Precipitation of uraninite in chlorite-bearing veins of the hydrothermal alteration zone (argile de pile) of the natural nuclear reactor at Bangombe, Republic of Gabon

This paper describes the mineralogy of a phyllosilicate/uraninite/galena-bearing vein located within the hydrothermal alteration halo associated with the Bangombe reactor. Phyllosilicates within the vein include a trioctahedral Al-Mg-Fe chlorite (ripidolite), Al-rich clay (kaolinite and/or donbassite) and illite. Textural relations obtained by backscattered-electron imaging suggest that ripidolite crystallized first among the sheet silicates. Uraninite is spatially associated with ripidolite and probably precipitated at a later time. While energy-dispersive X-ray analyses suggest that the uranium phase is predominantly uraninite, coffinite or other phases may also be present