Russia has signed a deal to provide South African nuclear power stations with uranium until at least 2017.
The contract, signed in Moscow following talks between Russia’s president Dmitry Medvedev and South Africa’s president Jacob Zuma, comes into effect next year.
The deal involves South Africa’s state-owned power utility Eskom and Tenex, a unit of Russia’s nuclear company Rosatom. Tenex will provide South Africa’s only nuclear plant, Koeberg, which is operated by Eskom, with uranium supplies for 10 years.
The deal will give Russia control of about 45 per cent of South Africa’s uranium market.
Russia is also said to be examining the viability of building nuclear power stations in South Africa. It already exports its plant-building know-how to several countries, including Iran. The Eurasian country is currently the largest supplier of services in the field of nuclear fuel to South Africa.
Russia is keen to strengthen its ties with developing nations—Africa in particular. It sees the continent as an excellent investment opportunity, as well as a rich source of natural resources.
South Africa, the continent’s biggest economy, is seeking to increase trade with Russia and China. Bilateral trade between South Africa and Russia totalled $517 million last year—not even one per cent of Russia's total external trade turnover of $469 billion.
The uranium supply meeting comes one year after Medvedev embarked on a tour around Africa, resulting in the signing of multi-million dollar deals in oil, gas and nuclear energy.
The financial details of the uranium supply deal are unknown.
