The Financial Post reports in its Saturday, July 6, edition that GoviEX Uranium, a Vancouver-based company that mines in Niger, saw its shares tumble after reporting that the West African country's military leaders withdrew its permit. A Bloomberg dispatch to the Post reports that GoviEX has operated in Niger since 2007. The decline came after the government sent the company a letter saying it "no longer has the rights over the perimeter of the Madaouela mining permit." The revocation of GoviEX's permit follows the Nigerien junta's decision last month to scrap French nuclear group Orano SA's right to develop a uranium mine. Niger has forged closer ties with Russia since a coup in the African country last year. Niger accounted for about 4 per cent of global uranium mine production in 2022. One of the world's poorest countries, Niger expelled French forces last year and ended a decade-long security deal with the United States, which has until mid-September to withdraw its troops stationed in the country.