Bessines: Rebirth of a technological excellence center

Areva's mining activity is rooted in the Limousin region of central France. For over 65 years, Bessines-sur-Gartempe has been closely involved with global energy and industrial issues. Geologists came here first as explorers, followed by miners and chemical engineers. This is the heritage on which Areva is drawing to help satisfy the steadily growing demand for energy. The SEPA's (Service d'etudes, de Procedes et Analyses) role is to develop new ways to process and use mineral ores. A world renowned R and D center, modernizing its research facilities is a key part of the program to revitalize the Bessines site. Between 1947 and 2001, close to 250 mining sites were exploited in France producing 76,000 tons of uranium. The Areva group (through the CEA and COGEMA) operated 55 % of these sites, all of which have been reclaimed today. UREKA is an educational center created by Areva to inform the public about uranium mining and French know-how in this field. This museum is unique in the world of mining. Depleted uranium is a byproduct of the uranium enrichment process. It harbors real energy potential that Areva intends to tap in the future. The effectiveness of lead-212 in targeting and destroying cancer cells was demonstrated several years ago. The Geosciences Center in made of four entities spread over 4,000 m², regrouping the whole of Areva's mining knowledge and history. The wealth of mineralogical, petrographic and documentary data found there has been accumulated over more than 60 years of exploration and mining