Pelindaba

Pelindaba is South Africa's main Nuclear Research Centre, run by The South African Nuclear Energy Corporation. It is situated near the Hartbeespoort Dam, approximately 33 km west of Pretoria, on the farm that once belonged to Gustav Preller. It was the location where South Africa's atomic bombs were developed, constructed and subsequently stored during the 1980s.HistoryThe research reactor SAFARI-1 was received from the USA, constructed and inaugurated in 1965. Since then, it has operated with an output of up to 20 MW. The reactor cost $10.5 million. Enriched uranium for use in the reactor was initially supplied by the U.S.A. and has been subject to IAEA safeguards.At the time of Pelidaba's inauguration, future cooperation between France and South Africa on nuclear technology was anticipated. That relationship ultimately lead to the establishment of the Koeburg Nuclear Power Station.While the official purpose of the Pelindaba facility was "to harness the versatile power of the atom and apply it to maximum peaceful advantage" it was also speculated that South Africa could produce its own atomic weapons by 1966.In 1966, Pelindaba reported detecting elevated levels of radiation following French nuclear weapons tests in the Pacific.In 1970 it was officially revealed that the development of a pilot plant for the enrichment of uranium was underway. Prime Minister John Vorster said of the development that "our sole objective in the development and application of the process is to promote the peaceful application of nuclear energy. Only then can it be to our benefit and to the benefit of mankind." Details of the method of uranium enrichment were withheld as official secrets.