Map of Iran's Nuclear Facilities
Map overlay and description of Iranian Nuclear sites.
Description of Nuclear sites(sites listed clockwise, Source:NTI.org):
Iranian WMD Profile: Click Here
Procurement-Defense Industry for Iran Click HERE
1. Bonab Energy Research Center
Other Names: Bonab Atomic Research Center
Location: 80km south of Tabriz
Subordinate to: AEOI
Size: 10.5 hectars (at a minimum)
Primary Function: Research and development
Description:
In 1989, Iran began the first phase of Bonab's development, but it did not become operational until 1995. The center conducts research on nuclear technology for agricultural applications. In July 1997, IAEA Director General Hans Blix visited Bonab and found that all was in order. However, there have been allegations that not all activities at Bonab that has been declared to the IAEA.
2. Moallem Kaleyah
Other Names: Mo'allem Kalayeh, Moa'alem Kelayeh, Ghaziv
Location: Elbruz mountains northwest of Tehran
Subordinate to: AEOI
Size: Nuclear weapon production
Primary Function: Suspected Nuclear Weaponization Research
Description:
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) reportedly operates a gas centrifuge uranium enrichment plant at Moallem Kaleyah. In 1987, Iran acquired equipment from French, German, and Italian companies to construct and outfit the facility. Some sources report that the facility was for weaponization. Other sources state that Moallem Kaleyah may be used for laser enrichment. In 1992, IAEA inspectors visited the site and found only a small training center under construction. Some believe that the inspectors were taken to the wrong location, away from the real site.
3. Karaj Agricultural and Medical Research Center
Other Names: Nuclear Research Center for Agriculture and Medicine (NRCAM), Center for Agricultural Research and Nuclear Medicine
Location: Karaj
Subordinate to: AEOI
Primary Function: Research in nuclear medicine and agriculture
Description:
On 11 May 1991, the AEOI began operating this research center. It comprises the Departments of Nuclear Agriculture, Ion Beam Applications, Materials Engineering, Nuclear Electronics, Nuclear Medicine, and Health Physics. It also operates a 30MeV cyclotron accelerator, a one milliamp calutron, and secondary standard dosimetry laboratory.
4. Tehran Nuclear Research Center (TNRC)
Other Names: Amirabad Nuclear Research Center, Amirabad Technical College, NRC
Location: University of Tehran
Size: Large, with numerous departments and facilities
Subordinate to: AEOI
Primary Function: Nuclear research facility
Description:
The Tehran Nuclear Research Center (TNRC) is located at the University of Tehran. The center was constructed in the early 1960s and became operational in 1965. The University of Tehran originally oversaw the center, but in 1974 it was transferred to its present management, the AEOI. The TNRC is comprosed of the following: Reactor Research and Operation Department; Radioisotopes Research and Production Department; Nuclear Physics Department; Theoretical Physics and Mathematics Departments; Analytical Chemistry Department; Engineering Department; Solid State Physics Section; Health Physics Department; Electronics Department; and the Chemistry & Physics Department. The TNRC is also on the site of the Tehran Research Reactor (TRR). In 1967, this US-made 5MW reactor went critical. Intelligence analysts believe that the TNRC is the location of Iran's secret nuclear program, including plutonium reprocessing, laser enrichment, and weapons design efforts.
5. JHL Uranium Conversion Facility
Location: Jabr Ibn Hayan Multipurpose Laboratory (JHL)
Subordinate to: AEOI
Size: Laboratory scale
Primary Function: Research in conversion processes
Description:
The JHL appears to have at least a laboratory-scale capability to convert uranium. In a letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Iranian authorities confirmed that in 1991, the facility had received natural uranium that was not previously reported.
Iran stated that in 1991, they received 1000kg of UF6, 400kg of UF4, and 400kg of UO2. This material was being held (and likely remains) at the JHL. Iran further stated that some of the imported UO2 was used to test uranium purification and conversion processes. According to a June 2003 IAEA report, "The experiments involved the dissolution of UO2 nitric acid, and the use of resulting uranyl nitrate for testing a pulse column and ammonium uranyl carbonate (AUC) production processes envisioned for the Uranium Conversion Facility (UCF)...." In 2000, Iran converted almost all of the UF4 that it had obtained in 1991 to uranium metal. Subsequently, Iran stored the conversion equipment at that facility and began refurbishing it to create a (dedicated) metal reprocessing laboratory. The IAEA reported in June that the role of uranium metal in Iran still needs to be understood since Iran's declared fuel cycle, light water reactors, and planned heavy water reactor do not require uranium metal for fuel.
