South Africa’s Nuclear-Related Facilities

Michael Barletta
Christina Ellington
March 1999

South Africa’s Nuclear-Related Facilities [1]

Facility (Location) Type: Status and Control

Mining and Milling

Blyvooruitzicht Closed in 1984
Buffelsfontein Operated by Buffelsfontein Gold Mining Company
Chemwes Closed in 1988
Driefontein Closed in 1988
East Rand Closed in 1991
Harmony Closed in 1988
Hartebeestfontein Uranium extracted as a by-product of gold mining; operated by Hartebeestfontein Gold Mining Company
Joint Metall Scheme Closed in 1993
Metallurgical Scheme Operated by Freegold
Palabora Uranium extracted as a by-product of copper mining; operated by Palabora Mining Company
Transvaal Uranium extracted as a by-product of gold mining; operated by Western Areas
Vaal Reefs Uranium extracted as a by-product of gold mining; operated by Vaal Reefs, closed in 1997
West Rand Cons Closed in 1981
Western Deep Levels Closed in 1993

Conversion

HEU-UF6 production plant (Pelindaba) Operated by the AEC
U3O8 to UF6 conversion plant (Pelindaba) Operated by the AEC, closed in 1998

Uranium Enrichment

MLIS plant (Pelindaba East) Molecular laser isotope separation process; AEC/Cogema joint project, cancelled in 1997
Y-plant (Pelindaba East[2]) Pilot-scale, aerodynamic process enrichment plant produced HEU for nuclear weapons program; closed in 1990
Z-plant (Pelindaba) Semi-commercial, Helikon aerodynamic process enrichment plant produced LEU for nuclear power program; closed in 1995

Fuel Fabrication

Hot Cell Complex (Pelindaba) To be dedicated to Molybdenum99 production in 1998; operated by the AEC
Beva Plant[3] (Pelindaba) Produced LEU fuel elements for Koeberg power reactors; closed 1995
MTR Fuel Fabrication (Pelindaba) Produces fuel elements for Safari-1 research reactor; operated by the AEC
Zirconium tubing plant (Pelindaba) Produced cladding for fuel assemblies used in Koeberg reactors, closed in 1993; sold to China in 1997, reportedly shipped to China in 1998

Reactors and Critical Assemblies

Koeberg-1 (near Cape Town) 920MWe power reactor; operated by ESKOM
Koeberg-2 (near Cape Town) 920MWe power reactor; operated by ESKOM
Safari-1 (Pelindaba) 20MW research reactor; operated by the AEC
Safari-2/Pelinduna/Pelindaba-Zero (Pelindaba) Critical assembly; closed and dismantled in 1970

Waste Disposal

Thabana Hill/Radiation Hill (Pelindaba) Stores spent fuel from Safari-1 and other radioactive waste; operated by the AEC
Vaalputs National Waste Repository (Northern Cape) Licensed for low and intermediate level nuclear waste;[4] operated by the AEC

Weapons-Dedicated Facilities

Building 5000 (Pelindaba) Used for conducting criticality experiments in the late 1970s, closed in the early 1980s
Circle Facilities (Advena) (near Pretoria) Former Armscor facility used for the design, manufacture and storage of nuclear weapons;[5] currently operated by Denel
Somchem (Cape Province) Former Armscor facility for developing and producing explosives, propellants, and rocket launchers; currently operated by Denel
Vastrap test range (Kalahari Desert) Nuclear test shafts closed in 1993; currently used by South African Air Force as target range

Notes and Sources:

