Chapter 26 Industrial Three-Year Plan
Australia is known as a country sitting on a mine cart. It is not an exaggeration. Although several large mineral deposits that Australia is famous for in later generations have not been discovered, in terms of proven mineral resources, Australia is also a country rich in mineral resources.
As iron ore and coal mines that are indispensable for industrial development, Australia has discovered several locations in uninhabited areas in the west, with total reserves reaching 360 million tons and 1.9 billion tons respectively.
Perhaps these two figures seem huge at first glance, but compared to Australia's proven iron ore reserves of 15 billion tons and 900 billion tons, this number is only a fraction.
But compared with other countries in this era, Australia's proven mineral resources are already huge.
Even based on the current steel production of the British Empire, Australia's iron ore is enough for Britain to consume for thirteen years.
Although the British Empire's steel production will not remain unchanged forever, it will be impossible for Australia to catch up with Britain's steel production within a few years or even ten years.
This also means that even if Australia is now making every effort to develop its industry, there will never be a shortage of mineral resources in more than ten years.
However, as a country with large mineral resources, Australia, at any time, lacks only funds, equipment and talents, not minerals that can be seen everywhere.
"Minister Pierre, tell me about your plan in detail." Pierre Silvio Berlusconi's proposal was also Arthur's plan, so Arthur said to Minister Pierre with slight interest.
"Your Highness, there are a lot of mineral resources in the uninhabited areas in the west of our country. Among them, coal mines and iron ores are necessary resources for industrial development. I propose that first, build a large-scale industrial production base in the uninhabited areas in the west, and use the resources you have provided, Your Highness. equipment to increase our steel production to at least 100,000 tons and 200,000 tons or more within three years. At the same time, we will use the steel we produce to lay railways between the western industrial zone and our cities and build a transportation network. . When our steel production reaches a new stage in three years, it will not be too late to pursue the technology industry." Seeing that Arthur was very interested in his proposal, Minister Pierre's voice became louder.
"Minister Pierre, your plan is that we increase steel production first, and the rest can be put on hold for the time being, right?" Arthur asked with a smile.
Increasing steel production may be difficult for other backward countries, but it is actually very simple for Australia.
Australia holds 50 million pounds worth of industrial equipment from Britain. These equipment were carefully selected by Arthur, including some basic industrial equipment such as steel-making furnaces.
The advantage of this is that Australia can quickly master the use of these industrial equipment. Once it is fully digested and made good use of these industrial equipment, Australia can become one of the top 20 industries in the world.
"No, Your Highness. My proposal is that we should give priority to the development of basic industries including steel plants. This does not mean that we have to give up other industrial development in a short period of time. I think the ultimate goal of Australia's industry is to develop into an independent Research and production constitute a complete system of industrial circles. I believe that our ultimate goal in the science and technology industry, including military factories and shipyards, is to achieve independent research and development and production. Therefore, while developing basic industries, we can It is necessary to introduce talents from Europe on a large scale to fill the talent vacancies caused by our country's backward educational foundation. From an industrial perspective, developing industry and attracting talents must be carried out at the same time," said Minister Pierre.
Australia still has huge advantages over some countries that are also seeking development.
Because of the same race and geographical location far away from Europe, Australia basically has no major conflicts with all European countries and can attract advanced technology and talents from various European countries.
What Minister Pierre said is actually asking Australia to have the ability to independently develop advanced technology and equipment in the future, rather than just importing it from Europe.
This means that Australia must attract a large number of talents from Europe, otherwise independent research will only be empty talk. Arthur nodded. As a talent previously sent to Australia by the British Empire, Minister Pierre's abilities should not be underestimated.
If the introduction of equipment to develop basic industries is the present, then attracting talents to enhance R&D capabilities is seeking the future.
For a big country that wants to rise or even dominate, the country's independent research and development capabilities at the scientific and technological level are indispensable.
If a country can only rely on imports of advanced industrial products from abroad, then even if the country greatly improves its strength by importing a large amount of advanced equipment, it will still be controlled by others and cannot truly become a powerful country.
"Minister Pierre, what is our current steel production?" Arthur asked.
It must be said that the colonial period was also the period when the gap between Western countries and backward countries was the largest.
While the steel production in Western countries has exceeded one million, or even reached tens of millions, the island country, a country that will rely on the reform to become a great power in the future, has a steel production of just over a thousand tons.
Things are better in Australia, but only a little. Because of the large amount of iron ore and coal mines, the British established small-scale steel plants in Australia.
"Your Highness, the annual steel production in the six states last year was about 3,700 tons, and the pig iron production was 5,000 tons." Pierre said without thinking.
These data are all real data from Australia that he learned during this week. Because he knows that these data are likely to be used, Minister Pierre remembers them very well.
"I give you three years to triple Australia's steel production every year. Can you do it?" Arthur looked at the confident Minister Pierre and asked with a smile.
It is not an easy task to triple every year. It may be easy in the first year, but the difficulty increases exponentially in the second year.
Three times five thousand tons of pig iron is fifteen thousand tons, and three times fifteen thousand tons is forty-five thousand tons.
Not to mention that in the last year, the 45,000 tons will triple to nearly 140,000 tons, and the total steel production will reach about 250,000 tons.
"No problem, Your Highness! As long as you give me sufficient funds and equipment, I promise to triple the steel production every year within the next three years." Minister Pierre answered decisively without thinking.
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(End of chapter)