6. Gorgan
Other Names: Neka
Location: Gorgan al-Kabir Center
Subordinate to: n/a
Size: n/a
Primary Function: Nuclear weapon production
Description:
In the early 1990s, the media reported that there was a secret nuclear research facility at Gorgan. According to one report, scientists from Iran, Ukraine, Russia, and Kazakstan were working at the Gorgan al-Kabir Center to develop nuclear weapons. These reports have never been substantiated.
7. Damavand Tokamak
Location: Nuclear Fusion Research Center (NFRC)
Subordinate to: AEOI
Size: n/a
Primary Function: Plasma and fusion research
Description:
Damavand is used for plasma physics research in a magnetic configuration similar to the ITER reactor. It provides an environment for scientists to reproduce plasma disruptions without compromising the equilibrium, stability, or control over the elongated plasma cross-section processes in the near-wall plasma and auxiliary heating systems.
8. Natanz Enrichment Plant
Location: 40km SEof Kashan and 150km north of Isfahan
Subordinate to: AEOI
Size: 1000 sq km
Primary Function: Uranium enrichment
Description:
The Natanz Enrichment Plant is a large facility holding a pilot plant (PFEP) and commercial enrichment plant (FEP). Both of these use gas centrifuge technology to enrich uranium. Iran's centrifuges use an aluminium rotor with a diameter of approximately 100 millimeters. When inspectors visited the facilities in June, they observed that the centrifuges at PFEP were possibly of "an early European design." Analysts theorize that they are thought to be an improved version of the G2-type aluminium-rotor centrifuge built by Gernot Zippe in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Iran's centrifuges are of a similar design to the centrifuges that Pakistan acquired clandestinely in the mid-1970s from the German company Urenco. According to media reports, Pakistan assisted Iran with the design of their uranium centrifuges. According to Western officials, Iran's centrifuges have a separative capacity of two separative work units (SW) per year. Another theory may be that the Chinese passed on technical information about Russian centrifuges to the Iranians. These centrifuges may ultimately have the same origins as the early German machines, since the Russians used German technicians to develop their centrifuges in the 1950s. Questions remain as to how the Iranians tested their centrifuges.
In a report to the IAEA, the authorities stated that, beginning in 1997, Iran conducted extensive modelling and simulations at the Amir Khabir University and the AEOI in Tehran, without the existence of any uranium material. However, the IAEA and the international community are skeptical of this claim.
The Natanz facility is believed to be the third stage in the three stages of Iran's centrifuge enrichment program. The program is believed to have begun in 1985 on the AEOI's premises in Tehran, before moving to the second stage at the Kalaye Electric Company, also in Tehran, in 1997. In 2002, assembly activities were moved to Natanz.
The Natanz Enrichment Plant comprises at least three main areas: an above-ground area, three large underground structures, and one large building standing alone. The above-ground area consists of six large buildings. Two of these are twin 2,500 meter halls. The function of the above-ground buildings is to assemble gas centrifuges. The underground structures are primarily centrifuge halls. The first two buildings each measure 190 meters by 170 meters, with a surface area of approximately 32,000 square meters. The third structure is smaller, with a gross ground area of approximately 7,700 square meters. It is intended to provide support and administrative services to the two larger structures.
9. Esfahan Nuclear Fuel Research and Production Center (NFRPC)
Location: Reshandasht, 15km SE of Eshahan
Subordinate to: ENTC/AEOI
Size: Pilot-scale plant
Primary Function: Research and development
Description:
The NFRPC was founded in 1974 for scientific and technical support of country's comprehensive nuclear power plant program. It is involved in various aspects of fuel analysis and research. The Metallurgical Engineering and Fuel Department at the center operates the Fuel Fabrication Laboratory (FFL) and is involved in "experimental production of fuel for WWER reactors." NFRPC may be the future location of the fuel manufacturing plant (FMP). Construction at the site of ENTC may have included a hexafluoride plant that was built with Chinese assistance, as part of nuclear cooperation deal, which was later cancelled under US pressure.
10. Saghand
Other Names: Sagend, Sakhaid
Location: Yazd province in central Iran desert, Kavir
Subordinate to: Ministry of Industry and Mines
Size: 5,000 tons of uranium reserves
Primary Function: Uranium mining
Description:
The combined Saghand deposit contains approximately 5000 tons of uranium ore reserves. After the AEOI conducted extensive geological and exploratory operations, it began constructing a mine, which will be completed by 2004. There are two distinct deposits at Saghand. Saghand 1 is approximately 16m below the surface and encompasses an area 200 by 300 meters. There are about 785 tons of uranium ore reserves, with an average grade of 459ppm at Saghand 1. Saghand 2 is approximately 70m below the surface.
