Leighton Holdings subsidiary Thiess has won a $1 billion mining contract to extend the life of OZ Minerals' Prominent Hill copper and gold mine.

The new contract means the mining services company will carry out mining operations for OZ Minerals at the South Australian mine until 2018.

Thiess said in a statement that it was well underway in the planning, training and implementation of the ramp-up, which required a substantial expansion of its existing operation, peaking at five fleets of large mining equipment.

The company has been building infrastructure for Oz Minerals and providing mining services at Prominent Hill since 2006.

Thiess Australian Mining executive general manager Michael Wright on Tuesday said he would employ an extra 170 people in coming months and 550 people in the next few years.

He said 15 per cent of the current workforce were from local Aboriginal communities.

In 2011 Prominent Hill produced 107,744 tonnes of copper and 160,007 ounces of gold in 2011.