niger government, which took power through a coup in 2023, revoked a mining permit for its subsidiary Imouraren. Niger possesses Africa's highest-grade uranium ores and ranks as the world's seventh-largest uranium producer. Uranium is widely used as fuel for nuclear energy, in cancer treatment, for naval propulsion and in nuclear weapons. This development poses a setback for GoviEx, as it was in the process of raising about $200-million (U.S.) through debt financing to finance the Madaouela project.