Iran has received assistance in exploiting its uranium deposits at various times and from various countries. Specialists have come from Argentina, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Russia. Most notably, the Chinese have provided the greatest assistance. In the early 1990s, over 600 Chinese and Iranian specialists formed a working group to investigate the deposits. Experts from the Beijing Research Institute of Uranium Geology have assisted Iran in prospecting for uranium in the past. Additionally, the National Council of Resistance in Iran (NCRI) has observed approximately 50 Chinese experts at Saghand. Currently, there are 23 Iranian specialists and 77 engineers and workers preparing the deposits for mining. Before the mine begins operations, that number should increase to 233.
11. Yazd, Benefication and Hydrometallurgical Center (BHRC)
Other Names: Hydrometallurgical Research Center at Saghand University
Location: Yazd
Subordinate to: AEOI
Size: Multiple facilities and laboratories
Primary Function: Uranium ore purification and processing
Description:
AEOI personnel working at the BHRC examine the mineralogy, mineral processing, beneficiation, preparation and leaching of uranium ores to determine the best method for mining and recovery of uranium in Yazd.
The BHRC operates research labs and engineering facilities that undertake:
* Sampling, crushing, grinding, preparation, and mineral processing of uranium, thorium, and phosphates;
* Research to determine the process-flow for the hydrometallurgy of resources in the bench-scale and pilot-plant;
* Studies to compare lab and pilot-plant conditions;
* Expansion of heap-leaching methods, in-place, in-situ, and bacteria leaching;
* Preparation of technical-specifications and the layout of pilot plant for production of yellow cake; and
* All areas of purification and milling operation at a laboratory scale.
12. Fasa, Suspected Rudan Conversion Facility
Name: Suspected Rudan Conversion Facility
Location: Fasa
Subordinate to: Ministry of Industry and Mines
Size: n/a
Primary Function: Uranium conversion processes
Description:
US officials asserted that in the mid-1990s, China built a uranium hexafluoride conversion plant in Rudan as part of a secret nuclear cooperation agreement signed in 1991. The agreement came as the result of a two-day Chinese visit of Iran's nuclear facilities in July 1991. According to media reports, in late 1994, China delivered equipment for the plant to Iran.
13. Bushehr-1
Location: Bushehr
Subordinate to: AEOI
Size: VVER 1000
Primary Function: Nuclear power generation
Description:
Bushehr is currently under construction and expected to be completed by in late 2003 or early 2004. It is similar to the technical configuration of Unit Four at Russia's Balakovskaya plant in Balakovo.
The Bushehr project began in 1975, before the 1979 revolution. The West German company Kraftwerke Union (KWU) started building what would have been a pair of 1,300MWe pressurized water reactors at that time. Bushehr-1 was 90 percent built and Bushehr-2 partly built when a series of problems began to plague the project. The first came in 1979 after the new government under the Ayatollah Khomeini decided to freeze construction of the reactors. The project was restarted shortly after the new government came to power. However, from 1980-1988, Iraqi warplanes conducted a series of bombing raids on the reactors and damaged them severely. Subsequently, the government requested assistance from foreign commercial contractors to rebuild and complete the power plants. Iran contacted various countries including Argentina, China, Russia, and West Germany. Finally, in 1995, Tehran and Moscow signed an $800 million agreement for the completion of Bushehr-1. Minatom assumed overall management of the work, utilizing organizations such as Zarubezhatomenergostroy (Nuclear Energy Construction Abroad) and Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrate Plant, which is contributing nuclear fuel. In addition, Russia has been training at least 10-20 graduate students and PhD students annually in Russian facilities such as the Kurchatov Institute. Other Iranian technicians may have been trained in Russia at various reactors and institutes over the years. The experience that these students and technicians gain may be used to operate Bushehr, but may also be used to develop new indigenous reactors, or other more discreet military applications.
Russian contractors has suffered several setbacks while constructing Bushehr due to problems related to the adaptation of the reactors' original German technology to fit new Russian designs. For instance, Russia's VVER-1000 reactors require six horizontal VVER steam generators. However, the Siemens 1,300MWe was only designed to hold four vertical steam generators. The metallurgical specifications of German and Russian equipment are also different. This may result in future corrosion and other problems.
As final construction nears (2003), there is discussion between Iran and Russia regarding an agreement for Russia to provide fuel for the reactor and for Iran to return spent fuel from the reactor to Russia.
