As Kazakhstan investigates whether state officials sold uranium assets to foreign companies illegally, Niger - and its uranium market - is undergoing a small crisis of its own.

Niger President Mamadou Tandja dissolved parliament earlier this week after a constitutional court said it would be illegal to hold a public referendum on whether he could run for a third presidential term.

His second five-year term runs its course later this year, but the government had been angling for a constitutional change that would allow him to run a third time.

Now that parliament is dissolved, a new parliament will apparently have to be elected within three months. The government also said Tandja wouldn't be bound by court or parliamentary decisions regarding his move to run for a third term.

Political unrest, especially from opposing political parties, is spreading, with street demonstrations and the rise of anti-referendum coalitions.

On the face of it, this looks like political wrangling, but given the history of power grabs in African countries, this could be a precursor to economic instability in a region that often sees the military step in to resolve political upheavals, one uranium markets analyst said.

Kazakhstan's and Niger's political risks are now climbing in the eyes of global uranium buyers.

"There is a strong possibility that the heightened political risk globally may encourage fuel buyers to enter the spot market over the next few months in order to build strategic inventories as protection against possible supply disruption," said BMO Capital Markets analyst Edward Sterck in a note Thursday.

Uranium spot prices are about US$50 a pound, a price that is likely to mover higher if demand spikes.

Niger produces between 7% and 8% of the world's supply of uranium, and the major players are there in earnest.

Cameco Corp. (CCJ), the world's largest uranium producer, has an 11% stake in Govi High Power Exploration Inc, a private company run by Govind Friedland, who is the son of mining entrepreneur and Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. (IVN) executive chairman Robert Friedland.

Cameco has the right to increase its ownership stake to 48% over the next four years - a move that might be in jeopardy if the Niger political landscape explodes, the analyst said.

Areva S.A. (CEI.FR) is expected to begin production at its Imouraren uranium mine in 2012; it's to produce 5,000 metric tons a year for some 35 years.

China Nuclear International Uranium Corp. is investing $300 million in a mine to come on stream by next year.

Niger Uranium Ltd. (URU.LN) has a number of potential prospects in development while Australia's NGM Resources Ltd. (NGM.AU) has three uranium concessions.

Company Web Site: http://www.cameco.com

-Brian Truscott, Dow Jones Newswires; 604-669-1595; brian.truscott@dowjones.com

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