NTI: Country Overviews: South Africa: Nuclear Import/Export

Nuclear Imports

Key Sources:
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists; Nuclear Fuel; J.D.L. Moore; Engineering News; Nuclear Developments; Alan J. Kuperman and Paul L. Leventhal; Los Angeles Times; Christian Science Monitor; Nucleonics Week; Leonard S. Spector; David Albright; CQ Weekly Report; Worldwide Report; John Felton; Nuclear Engineering International; Reed Kramer; New York Times; Newsbrief; Mark Gorwitz; Xinhua; Andrew Koopman; Mark Hibbs; The Star; Digital National Security Archive; Independent Online.

South Africa Profile: Nuclear Imports
Year/Date	Exporter	Item(s)	Remarks
1965	U.S. firm "Allis Chalmers Corporation"	20MW Safari-1 nuclear reactor and 90% highly enriched uranium (HEU)	Under the auspices of the "Atoms for Peace" program, South Africa and the U.S. sign a bilateral 50-year agreement for nuclear collaboration in 1959. Under the agreement, South Africa acquires the Safari-1 reactor and assured supply of highly enriched uranium (HEU) fuel for the reactor.
1977	Israel	30g of tritium	South Africa trades 50t of yellowcake for 30g of Israeli tritium.
1980	German firms "Neue Technologien GmbH and Physikalisch-Technische Beratung"	An ultrasound device that is used in the fuel fabrication process.
end of 1981	Swiss power utility "Kaiseraugst"	130t of LEU	South Africa acquires these materials in order to fuel the Koeberg reactors.
end of 1981	Belgian power utility "Synatom"	unspecified amount of LEU	South Africa acquires these materials in order to fuel the Koeberg reactors.
1982	MAN-Energie of the Federal Republic of Germany	a central mast manipulator and other inspection equipment	These materials acquired by South Africa in order to be used in conducting pre-service inspections on Koeberg-1 and -2 reactor pressure vessels.
1982	French nuclear fuel fabrication plant "Franco-Belge de Fabrication de Combustibles"	the first three batches of UF6	The UF6 comes from Synaton of Belgium and the Kaiseraugst nuclear power firm--a joint venture of France, Switzerland, and West Germany. South Africa acquires UF6 for its Koeberg power plant.
1982	unidentified U.S. firm	a powerful Amdahl 470/V7 computer	The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in Pretoria receives the item.
1983	Framatome, a state-owned French company	a repaired set of 18 control rod drive mechanisms	Items were specifically sent for the Koeberg plant.
1983-1984	United States	technical expertise	South Africa secretly hires 25 U.S. reactor operators and technicians to work at the Koeberg nuclear power plant. It is reported that The specialists are contracted without proper authorization from the U.S. government.
1985	China	nuclear technology and LEU	unconfirmed; China denies the allegations
1986	Framatome, a state-owned French company	nuclear fuel
1989	Israel	technical expertise (75 Israeli engineers) and technology to develop nuclear missile capability	unconfirmed; Israel denied the allegations
1989	United States	Information on detonators, explosives, and firing sets	The U.S. Senate investigates reports that South Africa has obtained information on detonators, explosives, and firing sets from the U.S. Department of Energy. The information is not classified, but may be used in making and testing nuclear weapons.
December 1990	Framatome, a state-owned French company	New control rod guide tube split pins	Framatome supplies the Koeberg power station with new control rod guide tube split pins and assists South Africa's Eskom (Africa's largest electric company) in replacing the rods.
August 1991	Framatome, a state-owned French company	114 control rod guide tube split pins	Framatome replaces all 114 control rod guide tube split pins at South Africa's Koeberg-2.
1993	Bulgaria	technical expertise	A laser expert from Bulgaria joins South Africa's Atomic Energy Corporation(AEC) as a consultant to provide technical assistance.
December 1997	China	nuclear expertise	South African police and immigration officials reports on December 3, 1997 that 40 Chinese nuclear technicians are working in the South African zirconium tubing plant. It is not confirmed when the technicians exactly started working
December 1997	China	Titanium processing plant worth $10 million	The Sunday Independent and SABC-TV reveals that China is selling titanium processing plant to the Atomic Energy Cooperation (AEC) of South Africa for $10 million, reportedly in exchange for a zirconium tubing plant worth $5 million to be provided to China. Allegations were denied by the S. African nuclear export authority.


	Updated April 2004

	Import Table by Date

	Export Table by Date

	The Biological Weapons Convention (BWC)
	Treaties and Organizations
	PBS Interviews with South African Officials on CBW Program
	South Africa Special Weapons Guide
	Resources on South African Nuclear Weapons Program
	South Africa Country Assessment
	Putting Down the Sword
	NPR: Nuclear Weapons Not Appealing to All Countries
	Nuclear Power in South Africa (2006)
	GlobalSecurity: Nuclear Weapons Program

Search for: Enter query terms separated by spaces.

Match:

Search in: Select any one of the following databases and archives or search any combination.
Click here for more details.

	Entire Web Site
	Global Security Newswire
	Country Profiles
	WMD 411
	Issue Briefs & Analysis
	Securing the Bomb
	NTI Press Room
	Source Documents
	HEU Reduction and Elimination Database
	Submarine Proliferation Database
	Russian Language Resources
	NIS Nuclear and Missile Database
	NIS Nuclear Trafficking Database

This material is produced independently for NTI by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of and has not been independently verified by NTI or its directors, officers, employees, agents. Copyright © 2007 by MIIS.

HOME | CONTACT US | GET INVOLVED | SITE MAP