14. Ardakan, Uranium Ore Processing Plant
Location: Ardakan
Subordinate to: AEOI
Size: Large scale
Primary Function: Ore purification
Description:
This large-scale facility will be able to process between 100 to 200 tons annually. Iran may have received assistance in developing the plant from various countries. In 1989, Argentina signed an agreement to build a series of structures, but that deal fell through due to US input. In the mid-1990s, Russia drew designs for the plant. Later, Chinese specialists helped Iran begin constructing the plant. It is scheduled to be completed and begin operations in 2005.
15. Darkhovin, Past Proposed Power Reactor Deals
Name: Darkhovin
Other Names: Darkhouin, Ahvaz, Esteghlal, and Karun
Location: South of Ahvaz, on the Karun River
Subordinate to: AEOI
Size: n/a
Primary Function: Nuclear power production
Description:
Darkhovin has been the proposed location for several proposed reactor projects. The first was in 1973, when the French were contracted to construct two 950MW pressurized water reactors (PWRs). In 1979, following the Islamic revolution, the deal was cancelled. In 1993, Iran contracted with the Chinese to construct two 300MW Qinshan reactors under a project named Esteghlal ("Independence") at that location. In 1995, China cancelled construction of the reactors. This may have been due to US pressure on China to end nuclear cooperation with Iran.
16. Arak, IR-40
Location: Arak
Subordinate to: AEOI
Size: 40MW
Primary Function: Nuclear research
Description:
On 5 May 2003, the Iranian authorities informed the IAEA of its intention to construct a heavy water research reactor at Arak. Construction of IR-40 is planned to begin in 2004. IR-40 is a planned 40MW Heavy Water Reactor that will use natural UO2 fuel and heavy water as both cooler and moderator. The AEOI will use IR-40 for research and development, radioisotope production, and training. To meet the isotope production requirements, Iranian officials believe that the reactor must have a neutron flux of 1013 to 1014 n/cm2/s. This would require a reactor capable of producing 30-40MW (th) when using UO2 as fuel. The decision to produce a heavy water reactor was made in the mid-1990s.
17. Khondab Heavy Water Production Plant
Location: Khondab, near Arak
Subordinate to: AEOI
Size: large—exceeding usual civilian heavy applications
Primary Function: Heavy water production
Description:
The heavy water production plant is under construction in Khondab, near Arak. According to the May 2003 NSG Plenary notes, the production capacity for this plant is approximately 100 tons per year. On 14 August 2002, members of an Iranian resistance group, the National Council of Resistance of Iran, alleged that the Iranian government was involved in the construction of "at least two secret sites that support its nuclear weapons program." One of these was a heavy water production plant in Arak, a city 150 miles south of Tehran. These allegations prompted the IAEA to question the Iranian authorities about the existence of a heavy water program. During the Director General's visit in February 2003, Iran confirmed that a heavy water production plant was under construction in Arak.
18. Lashkar-Abad, Suspected Additional Enrichment Sites
Location: Lashkar-Abad; Ramandeh, near Hashtgerd
Subordinate to: AEOI; Lashkar- Abad is part of the Research and Development Division; Ramandeh is part of the Karaj Agricultural and Medical Centre.
Size: Smaller than Natanz
Primary Function: Uranium enrichment
Description:
On 27 May 2003, the People's Mojedin Organization (MKO) revealed that two additional secret uranium enrichment facilities were being constructed by the Iranian government. The first is at Lashkar-Abad, which is close to Hashtgerd, and the second is at Ramandeh.
The MKO asserted that construction at both facilities is complete and there may already be "a number" of centrifuges installed there. The MKO also stated that the additional facilities are "complimentary" to the larger Natanz site, and may support the larger facility or even take over for Natanz if it were destroyed. The MKO claims that these additional sites may be under the management of the front company, "Noor-Afza-Gostar." In July 2003, the IAEA sought permission to take environmental samples at these two sites, but the Iranian authorities refused their access.
IAEA inspectors were permitted visits to these locations on 13 August 2003. During that visit, they determined that the Lashkar-Abad facility was operating a laser laboratory. Iranian officials claim that the facility was originally devoted to laser fusion research and laser spectroscopy, but that its focus has since changed. The IAEA inspectors noted that the facility was engaging in the production of copper vapour lasers of up to 100 watts, but that no experiments involving laser spectroscopy or enrichment appeared to be underway.
The officials claimed that in the past, the laser division of the AEOI had cooperated with a university student to write a thesis in laser spectroscopy of SF6. The IAEA noted in its August 2003 to its board of governors, that, "While the study could be seen as relevant to laser enrichment, the underlying experiments appear not to have involved nuclear material." IAEA inspectors were not able to take environmental samples at Lashkar-Abad.
