Madar (Niamey) - Niger's Minister of Mines, Commissioner Colonel-Major Abarchi Ousmane, on Wednesday, 11 November 2026 launched works to set up an industrial salt production unit at Tidikelt, a village in the rural commune of Ingall in the Agadez region, the state daily Le Sahel reported on Friday, 13 November.
According to the newspaper, the project is led by state-owned mining company SOPAMIN. It aims to reduce the country's dependence on salt imports, create jobs and contribute to the economic development of the Agadez region.
The company's technical and operations director put the site's potential at around 192 million tonnes of reserves, at a grade of 32 grams per litre, including nearly 25 million tonnes of recoverable resources, which he said could allow several decades of production and cover national needs.
The project will be carried out in three phases. The first covers preparatory work, including feasibility and environmental and social impact studies, and arrangements for cooperation with local communities. The second involves nine boreholes to extract brine, 12 hectares of evaporation ponds and 4 hectares of crystallisation ponds. The third will add a reverse osmosis unit that is also meant to produce drinking water on site. Capacity is eventually expected to reach 40,000 tonnes of salt a year.
SOPAMIN's director general said initial work had included rehabilitating boreholes, water infrastructure and old salt pans. She said the company's portfolio now ranges from gold and cassiterite to copper, salt and gypsum, and that it intends to preserve the centuries-old know-how of local producers.
The minister recalled that salt was once nicknamed "white gold" and was a major trade commodity on trans-Saharan routes. He said the project aims at gradual national self-sufficiency in salt and its by-products, lower imports and more stable domestic prices, and urged local communities to take ownership of it.
The launch came a day after the minister met artisanal gold miners in Agadez and urged them to move into the legal framework.
