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December 02, 2005

Spies, Lies and Yellowcake

I have a few days holiday in Niger at the mo, and during the past week I have become hopelessly fascinated by uranium. I have been reading about the element itself and its military uses and the mines here in Niger, and especially about the so-called Yellowcake documents - evidence cited by Blair and Bush to prove that Saddam was after Nigerien uranium, which turned out to be fakes emanating from an Italian spy called Rocco Martino. It is a great story, and I would really like to go and see the Arlit mine which is at the centre of the whole Hullaballoo. I would even more like to write an Alex-Rider-esque children's story set there. Spies, Tuaregs and International Intrigue - Perfect.

My story, like Blair's accusation of Niger, would of course be mostly fiction, but a bit of research can not do any harm.

The Arlit mine is guarded by Nigerien soldiers and private security personnel and the surrounding desert is so flat that intruders are visible for miles around. So I did the Ministry Dance in Niamey this morning, visiting The Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Mines and the base of the French mining company Sofair, seeking permission to visit the mine. I got passed from office to office and desk to desk like a bottle of Tipex, and eventually ran into a deadend - in the form of a smiling 'Come back on Tuesday and we'll see what we can do.'

I'll go back on Tuesday and see what they can do.

Posted by sahelsteve at December 2, 2005 12:52 PM