Description of Nuclear sites(sites listed clockwise, Source:NTI.org):
Iranian WMD Profile: Click Here
Procurement-Defense Industry for Iran Click HERE
1. Bonab Energy Research Center
Other Names: Bonab Atomic Research Center
Location: 80km south of Tabriz
Subordinate to: AEOI
Size: 10.5 hectars (at a minimum)
Primary Function: Research and development
Description:
In 1989, Iran began the first phase of Bonab's development, but it did not become operational until 1995. The center conducts research on nuclear technology for agricultural applications. In July 1997, IAEA Director General Hans Blix visited Bonab and found that all was in order. However, there have been allegations that not all activities at Bonab that has been declared to the IAEA.
2. Moallem Kaleyah
Other Names: Mo'allem Kalayeh, Moa'alem Kelayeh, Ghaziv
Location: Elbruz mountains northwest of Tehran
Subordinate to: AEOI
Size: Nuclear weapon production
Primary Function: Suspected Nuclear Weaponization Research
Description:
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) reportedly operates a gas centrifuge uranium enrichment plant at Moallem Kaleyah. In 1987, Iran acquired equipment from French, German, and Italian companies to construct and outfit the facility. Some sources report that the facility was for weaponization. Other sources state that Moallem Kaleyah may be used for laser enrichment. In 1992, IAEA inspectors visited the site and found only a small training center under construction. Some believe that the inspectors were taken to the wrong location, away from the real site.
3. Karaj Agricultural and Medical Research Center
Other Names: Nuclear Research Center for Agriculture and Medicine (NRCAM), Center for Agricultural Research and Nuclear Medicine
Location: Karaj
Subordinate to: AEOI
Primary Function: Research in nuclear medicine and agriculture
Description:
On 11 May 1991, the AEOI began operating this research center. It comprises the Departments of Nuclear Agriculture, Ion Beam Applications, Materials Engineering, Nuclear Electronics, Nuclear Medicine, and Health Physics. It also operates a 30MeV cyclotron accelerator, a one milliamp calutron, and secondary standard dosimetry laboratory.
4. Tehran Nuclear Research Center (TNRC)
Other Names: Amirabad Nuclear Research Center, Amirabad Technical College, NRC
Location: University of Tehran
Size: Large, with numerous departments and facilities
Subordinate to: AEOI
Primary Function: Nuclear research facility
Description:
The Tehran Nuclear Research Center (TNRC) is located at the University of Tehran. The center was constructed in the early 1960s and became operational in 1965. The University of Tehran originally oversaw the center, but in 1974 it was transferred to its present management, the AEOI. The TNRC is comprosed of the following: Reactor Research and Operation Department; Radioisotopes Research and Production Department; Nuclear Physics Department; Theoretical Physics and Mathematics Departments; Analytical Chemistry Department; Engineering Department; Solid State Physics Section; Health Physics Department; Electronics Department; and the Chemistry & Physics Department. The TNRC is also on the site of the Tehran Research Reactor (TRR). In 1967, this US-made 5MW reactor went critical. Intelligence analysts believe that the TNRC is the location of Iran's secret nuclear program, including plutonium reprocessing, laser enrichment, and weapons design efforts.
5. JHL Uranium Conversion Facility
Location: Jabr Ibn Hayan Multipurpose Laboratory (JHL)
Subordinate to: AEOI
Size: Laboratory scale
Primary Function: Research in conversion processes
Description:
The JHL appears to have at least a laboratory-scale capability to convert uranium. In a letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Iranian authorities confirmed that in 1991, the facility had received natural uranium that was not previously reported.
Iran stated that in 1991, they received 1000kg of UF6, 400kg of UF4, and 400kg of UO2. This material was being held (and likely remains) at the JHL. Iran further stated that some of the imported UO2 was used to test uranium purification and conversion processes. According to a June 2003 IAEA report, "The experiments involved the dissolution of UO2 nitric acid, and the use of resulting uranyl nitrate for testing a pulse column and ammonium uranyl carbonate (AUC) production processes envisioned for the Uranium Conversion Facility (UCF)...." In 2000, Iran converted almost all of the UF4 that it had obtained in 1991 to uranium metal. Subsequently, Iran stored the conversion equipment at that facility and began refurbishing it to create a (dedicated) metal reprocessing laboratory. The IAEA reported in June that the role of uranium metal in Iran still needs to be understood since Iran's declared fuel cycle, light water reactors, and planned heavy water reactor do not require uranium metal for fuel.
