Chapter 163: There's Ore—Thin Thickness, Low Grade
Li Tang pointed to the area between the two fault lines. "Drilling in these zones—even if no ore is found—I won't get angry or cancel the work. I won't invent excuses to call them dry holes or reduce your exploration fees. We don't do that kind of shady business."
"You're the expert who discovered Qulong and Qinglong Copper Mines. You know the Gangdise Metallogenic Belt inside and out," Damba said, visibly pleased that Li Tang was taking this approach.
After all, if something went wrong, the responsibility wouldn't fall on them—and they'd still get paid. Why not go for it?
He immediately called over a few capable subordinates and instructed, "Head back and revise the drilling plan. For the dip direction of Fault No. 2—those earlier shallow mineralized holes—add more deeper drill holes."
The instruction was a bit vague, so the technicians asked, "How deep should the new holes go?"
"Two hundred, three hundred, even four hundred meters. Advance the drilling plans for those exploration lines," Damba said with a grin. "Boss Li said to drill first—we'll worry about mineralization later."
Now that they had Li Tang's promise, the team felt completely at ease.
Based on past experiences with private owners, if a drill hole didn't show mineralization, it would often be disqualified by any means possible just to avoid paying. Claiming non-compliance, calling it a "dry hole," reducing the fee—these were all common.
The owners' technical teams didn't just oversee—they were watchdogs, always ready to point out the smallest procedural error.
Otherwise, why pay them?
But Damba wasn't worried that Li Tang would pull those tricks. He had asked around: Li Tang's reputation on the Qulong and Qinglong projects was solid.
Time flew by.
More than ten shallow drill holes—each just over 100 meters—had already been completed. The core samples were being analyzed.
At Damba's invitation, Li Tang came to one of the drill sites on a barren slope, where rock cores were laid out neatly in boxes on a cleared platform.
"Eight shallow holes are done, depths ranging from 100 to 150 meters. Three of them hit mineralization," Damba said, picking up a core. "This is mineralized rock—rhyolitic porphyry. You can see chalcocite and native gold as fine disseminations."
They were standing by one of the mineralized holes.
Damba held a rock core that shimmered faintly with specks of gold under a microscope—natural gold. To the naked eye, it was almost invisible.
There were also reddish patches—chalcocite.
"This hole isn't bad. Copper grade is 0.28%, gold about 0.3 grams per ton, with a thickness of about thirteen meters."
Li Tang didn't react, staying calm.
As a professional, he knew exactly what those numbers meant.
They were average at best.
Copper's cut-off grade is 0.3%. For gold, it's around 3 grams per ton. These industry standards determine whether ore is worth mining.
"Industrial grade" means it's profitable to mine.
"Cut-off grade" means it might become profitable with improved techniques.
By these standards, the mineralization in this hole wasn't even at cut-off levels. There was mineralization, yes—but it wasn't valuable.
Maybe that's why the project had seen little funding over the years. Surface-level results weren't promising enough.
Damba noticed Li Tang's neutral expression and cautiously asked, "Most of our past results have been similar. There are still several active holes. Should we pause and reassess?"
He was worried Li Tang would lose interest. No private investor wants to keep spending on low-grade ore.
He also didn't understand why Lucas from Garan was so obsessed with this mine.
Maybe both Lucas and Li Tang were gambling that deeper layers held higher-grade ore?
A bit like gamblers who refuse to leave the table.
"No need to stop. Stick to the plan. Keep drilling," Li Tang said, shrugging.
He even pointed to an idle rig. "Don't let that one sit around. Move it to the next site."
"Are you sure we shouldn't pause?" Damba asked again.
"Time is money. We can't afford delays."
"What about funding?" Damba asked cautiously.
"The six million yuan we sent—has the project already exceeded that budget?" Li Tang asked, surprised. Drilling had only just begun, with just over ten holes finished.
"No, not yet," Damba said with a grin.
"Then there's no issue. If you're worried I'll skip out on the bill, we can settle monthly."
"Even better!" Damba said with joy. "The team is struggling to make payroll. Monthly settlements would help a lot."
