AREVA in Niger: The group's subsidiaries formally pledge their commitment to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI)

On May 9, 2008, AREVA's two mining subsidiaries in Niger, SOMAIR and COMINAK, formally pledged their commitment to the EITI. Meanwhile, the group recently appointed two coordinators specifically to deal with issues related to the EITI, both at the group and Mining Business Unit levels. These actions demonstrate the importance that AREVA gives to the EITI in its mining activities.

In accordance with the principles of the Initiative, the two subsidiaries are preparing to declare for the first time to the EITI Permanent Secretary in Niger the amounts of the various taxes they have paid to the government in the last three years for permits to mine uranium in Niger.

AREVA has participated in the EITI since June 2003, and Niger signed on to implement the Initiative in March 2005. In the spirit of the Initiative, the validation procedure implemented by SOMAIR and COMINAK confirms the group's advance in the EITI process.