Miriani

Outreach Mineral Processor Nearing Completion, Shipyards To Follow

The InSpace Development ministry today announced in a press conference that completion of the Outreach Mineral Processor is close at hand. The structure, part of the New Outreach Industrial Complex, will be the first part of the complex to begin operations since it began construction in late 2355. It was also reported that the long-anticipated Yantai Shipyard Facility will be operational within six months, becoming the first government-owned mass production facility for starships since the Alliance Harboryards in sector 3 were destroyed by the CTN in 2325.

The mineral processing facility is hoped to provide a welcome boost to the bardenium industry, which has been racked by shortages due to the Praelor war. "With the best refinery technologies in known space, the Hale Collective is poised to retake its position as an industrial superpower," said Minister Alvares, head of the InSpace Development ministry since a cabinet reshuffle after the last party election. "We will be able to extract more vital resources, and especially more bardenium, from hauled asteroids than anyone in the world. And with the completion of the rest of the industrial complex, we will be take the lead in heavy industry, producing atmospheric salvagers, wormhole drives, relativity drives...and above all, our own fully-functional starships." He was speaking at a trade convention for Hale's massive, vertically-integrated manufacturing conglomerates. These companies are backed by the state and stand to gain a huge windfall from sector 30's new development.

The Commonwealth and the AIE both welcomed the news in a lukewarm fashion, a Commonwealth representative stating that he hopes that "the Collective will temper their contributions to human industry with a respect for the natural environment of planets across the galaxy", referring to an oft-stated intention by the Hale to begin mining operations on planets surveyed by Hale pilots. It is thought that both alliances are currently negotiating deals with the Hale Collective to obtain access to the products of the mineral processor for their own industry. The outcome remains to be seen.

Dated: 06/07/2359