Oklo

Oklo
The natural nuclear fission reactors of Oklo: (1) Nuclear reactor zones. (2) Sandstone. (3) Uranium ore layer. (4) Granite.


Oklo is a region near the town of Franceville, in the Haut-Ogooué province of the Central African state of Gabon. Several natural nuclear fission reactors were discovered in the uranium mines in the region in 1972.

History

Gabon was a French colony when prospectors from the French nuclear energy commissariat (the industrial parts, which later became the COGEMA and later Areva NC) discovered uranium in the remote region in 1956. France immediately opened mines operated by Comuf (Compagnie des Mines d'Uranium de Franceville) near Mounana village in order to exploit the vast mineral resources and the State of Gabon was given a minority share in the company.

For forty years, France mined for uranium in Gabon. Once extracted, the uranium was used for electricity production in France and much of Europe. Gabon's miners half-joked that it was thanks to them that France's high-speed TGV trains could operate. Today, however, the uranium deposits are exhausted, and the mine is no longer worked. Currently, mine reclamation work is ongoing in the region affected by the mine operations.

There is strong geochemical evidence that the Oklo uranium deposit behaved as a natural nuclear fission reactor in Precambrian times: Some of the mined uranium was found to have a lower concentration of uranium-235 than expected, as if it had already been in a reactor. Geologists found that it had been in a reactor before—two billion years ago. At that time the natural uranium had a concentration of about 3% 235U, and could have gone critical with natural water as neutron moderator.

See also

External links

Coordinates: 1°23′40″S 13°9′39″E / 1.39444°S 13.16083°E / -1.39444; 13.16083


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  • Oklo — es un lugar en el estado de Gabón en África Occidental. Es famoso por albergar una cantidad de sitios en los cuales tuvieron lugar reacciones de fisión nuclear autosostenidas hace aproximadamente dos mil millones de años. Este hecho fue… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Oklo — local. du Gabon, près de Mounana, dans le haut Ogooué; gisement d uranium exploité à ciel ouvert …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Oklo — Geologische Voraussetzungen des Naturreaktors in der Oklo Mine: 1. Reaktorzonen, 2. Sandstein, 3. Erzflöz, 4. Granitstock Bei dem Naturreaktor Oklo in Gabun handelt es sich um eine Uranlagerstätte, in der durch natürlich entstandene… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Oklo — Ubicación del sitio de Oklo. Oklo es un lugar en Gabón, en África Occidental. Es famoso por albergar una cantidad de sitios en los cuales tuvieron lugar reacciones de fisión nuclear autosostenidas hace aproximadamente dos mil millones de años.… …   Wikipedia Español

  • ôklo — a s (ó) 1. alp. ostri del cepina ali lednega kladiva: zasaditi oklo v sneg 2. zastar. okel: slon si je zlomil oklo / mrožje oklo …   Slovar slovenskega knjižnega jezika

  • Oklo-Reaktor — Ọklo Reaktor,   hypothetischer natürlicher Kernreaktor in den Oklo Minen in Gabun (Westafrika). Auf das frühere Vorhandensein eines Kernreaktors in der Mine wurde aus den Anomalien des Gehalts an Uran 235 (zwischen 0,621 % und 0,640 %, zum Teil… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Reacteur nucleaire naturel d'Oklo — Réacteur nucléaire naturel d Oklo Localisation du Gabon …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Réacteur nucléaire naturel d'Oklo — 1°23′40″S 13°09′39″E / 1.39444, 13.16083 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Réacteur nucléaire naturel d'oklo — Localisation du Gabon …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Naturreaktor Oklo — Geologische Voraussetzungen des Naturreaktors in der Oklo Mine: 1. Reaktorzonen 2. Sandstein 3. Erzflöz 4. Granitstock 1.39444413.160833 Koordinaten …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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