Dasa is a uranium project in Niger’s Agadez Region. Its feasibility report describes an underground mine reached by a decline and using longhole open stoping—not in-situ recovery (ISR). ISR is a different method: wells circulate a solution through suitable uranium-bearing rock, then bring uranium-bearing fluid to the surface for processing.
Where is the Dasa uranium project?
The project is in the rural commune of Tchirozérine in northern Niger’s Agadez Region, east of the RN25 highway. Its deposit is hosted in Cretaceous sandstone in the Tim Mersoï basin, according to the DFC-hosted environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) non-technical summary. The summary also places the project in a region with a history of uranium mining.
The DFC’s ESIA document index lists the project ESIA, a non-technical summary and an addendum. The assessment materials describe planned environmental and social management measures for construction, operations and closure; their inclusion documents plans, not independently verified results.
Is Dasa an in-situ recovery mine?
No—not according to the available feasibility design. The Dasa Uranium Project feasibility study, NI 43-101 technical report, dated February 28, 2024 and amended in January 2026, describes underground access through a decline and mechanized longhole open stoping with fill. In this approach, miners access the deposit through underground workings and excavate ore for handling and processing.
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That is distinct from ISR, which recovers uranium by circulating solution through the deposit underground rather than excavating the ore for transport. Dasa’s sandstone geology alone does not establish that it uses ISR or is suitable for it; the project report’s stated design is underground mining.
How does uranium ISR work?
ISR is also called in-situ leaching or solution mining. It keeps the ore underground during recovery and uses wells to move a lixiviant—a liquid that dissolves uranium—through a suitable uranium-bearing formation. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) describes the process as follows:
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- Inject solution: Wells deliver lixiviant into the uranium-bearing zone. The NRC says it is typically water mixed with oxygen and/or hydrogen peroxide and sodium carbonate or carbon dioxide; the chemistry is not universal across all operations.
- Dissolve uranium: As the solution flows through the formation, it dissolves uranium minerals and carries uranium into the fluid.
- Recover the fluid: Recovery wells pump the uranium-bearing solution back to the surface.
- Process the solution: A surface plant separates and concentrates the uranium from the recovered fluid.
The NRC’s explanations of in-situ recovery facilities and uranium recovery methods describe the well-and-solution process and distinguish it from conventional mining, where ore is excavated and transported for processing.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What determines whether ISR can be used?
ISR is not suitable for every uranium deposit. It depends on the geology and hydrology of the subsurface formation: the ore-bearing zone must allow solution to move through it and be recovered through wells under appropriate conditions. The NRC notes that ISR can be conducted only where certain subsurface conditions are present.
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The distinction is therefore not simply between two surface-processing choices. ISR recovers uranium from ore left underground through injected and recovered solution; Dasa’s documented design excavates ore through underground workings. These descriptions establish different recovery routes, but do not by themselves show that one method is always safer, less costly or environmentally preferable.
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