Morocco Joins the Big League with Uranium Production from Phosphate: A Sovereign Investment Worth $100 Million

ALDAR/

The Moroccan state-owned company URANEXT, affiliated with the OCP Group (Office Chérifien des Phosphates), has announced a massive investment estimated at $100 million to begin extracting uranium from phosphate deposits near the Yellow Cliff (Jorf Lasfar). This ambitious project marks a qualitative leap in the history of Moroccan industry and signals a clear strategic move towards enhancing national sovereignty in the energy sector, especially amid geopolitical shifts that have affected global strategic resource markets.

What distinguishes this project is not only its financial magnitude or its delicate nuclear nature but also the fact that it is the fruit of a purely Moroccan effort, with 100% Moroccan capital and human resources—engineers, technicians, and experts—in collaboration with the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University in Benguerir, which has played a pivotal role in supporting innovation and scientific development related to the phosphate value chain and its derivatives.

Morocco, which holds one of the world’s largest phosphate reserves, has long been considered a benchmark in phosphate industries. Yet today, it opens an entirely new chapter by introducing a new element to its resource equation: uranium. This element, extracted from phosphoric acid, is gaining increasing importance amid the renewed momentum of nuclear energy as a sustainable and efficient option for electricity generation. While the world currently witnesses a race to secure clean and safe energy sources, Morocco, with this initiative, not only joins the ranks of advanced countries but also contributes to reshaping the global energy landscape through the gateway of phosphate.

Geological data indicate that Moroccan phosphate contains massive quantities of extractable uranium, placing the Kingdom in a strategic position that could qualify it to become a key player in the international uranium market in the coming years—especially as the international context moves toward diversifying supply sources away from conflict zones and areas of instability. Hence, the importance of this project lies not only in producing a strategic material but also in strengthening Morocco’s standing on the global energy security map.

This new investment also reflects official awareness of the need to transition toward a more proactive economic model, where scientific research is harnessed to serve the country’s strategic priorities. The cooperation with the Polytechnic University in Benguerir reflects a comprehensive vision that integrates industrial development, investment in national competencies, and local innovation—capable of creating a new economic dynamic around the peaceful nuclear energy sector in the future.

With this project, Morocco is not merely exploiting a new natural resource; it is effectively announcing the start of a new phase of advanced industrial development, making it a pioneering African and Arab model in converting traditional resources into tools for technological and economic leadership—relying entirely on its own capabilities without dependence on external powers. Truly, this is the beginning of playing with the big leagues—but with purely Moroccan rules.