The US Development Finance Corporation has approved up to $414m in financing for Canadian miner Global Atomic's Dasa uranium project in Niger (a landlocked West African nation and the world's seventh-largest uranium producer), marking a significant shift in relations between Washington and Niamey two years after American troops were expelled. The investment targets what the company describes as Africa's highest-grade uranium deposit, and comes as Niger is locked in a dispute with French state-backed miner Orano, creating an opening for the US to secure access to a resource now listed as a critical mineral. The deal carries notable geopolitical weight: Niger's military junta, which seized power in 2023, subsequently expelled both US and French forces and invited Russian security support, making the financing agreement a rare diplomatic overture — and one US officials hope may also ease tensions in the strained US-Canada trade relationship.