"Damba, are you suggesting I'll run off without paying?" Li Tang joked.
"No, no…" Damba denied it, though the thought had crossed his mind.
Li Tang laughed. "Alright. Monthly payments it is."
He reviewed a few drill cores, especially the three mineralized ones. The copper hovered around cut-off grade, the gold was lower.
The verdict: there's ore, but it's thin and low-grade.
Coming down from the hill, he noticed a few unfamiliar off-road vehicles parked along the road—some with license plates from Qianzhou Province.
As he walked closer, he spotted Zhou Zhenxing and Li Zaiqiang. Alongside them were people from Geological Team 101—and surprisingly, Chen Jinhe and Yao Zhenyu had come too.
"Li Tang!"
They were squatting by the roadside, shivering in the wind, looking like they'd been waiting for hours. Seeing people descend the slope, someone called out.
Everyone who had been hiding in the cars to stay warm jumped out.
Li Tang immediately recognized his father and walked over quickly. "Dad, what are you doing here?"
Li Zaiqiang gave him a sharp look and scolded in a low voice, "If I hadn't called Qin Jianshe, I wouldn't even know you resigned from Wukuang! Do you even care about your parents?"
"I quit before New Year's," Li Tang admitted, somewhat sheepishly.
He knew his parents were conservative. They wouldn't approve of him leaving the safety of Wukuang Group—a coveted "iron rice bowl."
He had avoided bringing it up during the holidays, knowing it would spark a storm.
"What were you thinking?" Li Zaiqiang was furious. He raised his hand but put it down, glancing at the crowd.
"I have my own plans," Li Tang said. Though he had plenty of experience, in front of his father, he still felt respect and a bit of fear.
"You don't know anything!"
Li Zaiqiang was clearly angry but realized the decision was already made. He changed the subject. "So what are you doing now?"
Li Tang pointed at the hills. "Exploration."
"Running around in the wilderness? That's no match for working in Wukuang."
Li Zaiqiang thought Li Tang had joined some geological team like he had in his youth.
"I'm the client, Dad. I just stop by sometimes—it's not daily. It's good exercise," Li Tang said, smiling carelessly.
Seeing the tear in his son's jacket and a scratch on his arm, Li Zaiqiang's heart ached. "What happened to your hand?"
"I slipped on a loose rock. Just a scratch," Li Tang said, rolling up his sleeve. There was a bloody scrape, but no serious bleeding.
It was minor—but it didn't escape his father's eyes.
"Call your mom later and let her know how you're doing," he said gruffly.
"I will."
When they were done talking, Chen Jinhe came over and smiled. "Li Tang, we heard you left Wukuang. What brings you to Tubo for a project?"
"It's my own exploration right," Li Tang replied openly.
"Huh?" Chen blinked.
Li Zaiqiang didn't know about the 18 million investment Li Tang got from Zise Mining, but Chen did.
And he didn't expect Li Tang to go independent and launch his own exploration project.
The nearby group—Zhou Zhenxing, Pan Yuexing, and others—looked at Li Tang in disbelief.
"Li Tang, is this your personal investment?" Zhou asked.
"Not exactly. It's Gongcun Gold Company's license. I'm one of the shareholders," Li Tang explained.
"Oh—"
Zhou seemed to relax slightly. "I was wondering how a young guy like you could invest that much."
"He owns 90% of the company," He Runqi said helpfully.
"90%?" Zhou's face twitched. "So you're calling the shots."
Li Tang didn't deny it. "The company was created specifically for this project."
"How much are you investing in exploration?" Zhou asked, pointing at the hillside.
"We estimate between 50 million and 100 million yuan in total. Phase one is 20 million."
This was no secret. Anyone could confirm it with Geological Team Six.
But those numbers hit like a thunderclap. Everyone was stunned—including Chen Jinhe and Yao Zhenyu, seasoned pros.
Fifty to one hundred million?
What kind of monster project was this?
Considering Li Tang held 90% of the company, it meant he'd personally have to invest at least 45 million yuan.
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