7. Tnitialty, the d.evelopment of uranium Droduction r.ras primarily theresponsibility of the Prime ltinister, of several other hig,hly placed officiaLs anda fe!,' key agency heads, such as the Head of the ne.wfy created. Council forscientific and rnclustrial Research. After passage cf the Atomic Energy Act of 1918,control ovel' uranium production and export fefl to the South African Atonic FlnerevBoard, which held its first meeting on 15 l.{arch 191+9. Over the """1 h"lf;";;;;'"the AEB devoted most of its attention to the Droductian of uranium and to theregulal,j on of radio-active :aterials. !/ 8' By the nrid-l-g5Os' ho'evero there was evidence of increasing interest on thepart of the A-EB and the south Africar Governnent as a i,rhole in rr:ore basic nuclear'research. In I95\, a physics unit r^ras created vithin the AXB; South Africa .ioined.in the for-mation after 195\ of the fnternc,-.ional Atonic Ene'gy Agency (fAna); ,nrission was sent to the first rnternationa.r conference on the peacefu-l uses ofAtonic E::ergy, held at Geneva in f9i5; and, r'hile in nurope, that sane missioninvestigated the nossible industriar applications of nrclear energy. 6/ lloreover"the council for scientific and. rndustrial Beseatch froru its inceptionladenphasized the funda[enta-ls of nucrear physics and research, as exernpli flied by itsacquisition of an accelerator (cyclotron) which began operatian ir\ L95j. T/ I]/ A. R. l$evby-Fraser, Chain Reaction: Twenty years of Nuclear nesearch andDevel-opnent in SouLh nfri"a ;and NUS corporation, r'oreign uranium supplv (Electric power Research rnstitute, EPRI EA-725, April ]9?8)" pp. )+-! - lr-5. J/ Newby-Fraser, Cha.in Reaction, pp" 2\-Zj, U taia, " pp. 3I-32; and Kenneth r,, Adel_manAfrica Go Nuclear?tr, oRBfS, vo].. 23" no. 3 (Fa1I 7/ Nevby-Fraser, Chain Reaction' pp, 26-29 -30-31 . and Afbion W. I..night , "Can South 1979), p. &5.A/35 /)+o2 nnglj.sh Annex Page I Sinilarly, in the nid-1950s, nuclear physics research vas begun at the Universitiesof Witwatersrand and. PtchefstrooD, B/ Cul-ninating the activity of these early
**Analysis**
The text appears to be discussing the development of nuclear energy in South Africa, specifically the establishment of the South African Atomic Energy Board and its activities in the 1910s-1950s. The text highlights the country's interest in nuclear research and its involvement in international organizations such as the International Atomic Energy Agency. The text also mentions the acquisition of an accelerator (cyclotron) by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, which suggests a focus on scientific research and development.

**Category**
Science and technology, Industry