Oklo Mine, Franceville, Haut-Ogooué Province, Gabon

Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):	1° 30' South , 13° 16' East
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):	-1.5, 13.2666666667

This mine near the Mouana Mine is the site of over a dozen precambrian natural nuclear reactors. It is particularly known as the "Oklo phenomenon". Secondary enrichment of uranium oxides in cm to meter sized veins moderated by ground water consumed six tons of U-235 and elevated temperatures to a few hundred Celsius. This uranium isotope, normally standing for less than 1% of the uranium ore, is predicted to be at 3% level in Oklo in the beginning (now relatively strongly depleted). Remarkably the non-volatile fission products moved only a few cm in the veins during the last 1.5 billion years!

Gillberg-Wickmann (1983) points at Oklo as the only natural example of a significant isotope fractionaction between U-235 and U-238.

Meshik (2005) states, that (1) U-free Al phosphate minerals from the deposit concentrate the highest amount of xenon found in natural material; (2) once upon a time over 2 tons of plutonium 239 were generated within the deposit.

See also Bangombé, another natural nuclear reactor in the same area.

Mineral List

43 valid minerals.

References

External Links