Uranium in Africa
Encyclopedia
Uranium
production is an important part of the African economy, with Niger
, Namibia
and South Africa
creating up to 18% of the world's annual production. Many African countries produce uranium or have untapped uranium ore deposits.
Several closed uranium mines exist in Gabon.
Uranium
Uranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table, with atomic number 92. It is assigned the chemical symbol U. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons...
production is an important part of the African economy, with Niger
Niger
Niger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...
, Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
creating up to 18% of the world's annual production. Many African countries produce uranium or have untapped uranium ore deposits.
Democratic Republic of the CongoDemocratic Republic of the CongoThe Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
- KolweziKolweziKolwezi is a city in Katanga Province in the south of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, west of Likasi. It is home to an airport and a railway to Lubumbashi. The population is approximately 418,000....
- Shinkolobwe - mine closed 2004ShinkolobweShinkolobwe is the name of a town and a mine in the Katanga province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo , located near the larger town of Likasi and about 120 miles northwest of Lubumbashi. The former mine was located in the centre of a 400 kilometre long belt of uranified minerals, stretching...
GabonGabonGabon , officially the Gabonese Republic is a state in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, and with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south. The Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean is to the west...
Several closed uranium mines exist in Gabon.
- FrancevilleFrancevilleFranceville or Masuku is one of the four largest cities in Gabon, with a population of around 22,000 people. It lies on the River Mpassa and at the end of the Trans-Gabon Railway and the N3 road. It grew from a village named Masuku when Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza chose it to resettle former...
- MounanaMounanaMounana is a town in Gabon with a population of about 8,000 people. It lies on the N3 road and from 1958 until the 1990s was a major uranium mining centre. The mine is now closed; it is now primarily a centre for agriculture....
- closed - FrancevilleFrancevilleFranceville or Masuku is one of the four largest cities in Gabon, with a population of around 22,000 people. It lies on the River Mpassa and at the end of the Trans-Gabon Railway and the N3 road. It grew from a village named Masuku when Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza chose it to resettle former...
- OkloOkloOklo 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:...
- closed
NamibiaNamibiaNamibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
- RössingRossingThe Rössing Uranium Mine in Namibia is one of the largest open pit uranium mines in the world and is located in the Namib Desert near the town of Arandis, which is 70 kilometres from the coastal town of Swakopmund. Namibia’s only deepwater harbour, Walvis Bay, is 30 kilometres south of Swakopmund...
Namib Desert 65 km from SwakopmundSwakopmundSwakopmund is a city on the coast of northwestern Namibia, west of Windhoek, Namibia's capital. It is the capital of the Erongo administrative district. As a seaside resort, the weather is cooler here in December to January so the territorial administration moves to Swakopmund for these months...
- Rio TintoRio Tinto GroupThe Rio Tinto Group is a diversified, British-Australian, multinational mining and resources group with headquarters in London and Melbourne. The company was founded in 1873, when a multinational consortium of investors purchased a mine complex on the Rio Tinto river, in Huelva, Spain from the... - Langer Heinrich Namib Desert 80 km from Swakopmund - Paladin EnergyPaladin EnergyPaladin Energy Ltd., formerly Paladin Resources Limited is Australia's second biggest sole uranium mining company behind Energy Resources of Australia, which is majority owned by mining giant Rio Tinto. It is headquartered in Perth, Australia....
- TrekkopjeTrekkopjeTrekkopje is a settlement in Namibia, 45 kilometres north-east of Swakopmund on the road to Usakos. About 20 km to the north the Trekkopje uranium mine is under construction. It will be Southern Africa's largest uranium mine when it reaches full production capacity in 2013....
- Areva SA
NigerNigerNiger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...
- see Valerie Plame affair
- Areva NCAreva NCAreva NC, formerly Cogema is a French company, created in 1976 from the production division of the French government's CEA It is an industrial group active in all stages of the uranium fuel cycle, including uranium mining, conversion, enrichment, spent fuel reprocessing, and recycling...
currently operates two large mines in the Air MountainsAïr MountainsThe Aïr Mountains is a triangular massif, located in northern Niger, within the Sahara desert...
of Agadez Region.- Arlit, Areva NCAreva NCAreva NC, formerly Cogema is a French company, created in 1976 from the production division of the French government's CEA It is an industrial group active in all stages of the uranium fuel cycle, including uranium mining, conversion, enrichment, spent fuel reprocessing, and recycling...
- IferouaneIferouaneIferouane , also spelled Iferouan, is an oasis town in northern Niger, in Agadez Department. It is located northeast of Arlit in the northern Aïr,in the Ighazar valleynear the Tamgak Range....
