Russian atomic energy firm Rosatom and South African Nuclear Energy (NECSA) have signed an agreement to build two nuclear reactors in South Africa for the production of medical isotopes.
Rosatom and NECSA also plan to construct a commercial cyclotron in South Africa to further increase the production capacity of nuclear medicine in the region.
NECSA's holdings include NTP Radioisotopes, one of the four major worldwide suppliers of molybdenum-99 (Mo-99). NTP's Safari-1 reactor processing facility completed its conversion to low-enriched uranium in September 2017 and currently has production capacity for Mo-99 of approximately 1,400 Ci per week.
The partnership was unveiled July 26 at the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) Summit in Johannesburg.
