The uranium mine at Mouhana in Gabon has closed, ending forty years of uranium production in the country. Reserves at the Mouhana site are depleted and the Campagnie des Mines d’Uranium de Franceville (COMUF), which owns the mine, has decided to end operations.
For years Cogema, which owns 68.4 % of the shares in COMUF, has been paying above market prices for Gabonese uranium, a subsidy which reflects political and economic links between France and its former colony.
COMUF now employs about 100 people, down from a peak of 1500 in 1979. Some employees will remain to dismantle equipment and tidy up, but all employment will cease by the end of the year.