6. Gorgan
Other Names: Neka
Location: Gorgan al-Kabir Center
Subordinate to: n/a
Size: n/a
Primary Function: Nuclear weapon production
Description:
In the early 1990s, the media reported that there was a secret nuclear research facility at Gorgan. According to one report, scientists from Iran, Ukraine, Russia, and Kazakstan were working at the Gorgan al-Kabir Center to develop nuclear weapons. These reports have never been substantiated.
7. Damavand Tokamak
Location: Nuclear Fusion Research Center (NFRC)
Subordinate to: AEOI
Size: n/a
Primary Function: Plasma and fusion research
Description:
Damavand is used for plasma physics research in a magnetic configuration similar to the ITER reactor. It provides an environment for scientists to reproduce plasma disruptions without compromising the equilibrium, stability, or control over the elongated plasma cross-section processes in the near-wall plasma and auxiliary heating systems.
8. Natanz Enrichment Plant
Location: 40km SEof Kashan and 150km north of Isfahan
Subordinate to: AEOI
Size: 1000 sq km
Primary Function: Uranium enrichment
Description:
The Natanz Enrichment Plant is a large facility holding a pilot plant (PFEP) and commercial enrichment plant (FEP). Both of these use gas centrifuge technology to enrich uranium. Iran's centrifuges use an aluminium rotor with a diameter of approximately 100 millimeters. When inspectors visited the facilities in June, they observed that the centrifuges at PFEP were possibly of "an early European design." Analysts theorize that they are thought to be an improved version of the G2-type aluminium-rotor centrifuge built by Gernot Zippe in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Iran's centrifuges are of a similar design to the centrifuges that Pakistan acquired clandestinely in the mid-1970s from the German company Urenco. According to media reports, Pakistan assisted Iran with the design of their uranium centrifuges. According to Western officials, Iran's centrifuges have a separative capacity of two separative work units (SW) per year. Another theory may be that the Chinese passed on technical information about Russian centrifuges to the Iranians. These centrifuges may ultimately have the same origins as the early German machines, since the Russians used German technicians to develop their centrifuges in the 1950s. Questions remain as to how the Iranians tested their centrifuges.
In a report to the IAEA, the authorities stated that, beginning in 1997, Iran conducted extensive modelling and simulations at the Amir Khabir University and the AEOI in Tehran, without the existence of any uranium material. However, the IAEA and the international community are skeptical of this claim.
The Natanz facility is believed to be the third stage in the three stages of Iran's centrifuge enrichment program. The program is believed to have begun in 1985 on the AEOI's premises in Tehran, before moving to the second stage at the Kalaye Electric Company, also in Tehran, in 1997. In 2002, assembly activities were moved to Natanz.
The Natanz Enrichment Plant comprises at least three main areas: an above-ground area, three large underground structures, and one large building standing alone. The above-ground area consists of six large buildings. Two of these are twin 2,500 meter halls. The function of the above-ground buildings is to assemble gas centrifuges. The underground structures are primarily centrifuge halls. The first two buildings each measure 190 meters by 170 meters, with a surface area of approximately 32,000 square meters. The third structure is smaller, with a gross ground area of approximately 7,700 square meters. It is intended to provide support and administrative services to the two larger structures.
9. Esfahan Nuclear Fuel Research and Production Center (NFRPC)
Location: Reshandasht, 15km SE of Eshahan
Subordinate to: ENTC/AEOI
Size: Pilot-scale plant
Primary Function: Research and development
Description:
The NFRPC was founded in 1974 for scientific and technical support of country's comprehensive nuclear power plant program. It is involved in various aspects of fuel analysis and research. The Metallurgical Engineering and Fuel Department at the center operates the Fuel Fabrication Laboratory (FFL) and is involved in "experimental production of fuel for WWER reactors." NFRPC may be the future location of the fuel manufacturing plant (FMP). Construction at the site of ENTC may have included a hexafluoride plant that was built with Chinese assistance, as part of nuclear cooperation deal, which was later cancelled under US pressure.
10. Saghand
Other Names: Sagend, Sakhaid
Location: Yazd province in central Iran desert, Kavir
Subordinate to: Ministry of Industry and Mines
Size: 5,000 tons of uranium reserves
Primary Function: Uranium mining
Description:
The combined Saghand deposit contains approximately 5000 tons of uranium ore reserves. After the AEOI conducted extensive geological and exploratory operations, it began constructing a mine, which will be completed by 2004. There are two distinct deposits at Saghand. Saghand 1 is approximately 16m below the surface and encompasses an area 200 by 300 meters. There are about 785 tons of uranium ore reserves, with an average grade of 459ppm at Saghand 1. Saghand 2 is approximately 70m below the surface.
