By Sonny Rollins
Atomic Eagle Ltd has secured a 60% interest and operational control of the Madaouela uranium project in Niger, ending a dispute over the asset and restoring the company’s position in one of West Africa’s largest undeveloped uranium projects.
The agreement with the Republic of Niger triggered a sharp market reaction. Shares in Atomic Eagle, listed on the Australian Securities Exchange as ASX: AEU, rose as much as 17.4% in morning trading, reaching A$0.54 from a previous close of A$0.46, according to Proactive Investors.
The company said it has begun work to verify the project’s historical technical data and intends to publish a JORC-compliant mineral resource estimate in the fourth quarter of 2026.
Madaouela agreement restores project control
Under the new mining convention, Atomic Eagle will hold 60% of Madaouela through a newly incorporated Nigerien subsidiary, Madaouela Mining Company SA, or MAMICO. Niger will retain the remaining 40%, comprising a 15% free-carried interest and a 25% contributing interest.
The arrangement follows the withdrawal of the Madaouela I exploitation permit in July 2024. The permit reverted to the Nigerien state, prompting the previous project holder, GoviEx Uranium, to begin international arbitration proceedings.
GoviEx later merged with Tombador Iron in November 2025 to form Atomic Eagle. The company said the arbitration proceedings will be withdrawn within seven days of the mining convention being signed, providing a commercial resolution to the dispute.
The new exploitation permit has an initial 10-year term. It can be renewed for successive five-year periods over the life of the mine, subject to the terms of the convention and applicable regulations.
Atomic Eagle Chief Executive Phil Hoskins called the agreement a “transformational outcome” for the company.
“Madaouela is a large, high-grade uranium asset supported by an extensive body of historical work, and we see clear opportunities to further define and optimise the Project’s development potential,” Hoskins said, according to the company’s announcement cited by Proactive Investors.
Madaouela at a glance
| Metric | Detail |
|---|---|
| Atomic Eagle interest | 60% |
| Nigerien state interest | 40% |
| Nigerien free-carried interest | 15% |
| Nigerien contributing interest | 25% |
| Foreign mineral resource estimate | 116.5 million pounds U₃O₈ |
| Reported grade | 1,282 parts per million U₃O₈ |
| Resource tonnage | 41.21 million tonnes |
| Target for JORC estimate | Q4 2026 |
| Project area | Approximately 122.9 square kilometres |
The agreement also includes legal, fiscal and regulatory stabilisation provisions, access to international arbitration under the ICSID framework and a structure for future uranium offtake arrangements. Those provisions are significant for a project that has faced uncertainty over permitting, ownership and the operating environment.
Large historical resource requires verification
Madaouela currently hosts a foreign mineral resource estimate of 116.5 million pounds of contained uranium oxide, or U₃O₈, at a reported grade of 1,282 parts per million.
The estimate covers approximately 41.21 million tonnes and includes:
- 30.1 million pounds in the Measured category;
- 66.8 million pounds in the Indicated category; and
- 19.6 million pounds in the Inferred category.
The estimate was prepared under the Canadian NI 43-101 reporting framework and is not currently compliant with the JORC Code used for reporting mineral resources in Australia.
That distinction will be central to the project’s next phase. Atomic Eagle must validate the historical drilling database, confirm assay and radiometric records, review the geological interpretation and assess the quality-control and quality-assurance procedures used in earlier work before the resource can be converted into a JORC-compliant estimate.
The company said approximately 600,000 metres of historical drilling and feasibility-level technical studies support the existing estimate. Historical work indicates that the uranium mineralisation is shallow and laterally extensive, with conventional mining methods previously considered for the deposits.
Exploration drilling and sample handling are expected to support Atomic Eagle’s resource verification program.
Madaouela is located near Arlit in north-central Niger, an established uranium-producing region. The project covers approximately 122.9 square kilometres, with sandstone-hosted uranium deposits extending across several prospects over roughly 17 kilometres.
