By Jason Mitchell Niger — one of the world’s poorest countries — could become considerably wealthier if its uranium resources were fully exploited, but political instability is hampering its development. The land-locked country’s uranium resources total 311,000 metric tonnes (mt), the third highest in Africa after Namibia (470,000 mt) and South Africa (320,000 mt), according to Statista. It has the continent’s highest-grade uranium ores. In 2022, it produced 2,020 mt of uranium, down from 2,991 mt in 2020, according to the World Nuclear Association (WNA). By 2022, Niger was the world’s seventh…