South Africa remains in possession of its highly enriched uranium (HEU) stockpile, according to Mineral and Petroleum Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe. The stockpile has been declared to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) under the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement, ensuring compliance with international oversight.

"The enrichment level is classified information," Mantashe stated, in response to a parliamentary query from African Transformation Movement (ATM) MP Vuyo Zungula. Zungula sought details on how South Africa plans to ensure the long-term sustainability and reliability of its uranium reserves.

Mantashe indicated that the Department of Mineral Resources is in the process of developing a strategy for critical minerals, within which the sustainability of all minerals, including uranium, will be considered.

The possession of HEU is a significant issue due to its potential use in manufacturing nuclear weapons. South Africa's HEU primarily originates from the apartheid-era nuclear weapons programme, which was dismantled in 1989. The country signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in 1991, reaffirming its commitment to non-proliferation.

In addressing whether there had been attempts to persuade South Africa to downgrade its HEU, Mantashe noted that no such requests had been made in the past six years. This follows a notable episode in 2015 when then-US President Barack Obama requested that South Africa relinquish its weapons-grade uranium, a request denied by then-President Jacob Zuma. US officials had argued that South Africa no longer needed HEU for medical isotope production and highlighted the vulnerability of the stockpile to theft by terrorists.

The HEU is stored at Pelindaba near Pretoria, a site that has drawn concern from experts over its security. Despite these concerns, South Africa continues to hold onto its HEU, a decision that carries both historical and strategic implications.

As South Africa develops its strategy for critical minerals, the debate over the future of its HEU stockpile is likely to persist, reflecting broader tensions between historical legacies and contemporary security imperatives.

‍