France Sets Sight on Botswana to Secure Uranium
On 24 August 2026, France’s state-owned Orano Mining secured three new uranium prospecting licenses for #uranium in Botswana. These new licenses in Botswana provide France with a breath of fresh air after Orana’s uranium assets in Niger were nationalized.
The three licenses corresponds to three blocks and each block has an area of roughly 970 hectares. They are specifically for uranium and are valid for a period of three years with an expiry in March 2029.
Orano entered Botswana by registering a local subsidiary on 10 April 2025, shortly after Botswana’s President Duma Boko met with France’s President Emmanuel Macron and Orano executives in Paris on 8 April 2026. The high-level meeting allowed for fast-tracking of the administrative process.
Actually, France already possesses 15 licenses through Compagnie Francaise de Mines et Metaux (CFMM) — another subsidiary of Orano — which are valid through September 2028. Adding the three new licenses, Orano now holds exploration rights over roughly 15,000 square kilometers. The blocks are primarily located in Ghanzi District in the Central Kalahari Desert, not far from the western border with Namibia
Orano stressed that its Botswana operations are in the early-stage exploration phase, and commercial extraction remains ‘years away.’ Botswana is keen to diversify from diamond mining and even contemplates a future with a well-managed and low-polluting nuclear power.
Currently, France operates 19 nuclear power plants with 57 nuclear power reactors. All these nuclear reactors utilize uranium as fuel, and they have a combined generation capacity of 63 GW. In 2025, nuclear energy accounted for nearly 70% of France’s total electricity production.
Under the 3rd Multiannual Energy Program (PPE3), France plans to build another 14 next-generation nuclear reactors to further reduce its reliance on fossil fuels. In addition, France wants to house power-hungry AI data centers within its territory to ensure its technological sovereignty.