Iran has received assistance in exploiting its uranium deposits at various times and from various countries. Specialists have come from Argentina, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Russia. Most notably, the Chinese have provided the greatest assistance. In the early 1990s, over 600 Chinese and Iranian specialists formed a working group to investigate the deposits. Experts from the Beijing Research Institute of Uranium Geology have assisted Iran in prospecting for uranium in the past. Additionally, the National Council of Resistance in Iran (NCRI) has observed approximately 50 Chinese experts at Saghand. Currently, there are 23 Iranian specialists and 77 engineers and workers preparing the deposits for mining. Before the mine begins operations, that number should increase to 233.
11. Yazd, Benefication and Hydrometallurgical Center (BHRC)
Other Names: Hydrometallurgical Research Center at Saghand University
Location: Yazd
Subordinate to: AEOI
Size: Multiple facilities and laboratories
Primary Function: Uranium ore purification and processing
Description:
AEOI personnel working at the BHRC examine the mineralogy, mineral processing, beneficiation, preparation and leaching of uranium ores to determine the best method for mining and recovery of uranium in Yazd.
The BHRC operates research labs and engineering facilities that undertake:
* Sampling, crushing, grinding, preparation, and mineral processing of uranium, thorium, and phosphates;
* Research to determine the process-flow for the hydrometallurgy of resources in the bench-scale and pilot-plant;
* Studies to compare lab and pilot-plant conditions;
* Expansion of heap-leaching methods, in-place, in-situ, and bacteria leaching;
* Preparation of technical-specifications and the layout of pilot plant for production of yellow cake; and
* All areas of purification and milling operation at a laboratory scale.
12. Fasa, Suspected Rudan Conversion Facility
Name: Suspected Rudan Conversion Facility
Location: Fasa
Subordinate to: Ministry of Industry and Mines
Size: n/a
Primary Function: Uranium conversion processes
Description:
US officials asserted that in the mid-1990s, China built a uranium hexafluoride conversion plant in Rudan as part of a secret nuclear cooperation agreement signed in 1991. The agreement came as the result of a two-day Chinese visit of Iran's nuclear facilities in July 1991. According to media reports, in late 1994, China delivered equipment for the plant to Iran.
13. Bushehr-1
Location: Bushehr
Subordinate to: AEOI
Size: VVER 1000
Primary Function: Nuclear power generation
Description:
Bushehr is currently under construction and expected to be completed by in late 2003 or early 2004. It is similar to the technical configuration of Unit Four at Russia's Balakovskaya plant in Balakovo.
The Bushehr project began in 1975, before the 1979 revolution. The West German company Kraftwerke Union (KWU) started building what would have been a pair of 1,300MWe pressurized water reactors at that time. Bushehr-1 was 90 percent built and Bushehr-2 partly built when a series of problems began to plague the project. The first came in 1979 after the new government under the Ayatollah Khomeini decided to freeze construction of the reactors. The project was restarted shortly after the new government came to power. However, from 1980-1988, Iraqi warplanes conducted a series of bombing raids on the reactors and damaged them severely. Subsequently, the government requested assistance from foreign commercial contractors to rebuild and complete the power plants. Iran contacted various countries including Argentina, China, Russia, and West Germany. Finally, in 1995, Tehran and Moscow signed an $800 million agreement for the completion of Bushehr-1. Minatom assumed overall management of the work, utilizing organizations such as Zarubezhatomenergostroy (Nuclear Energy Construction Abroad) and Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrate Plant, which is contributing nuclear fuel. In addition, Russia has been training at least 10-20 graduate students and PhD students annually in Russian facilities such as the Kurchatov Institute. Other Iranian technicians may have been trained in Russia at various reactors and institutes over the years. The experience that these students and technicians gain may be used to operate Bushehr, but may also be used to develop new indigenous reactors, or other more discreet military applications.
Russian contractors has suffered several setbacks while constructing Bushehr due to problems related to the adaptation of the reactors' original German technology to fit new Russian designs. For instance, Russia's VVER-1000 reactors require six horizontal VVER steam generators. However, the Siemens 1,300MWe was only designed to hold four vertical steam generators. The metallurgical specifications of German and Russian equipment are also different. This may result in future corrosion and other problems.
As final construction nears (2003), there is discussion between Iran and Russia regarding an agreement for Russia to provide fuel for the reactor and for Iran to return spent fuel from the reactor to Russia.
