State-owned nuclear technology company NTP Radioisotopes has confirmed that it expects to double its production of the medical radioisotope molybdenum-99 (mo-99) for at least the rest of this month and next.
This comes six months after the company, a subsidiary of the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa), started implementing a sustainable return to service (SRS) programme.
NTP is a key producer and supplier of mo-99 globally. Mo-99 is the parent isotope of technetium-99m, which is the most widely used medical radioisotope in the world – used in up to 20-million diagnostic nuclear medicine procedures each year.
NTP in May had to implement extended shutdowns of its isotope processing facilities, which gave rise to the SRS progamme.
“The SRS programme has provided a framework that has allowed a critical global nuclear supply facility to continue safely and sustainably producing high-quality, high specific-activity and high-yield fission-based Mo-99,” NTP MD Tina Eboka said on Thursday.
She added that the success of the SRS programme would not have been possible if not for the commitment of all stakeholders, including Necsa and the National Nuclear Regulator.
NTP chairperson Dr Namae Magau said she hoped the SRS programme would help NTP return to profitability after a two-year decline in revenue.
Before the NTP shutdowns, the company had reported revenues of more than R1.3-billion and profits of R202-million, for the 2016/17 financial year.