oD the sophistication of the wealon design, sufficient nateriat could have been availabl_e by nid-l-9?9 for naking uward s of seven or eight fission bonbs. Thus it cannot be doubtetl that, haal it decided to do so, South Africa by nid-1979 cou.l-d bave produced sufficient weapon-gfade uranium for at least a few nucLear weapons. l+5. Current plans caf]- for Irhe e)apanaled. r:raniurn enrichment facility being built by south Aflica to have e capacity of 2oo-300 tons swu/year. If tlesignecl anil operateal for tlrat purpose, ttris additional capacity coul-d produce about L/ t'tevly-l'raser ' @Eseg!&q, p. 111'A/35 /\o2Ingfish Annex Page 23 l-,000 to 1,500 kilcgrar.nes of high enriched uranium per year, enough far nakin,l Bevera]. dozen fairfy sophisticated fission bombs. But even $ithout using the extra capacity of the expanded pil-ot plant to produce high enriched uraniun, South Afl.ica by l9B5 stil-L could have produced. sufficient high enriched uraniur for making 15 to 20 fission bonbs. 2. Additional steps necessary to acquire plutonjum 47. fhere is r.ridespr€ad. agreement among technicaf experts that given South Africars nuclea.r infrastructure and level of expertise it is capabte of building a plutonir:m production }eactor and. associated reprocessing facility, For sopLristicated.facilities, investment costs wou1d range from $a5O to $5OO nittj.on, require ! to 75 engineers, l-50 to 2OO ski1ler1 technicians ove? 5 to ? years (A/35/392), 48. Once the Koebe?g nucLear pok'er reactors are completed, the stora€e pool-s ofthat plant wiLl- contain a potential source of plutonium. Although the spent fuel-j.s to be returned to France, there stil1 wouLd be present in Soutb Africa after 1990 at least four fue]. l-oads - one in each of the reactore and one in each of ttr.e reactors I ttstor:age poolsrt awaiting sufficient cooling for shipment to France. However, spent fuel iliversion lrou].d. be easily detects.b].e end, as long as no
**Analysis**
The text appears to be discussing the potential nuclear capabilities of South Africa, specifically the production of fissile materials and the development of a plutonium production reactor. The language used is technical and refers to specific facilities and technologies, suggesting a focus on scientific and technological advancements rather than broader economic or social issues.

**Category**
Science and technology, Industry