, Areva NCAreva NCAreva NC, formerly Cogema is a French company, created in 1976 from the production division of the French government's CEA It is an industrial group active in all stages of the uranium fuel cycle, including uranium mining, conversion, enrichment, spent fuel reprocessing, and recycling...
- Arlit, Areva NC
- Imouraren - Areva SA
- Niger-Uranium ltd
South AfricaSouth AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
- Nufcor, subsidiary of Constellation EnergyConstellation EnergyConstellation Energy, headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, is an energy producer, trader, and distributor. The company operates over 35 power plants in 11 states under its operating company Constellation Commodities Group and/or Constellation Generation Group...
- Brakpan, GautengGautengGauteng is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. It was formed from part of the old Transvaal Province after South Africa's first all-race elections on 27 April 1994...
- Mintails project - AngloGold AshantiAngloGold AshantiAngloGold Ashanti Limited is a global gold mining company. It was formed in 2004 by the merger of AngloGold and the Ashanti Goldfields Corporation.AngloGold Ashanti Limited is now a global gold producer with 21 operations on four continents...
's East Rand Gold and Uranium operation (ERGO) gold and uranium joint ventureJoint ventureA joint venture is a business agreement in which parties agree to develop, for a finite time, a new entity and new assets by contributing equity. They exercise control over the enterprise and consequently share revenues, expenses and assets...
with DRDGold - First Uranium, listed on the Johannesburg Securities ExchangeJohannesburg Securities ExchangeJSE Limited is the largest stock exchange in Africa. It is situated at the corner of Maude Street and Gwen Lane in Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa...
symbol FIU - Simmer and Jack Mines, listed on Johannesburg Securities ExchangeJohannesburg Securities ExchangeJSE Limited is the largest stock exchange in Africa. It is situated at the corner of Maude Street and Gwen Lane in Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa...
- sxrUraniumOne (formerly the JSE-listed Aflease Gold) - Dominion project - goldGoldGold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
and uranium
SudanSudanSudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
- Budi CountyBudi CountyBudi County is an administrative area of Eastern Equatoria state in South Sudan, with headquarters in Chukudum.-Location:Budi county is located in the south of Eastern Equatoria state, bordered by Uganda to the south, Ikotos County to the south west, Lafon County to the north west, and Kapoeta to...
in Eastern Equatoria State of south Sudan - exploration, Brinkley Mining, listed on London's Alternative Investment MarketAlternative Investment MarketAIM is a sub-market of the London Stock Exchange, allowing smaller companies to float shares with a more flexible regulatory system than is applicable to the main market....
See also
- Aluminium in AfricaAluminium in AfricaAluminium in Africa originates primarily in Guinea, Mozambique and Ghana. Guinea is by far the biggest producer in Africa, and is a world leader in aluminium and bauxite production; see "World bauxite mine production, reserves, and reserve base" at the bauxite article.There are many companies...
- Cement in AfricaCement in Africa- Angola :* Lobitoo - proposal 2006* Nova Cimangola - state-owned cement company based in Luanda, associated with Scancem and Heidelberg Cement- Cameroon :* Douala - port - cement works* Yaoundé - national capital - cement works...
- Copper in AfricaCopper in AfricaCopper is one of the world's most important industrial minerals, and Africa is an important world producer. While output is traditionally dominated by Zambia, South Africa and Katanga Province in the south of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, many African nations contribute to copper...
- Iron ore in AfricaIron ore in AfricaIron ore production in Africa is dominated by South Africa, Mauritania and Algeria; Zimbabwe and Morocco produce ore for use within the country. Many countries possess iron ore deposits that are as yet unmined...
- Platinum in AfricaPlatinum in AfricaPlatinum, and platinum group metals, in Africa, are produced in Zimbabwe and the Republic of South Africa. Of the multitudes of companies involved in producing platinum group metals in these two countries, these are the principal operators:...
- Titanium in AfricaTitanium in AfricaTitanium mining in Africa has been beset by environmental problems due to the polluting nature of processing rutile, a principal titanium ore. Titanium production in Africa includes the following principal countries and companies.- Kenya:...
- Economy of AfricaEconomy of AfricaThe economy of Africa consists of the trade, industry, and resources of the people of Africa. , approximately 922 million people were living in 54 different countries. Africa is by far the world's poorest inhabited continent...
- List of uranium mines
- Uranium marketUranium marketThe uranium market, like all commodity markets, has a history of volatility, moving not only with the standard forces of supply and demand, but also to whims of geopolitics. It has also evolved particularities of its own in response to the unique nature and use of this material.The only significant...