  1. This facility list is based on the following sources: Rob Adam, et al., “Country Programme Framework,” Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology, November 23, 1998, www.dacst.gov.za. David Albright, “A Curious Conversion,” Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, June 1993, www.bullatomsci.org. David Albright, “Slow But Steady,” Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, July-August 1993, www.bullatomsci.org. David Albright, “South Africa’s Secret Nuclear Weapons,” ISIS Report, May 1994. David Albright, Frans Berkhout, and William Walker, Plutonium and Highly Enriched Uranium 1996: World Inventories, Capabilities and Policies, Oxford University Press, 1997. Atomic Energy Corporation, “Sale of Nuclear Fuel Fabrication Equipment on Tender,” August 17, 1998, www.aec.co.za. Atomic Energy Corporation, “Background on Radioactive Waste Disposal Facility,” PR Wire Service, April 8, 1998, www.anc.org.za. K. Bharath-Ram, et al., “Review of the Atomic Energy Corporation,” Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology, January 1997 (updated July 15, 1998), www.dacst.gov.za. Gail J. Fox, “Africa: Uranium Production and Nuclear Power Overview,” Nuclear Review, April 1997, pp. 24-31. “Home Affairs Apologizes to Chinese Technicians,” Business Day, December 1997, www.bday.co.za. International Atomic Energy Agency, “Facilities Under Agency Safeguards or Containing Safeguarded Material on December 31, 1997,” in The Annual Report for 1997, Vienna: Division of Public Information, International Atomic Energy Agency, 1998, pp. 89-104. International Atomic Energy Agency, “Report on the Completeness of the Inventory of South Africa’s Nuclear Installations and Material,” Attachment to Gov/2609, September 3, 1992. Rodney W. Jones, Mark G. McDonough, with Toby F. Dalton, and Gregory D. Koblentz, “South Africa,” in Tracking Nuclear Proliferation: A Guide in Maps and Charts, 1998, (Washington, DC: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 1998), pp. 243-250. Ann MacLachlan and Michael Knapik, “South Africa to End MIS SWU Project,” NuclearFuel, December 29, 1997, p. 4. J.D.L. Moore, “The Development of South Africa’s Nuclear Capability,” in South Africa and Nuclear Proliferation, (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1987). Nuclear Engineering International, 1998 World Nuclear Industry Handbook, (United Kingdom: Wilmington Business Publishing, 1998). Reuters; in “South Africa to Close Uranium Enrichment Plant,” Executive News Service, January 25, 1995. Stuart Rutherford, “Old Nukes Thriving Sector: Nuclear Fuels also Battered by Market Fall-Out,” Uranium, September 26, 1997, www.fm.co.za. The Star, December 13, 1997; in “Nuclear Equipment Sold to China Had Been Redundant for Years, Says AEC,” Independent Online, www.inc.co.za. SAPA, (Johannesburg), April 7, 1998; in FBIS-TEN-98-097, (7 April 1998). Leonard S. Spector, “South Africa,” The Undeclared Bomb, (Cambridge: Ballinger Publishing Company, 1988), pp. 286-305. Atomic Energy Corporation of South Africa, Annual Report 1998, www.aec.co.za. Adolf Von Baeckmann, Gary Dillon and Demetrius Perricos, “Nuclear Verification in South Africa,” IAEA Bulletin, 1(1995), www.iaea.org. Waldo Stumpf, “South Africa: Nuclear Technology and Non-Proliferation,” Security Dialogue, 1993, 24(4): 455-58.
  2. Published reports conflict on the location of the pilot-scale Y-plant and semi-commercial Z-plant. According to David R. Kyd, Director of the Division of Public Information at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the IAEA considers the decommissioned pilot plant to be located at Pelindaba East (formerly Valindaba), and the semi-commercial plant to be located at Pelindaba West. Kyd noted, however, that “Valindaba is very close by and could almost be considered part of the same overall site.” David R. Kyd, Director of the Division of Public Information, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria, electronic mail communication with Christina Ellington, December 4, 1998.
  3. The AEC has invited international buyers to submit bids for the purchase of fuel fabrication equipment used in fabricating pellets and fuel assembly. Atomic Energy Corporation, “Sale of Nuclear Fuel Fabrication Equipment on Tender,” August 17, 1998, www.aec.co.za.
  4. In 1997-98, the Johannesburg newspaper Mail & Guardian reported that it possessed internal AEC documents noting that Vaalputs stores high-level radioactive waste, although the facility is not licensed to do so. Swapna Prabhakaran, “Pelindaba Bomb Fuel Plant Sold as Scrap,” Mail & Guardian, July 11, 1997, www.mg.co.za. “‘Leaky’ Vaalputs to Store Uranium Rods,” Mail and Guardian, April 13, 1998, www.mg.co.za.
  5. Equipment used for uranium metallurgy at Kentron Circle was returned to the AEC with the termination of the nuclear weapons program, and the entire uranium metallurgy process area at the facility was dismantled and decontaminated. Machine tools used in the manufacture of HEU and high explosives components were also decontaminated and made available for use in non-nuclear applications. Gary Dillon and Demetrius Perricos, “Experience Gained in the Verification of the Completeness and Correctness of the Inventory of South Africa’s Declaration,” presentation at the International Atomic Energy Agency Symposium on Safeguards, held in Vienna, Austria, March 14-18, 1994.
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