14. Ardakan, Uranium Ore Processing Plant
Location: Ardakan
Subordinate to: AEOI
Size: Large scale
Primary Function: Ore purification
Description:
This large-scale facility will be able to process between 100 to 200 tons annually. Iran may have received assistance in developing the plant from various countries. In 1989, Argentina signed an agreement to build a series of structures, but that deal fell through due to US input. In the mid-1990s, Russia drew designs for the plant. Later, Chinese specialists helped Iran begin constructing the plant. It is scheduled to be completed and begin operations in 2005.
15. Darkhovin, Past Proposed Power Reactor Deals
Name: Darkhovin
Other Names: Darkhouin, Ahvaz, Esteghlal, and Karun
Location: South of Ahvaz, on the Karun River
Subordinate to: AEOI
Size: n/a
Primary Function: Nuclear power production
Description:
Darkhovin has been the proposed location for several proposed reactor projects. The first was in 1973, when the French were contracted to construct two 950MW pressurized water reactors (PWRs). In 1979, following the Islamic revolution, the deal was cancelled. In 1993, Iran contracted with the Chinese to construct two 300MW Qinshan reactors under a project named Esteghlal ("Independence") at that location. In 1995, China cancelled construction of the reactors. This may have been due to US pressure on China to end nuclear cooperation with Iran.
16. Arak, IR-40
Location: Arak
Subordinate to: AEOI
Size: 40MW
Primary Function: Nuclear research
Description:
On 5 May 2003, the Iranian authorities informed the IAEA of its intention to construct a heavy water research reactor at Arak. Construction of IR-40 is planned to begin in 2004. IR-40 is a planned 40MW Heavy Water Reactor that will use natural UO2 fuel and heavy water as both cooler and moderator. The AEOI will use IR-40 for research and development, radioisotope production, and training. To meet the isotope production requirements, Iranian officials believe that the reactor must have a neutron flux of 1013 to 1014 n/cm2/s. This would require a reactor capable of producing 30-40MW (th) when using UO2 as fuel. The decision to produce a heavy water reactor was made in the mid-1990s.
17. Khondab Heavy Water Production Plant
Location: Khondab, near Arak
Subordinate to: AEOI
Size: large—exceeding usual civilian heavy applications
Primary Function: Heavy water production
Description:
The heavy water production plant is under construction in Khondab, near Arak. According to the May 2003 NSG Plenary notes, the production capacity for this plant is approximately 100 tons per year. On 14 August 2002, members of an Iranian resistance group, the National Council of Resistance of Iran, alleged that the Iranian government was involved in the construction of "at least two secret sites that support its nuclear weapons program." One of these was a heavy water production plant in Arak, a city 150 miles south of Tehran. These allegations prompted the IAEA to question the Iranian authorities about the existence of a heavy water program. During the Director General's visit in February 2003, Iran confirmed that a heavy water production plant was under construction in Arak.
18. Lashkar-Abad, Suspected Additional Enrichment Sites
Location: Lashkar-Abad; Ramandeh, near Hashtgerd
Subordinate to: AEOI; Lashkar- Abad is part of the Research and Development Division; Ramandeh is part of the Karaj Agricultural and Medical Centre.
Size: Smaller than Natanz
Primary Function: Uranium enrichment
Description:
On 27 May 2003, the People's Mojedin Organization (MKO) revealed that two additional secret uranium enrichment facilities were being constructed by the Iranian government. The first is at Lashkar-Abad, which is close to Hashtgerd, and the second is at Ramandeh.
The MKO asserted that construction at both facilities is complete and there may already be "a number" of centrifuges installed there. The MKO also stated that the additional facilities are "complimentary" to the larger Natanz site, and may support the larger facility or even take over for Natanz if it were destroyed. The MKO claims that these additional sites may be under the management of the front company, "Noor-Afza-Gostar." In July 2003, the IAEA sought permission to take environmental samples at these two sites, but the Iranian authorities refused their access.
IAEA inspectors were permitted visits to these locations on 13 August 2003. During that visit, they determined that the Lashkar-Abad facility was operating a laser laboratory. Iranian officials claim that the facility was originally devoted to laser fusion research and laser spectroscopy, but that its focus has since changed. The IAEA inspectors noted that the facility was engaging in the production of copper vapour lasers of up to 100 watts, but that no experiments involving laser spectroscopy or enrichment appeared to be underway.
The officials claimed that in the past, the laser division of the AEOI had cooperated with a university student to write a thesis in laser spectroscopy of SF6. The IAEA noted in its August 2003 to its board of governors, that, "While the study could be seen as relevant to laser enrichment, the underlying experiments appear not to have involved nuclear material." IAEA inspectors were not able to take environmental samples at Lashkar-Abad.
posted by Marko at 3/01/2006 06:21:00 AM
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