[jdeegan]

The French Foreign Legion based in Corsica takes care of problems that may arise in the wastelands of the Sahara. Problem. Solution.

[Gerben42]

From what I've heard, France has more interest than just getting rid of some islamist in the desert. Most of the uranium mines in the region (own by the company I work for, hence owned by France) are in Niger close to the occupied region. And there's oil around too.

So just like the USA in Iraq, it's about energy. Since when do western powers care about locals? Like never...

[jdeegan]

 Gerben42, on 2013-January-27, 07:58, said:

From what I've heard, France has more interest than just getting rid of some islamist in the desert. Most of the uranium mines in the region (own by the company I work for, hence owned by France) are in Niger close to the occupied region. And there's oil around too.

So just like the USA in Iraq, it's about energy. Since when do western powers care about locals? Like never...

As a third generation US oilman, I can assure you that if you can't make a mutually satisfactory deal with "the locals" you won't be in business for long. In the US about 25% of gross wellhead revenues goes to "the locals". In very rich fields like those in Saudi Arabia the percentage is 80 to 90%.

There is a uranium mine in northern Niger complete with a railroad connected to the coast. Reportedly it uses too much water in a VERY dry part of the world, so I believe I heard it had been shut down. That said, in many parts of the Sahara deep tube wells can tap a large(although probably not infinite) reservoir of underground water. There ought to be a way to satisfy everybody involved when it comes to water or money for that matter. Remember that with the end of the Cold War and the dismantling of many nuclear weapons, the market for uranium oxide has been terrible. That may be why the mine shut down.