Niger’s role in the uranium market has made the project strategically important beyond Atomic Eagle’s portfolio. The country has long been associated with uranium production, while the broader industry is monitoring how permitting, state participation, security and foreign investment frameworks evolve. The World Nuclear Association’s profile of Niger provides additional background on the country’s uranium sector.
Commercial terms add clarity but leave funding questions
Atomic Eagle has agreed to pay US$5 million within 30 days of the exploitation permit being issued, followed by a further US$5 million when construction begins.
The convention establishes a framework for project funding, but the company has not yet provided a full development capital estimate or construction schedule. Atomic Eagle said it will advance technical and financing work in parallel, including consideration of potential strategic partnerships.
The legal and fiscal stabilisation measures are intended to reduce uncertainty around the project’s long-term operating conditions. The offtake provisions could also become important as the company evaluates future uranium sales and financing structures.
However, the agreement does not by itself establish that Madaouela is ready for construction. The immediate priorities remain resource verification, technical optimisation, permitting documentation, development studies and funding.
For investors and mining sector decision-makers, the distinction between securing tenure and reaching a final investment decision remains important. Atomic Eagle now has a clearer route to advance the project, but development will depend on the results of the updated technical work and the company’s ability to secure capital.
Dual-asset uranium platform
The agreement gives Atomic Eagle a second major uranium development asset alongside its flagship Muntanga project in Zambia.
Muntanga is 100%-owned by Atomic Eagle and hosts a JORC mineral resource of 58.8 million pounds of U₃O₈. The company has continued drilling at Muntanga during 2026 and is targeting updated feasibility work from 2027.
The addition of Madaouela creates a dual-asset uranium platform across Zambia and Niger. It also increases the company’s exposure to two different national operating environments, each with its own permitting, infrastructure, security and government-participation considerations.
Historical drill core and geological records will be reviewed as part of the JORC verification process.
The portfolio expansion comes as uranium developers continue to assess how rising long-term interest in nuclear power may affect project economics, contracting and financing. Those market conditions can improve the development case for advanced deposits, but they do not remove the technical and sovereign risks associated with large projects in emerging mining jurisdictions.
Madaouela’s scale and historical work may allow Atomic Eagle to move more quickly than a greenfield exploration company, provided the historical information can be independently validated. The company’s ability to demonstrate continuity, classification confidence and practical mineability under current standards will be closely watched.
What to watch next
The next material milestone is Atomic Eagle’s planned JORC-compliant mineral resource estimate in Q4 2026. The estimate should clarify how much of the existing 116.5 million-pound foreign resource can be confirmed under the JORC Code and whether further drilling or data collection is required.
Other developments likely to draw attention include:
- Completion of permit documentation: The exploitation permit and supporting legal instruments will provide more detail on obligations, renewal conditions and operating rights.
- Resource verification results: The quality of historical drilling, assays, radiometric data and QA/QC records will determine the confidence of the updated estimate.
- Development pathway: Atomic Eagle is expected to assess mining methods, processing options, infrastructure requirements and project sequencing.
- Funding and partnerships: The company has indicated that it will evaluate financing structures and potential strategic partners.
- Integration with Muntanga: Investors will assess how Atomic Eagle allocates capital and management resources between its Niger and Zambia projects.
The project’s next phase will focus on technical optimisation, permitting and development planning.
Atomic Eagle’s agreement marks a significant change from the uncertainty that followed the withdrawal of the Madaouela I permit. It gives the company a formal 60% position, a defined state-participation structure and a route toward updating the project’s mineral resource.
The market reaction shows the importance investors placed on the resolution. The more substantive test will come as Atomic Eagle converts historical work into current, independently supportable technical data and defines the capital and schedule required to advance Madaouela toward development.
For the uranium sector, the agreement places a large Nigerien project back into active development discussions. For Atomic Eagle, it broadens the company’s African uranium portfolio while creating a new set of technical, financing and country-risk decisions.
Social media snippet: Atomic Eagle has secured a 60% interest and operational control of Niger’s Madaouela uranium project, resolving a permit dispute and targeting a JORC-compliant resource estimate for Q4 2026. Shares rose as much as 17.4% on the ASX. Read the full mining news analysis.