Ansongo, town, southeastern Mali, West Africa, on the Niger River. It is a mining (antimony) and agricultural (grains, livestock) marketing centre. Prospecting for uranium began in the late 1970s. The Niger is navigable for about 1,000 miles (1,600 km) above Ansongo. Directly to the east is the Ansongo-Ménaka animal reserve, which covers an area of some 6,720 square miles (17,400 square km). Pop. (2009) 32,709.