Under the terms of the deal, Areva also agreed to rebuild the road to its mines, fund a local development project and building a new headquarters in the capital
DAKAR, June 4 (Reuters) - Niger expects to receive more than 20 billion CFA francs ($42 million) a year in additional tax revenues thanks to the renegotiation of its long-term uranium production deals with France's Areva last month, the mining minister said.
Omar Hamidou Tchiana told Radio France International (RFI) that the government expected to see tax revenues increase by around 25 to 30 percent from the Cominak and Somair mines operated by Areva in the desert town of Arlit in Niger's far north.
"We think that Somair, which is profitable, will pay a bit more than 15 billion CFA francs ... Cominak will pay some 5 to 7 billion CFA francs more," the minister said.
A combined figure of 20 billion CFA francs would represent about 5 percent of the annual budget of Niger, one of the world's poorest countries.
The deal, signed on May 26, brought Areva's production agreements into line with a 2006 mining law that raised royalties - a tax based on the market value of the minerals produced - from 5.5 percent to as high as 12 percent, depending on profitability.
Under the terms of a long-awaited deal, the state-owned French company also agreed to pay a total of 117 million euros ($159 million) in rebuilding the road to its mines in Arlit, funding a local development project, and building a new headquarters in the capital Niamey.
The deal postponed the entry into production of the giant Imouraren mine - which would roughly double Niger's production from around 4,500 tonnes a year at present - until uranium prices improve.
Asked when he thought production would start at the mine, Tchiana said: "We think around 2020. But that, once again, depends on the price in the market."
He said that, under a strategic partnership agreement between Areva and Niger, investment at the site would begin from Jan. 1, 2017.
($1 = 481.5950 Central African Cfa Franc Beacs)
($1 = 0.7341 Euros)
(Reporting by Daniel Flynn; Editing by Pravin Char)
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