Niger approves incentives for big mining projects

NIAMEY, April 11 (Reuters) - Uranium-rich has amended its mining law to allow tax and customs breaks for investors in major mining projects, the government said on Friday. Niger, which exports 3,000 tonnes of uranium a year from two mines operated by France's Areva (CEPFi.PA: Quote, Profile, Research), will grant the concessions to projects involving more than 300 billion CFA francs ($724 million) of investment and employing over 800 local workers.

"The adoption of this new regime will encourage the immediate exploitation of some mineral deposits which have been identified for more than half a century," said a government statement.

The impoverished, landlocked central African country, battling an armed uprising by Tuareg-led rebels in its uranium-rich desert north, has issued scores of new mining permits in recent years to entice new investment to the sector. Areva received approval in January for its 1-billion-euro ($1.58 billion) Imoumaren mine, which will produce 5,000 tonnes of uranium a year from 2010, which could rank Niger as the world's second largest exporter.

A source close to the government said the exact terms of the tax benefits would be agreed on a case-by-case basis, but could include partial exoneration from property and income taxes and duties on gasoline and other sources of energy.

(For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: africa.reuters.com/ ) (Reporting by Abdoulaye Massalatchi; writing by Daniel Flynn; editing by Chris Johnson)