First contract awarded to Adelaide firm in Federal Governments $300bn defence plan

A battery-manufacturing company from Adelaide's western suburbs has been awarded the first contract to work on research and development for 12 planned new submarines.
Pacific Marine Batteries has hired 20 engineers and technicians to design a battery that may be used to power the new submarines.

The South Australian Premier, Mike Rann, says the research and development contract for a battery is an important one.

"At the moment each Collins class submarine carries about 450 tonnes of batteries, but the next generation of submarines is going to need about 650 tonnes of batteries and they're going to have to have a longer life, because the new submarines are going to have a longer range and are going to spend longer under water," he said.



The state's hi-tech defence and ship-building industries would benefit from billions of dollars of weapons purchases including new warships, fighter jets, and manned and unmanned spy planes proposed to be based at the Edinburgh RAAF base.

Billions of dollars and thousands of jobs are earmarked for South Australia in the Federal Government's $300 billion defence contracts plan.

The plan for defence equipment across the nation includes:

100 stealth jet fighters,
EIGHT new frigates,
20 fast offshore combat vessels,
SIX heavy landing craft,
66 new helicopters,
EIGHT maritime patrol planes,
A 15,000-tonne supply ship.

The army's expansion has been set in stone and the new Adelaide-based battalion and all the ancillary works associated with it will now proceed.

Bigger salaries, conditions and housing for the Australian Defence Force's 55,000 uniformed personnel is also provided.

SA Premier Mike Rann says it will secure thousands of jobs and years more shipbuilding work in Adelaide.

"This is the cream on the cake for us and also guarantees another massive project to follow the air warfare destroyers project," he said.


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BHP Billiton Olympic Dam expansion - Shot in the arm for South Australia

BHP Billiton is seeking the approval of the Australian, South Australian and Northern Territory governments for a significant expansion of its existing mining and processing operation at Olympic Dam in northern South Australia.

Located 560 kilometres north of Adelaide, South Australia, Olympic Dam is a multi-mineral ore body. It is the world's fourth largest remaining copper and gold deposit and the largest known uranium deposit. It also contains significant quantities of silver.

The proposed expansion would be a progressive development, requiring construction activity over a period of 11 years. The project schedule ultimately will depend on the timing and nature of government approvals and the final investment decision of the BHP Billiton Board.

BHP Billiton has announced plans to turn its Olympic Dam mine in South Australia into the largest open cut on earth.

A 4600-page environmental impact statement, released by the company May 1, 2009 , set out an ambitious timetable for the conversion of the copper, gold, silver and uranium mine from underground to pit operations.


Work would start as early as April 2010 on the multi-billion-dollar upgrade.


Under BHP Billiton's best-case scenario, excavation of the 1km-deep mine pit, and possibly construction of a pipeline to supply a gas power plant, would be under way by July next year.

By that time, a mini-city known as Hiltaba Village would be rising in the desert to house the thousands of workers needed for the project. This would be in addition to the expansion of the existing township of Roxby Downs.

The mine's workforce would double from 4000 to 8000 when it reached full capacity, with 2500 additional houses to be built for permanent workers. The operation representing the world's biggest single producer of uranium and one of the biggest of copper.

The open cut envisaged by BHP Billiton at Olympic Dam would become the biggest man-made hole on the planet and yield $1 trillion worth of ore over its century-long life, more than $200 million per annum of which would be paid in royalties to the South Australian Government. Production would lift six-fold from 12 million tonnes of ore annually to 72 million tonnes after 2020.

"We will work with BHP Billiton to maximise the number of jobs here in South Australia" The South Australian Premiere, Mike Rann said.

South Australian Mineral Resources Development Minister Paul Holloway yesterday said the Government was not blinded by the wealth on offer at Olympic Dam.

"If there are issues we do not believe have been addressed properly, then we will ask BHP to reconsider them and make appropriate amendments," Mr Holloway said.

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