Chapter 167: They're Waiting for the Right Person
Hearing the reporter's barrage of questions, Li Tang simply shook his head and walked away. Out of sight, out of mind.
After all, when it came to these unscrupulous foreign media outlets, they could write what they wanted. People might read it for entertainment, but it had no real impact. So why bother?
Lucas and the Financial Post journalist only stayed for a day before leaving quietly.
Meanwhile, the project continued to move forward. There was still a long road ahead in exploring more of the ore bodies.
Based on geological experience, the reserves at Gongcun Copper-Gold Mine had far from been fully revealed.
He Runqi, aside from managing the technical staff and organizing work teams to follow Geological Team Six, also took on accounting duties.
He was managing over 10 million yuan, scribbling dense notes in his little notebook, terrified of making even a single mistake.
Lately, he had been looking a little troubled and eventually approached Li Tang with a worried face. "Li Tang, I know everyone's excited now that we've found the ore, and everyone's working hard. But I have to bring you some bad news."
"Go ahead." Li Tang straightened up, sensing his seriousness.
"When we started the project, we had nearly 20 million yuan. Two million was set aside for vehicles, daily expenses, and hospitality. The remaining 18 million—we transferred the first six million to Geological Team Six, and after that we've been paying monthly, based on completed work volumes."
He flipped open his little ledger, terrified he'd made a mistake. "Based on current spending, we've only got about 3 million left for exploration."
"That sounds about right," Li Tang said with a faint smile. "You've been managing both technical and financial work—thanks for your hard work. Don't worry. When this project wraps up, I'll make sure you're rewarded."
"It's not about the hard work," He Runqi replied. He'd never doubted Li Tang's generosity. He was just worried about how fast the money was burning.
"I heard Captain Damba recently brought in a few more deep-drilling rigs from other areas. The daily work volume is increasing fast."
Because Li Tang paid on time—and generously—Geological Team Six had thrown all their available rigs into the project, working around the clock.
For a well-funded project like this, the drill crews were motivated. A month of work here earned them more than a year elsewhere. Of course, they gave it everything they had.
As a result, the project was progressing at light speed.
And the results were multiplying.
But yes—the money was disappearing just as fast.
"That's exactly what I told Captain Damba to do," Li Tang said. He wanted to maximize results as quickly as possible.
Usually, a prospecting project would drill one hole, then spend weeks analyzing before deciding whether to drill another.
But not here.
Li Tang had ordered drilling at maximum grid density, regardless of cost.
Other private owners wouldn't dare take this risk—if they failed to strike ore, the financial loss would be catastrophic.
But Li Tang was confident.
This approach had one big advantage: compressing what normally took one or two years into just a few months.
Seeing how relaxed Li Tang was, He Runqi felt even more stressed. "If we keep this up, we'll run out of money fast."
"Oh! Right!"
Li Tang smacked his forehead. These past few weeks he'd been so idle, he felt like a retired old man out feeding birds—he'd almost forgotten about funding.
This issue had been on his mind before. He'd approached Wukuang Group and Zise Mining about it, but back then, he didn't have solid results. He talked a lot, but lacked persuasive data. The moment he said "50 million," they ran scared.
Now that they had struck ore—a big deposit—he finally had real bargaining power.
"You reminded me. Don't worry about it—I'm confident I can solve this."
He went inside, picked up his phone, and called Xiao Yongyue.
Xiao had visited once, treated everyone to a roast lamb feast, and then vanished.
He'd thrown two million into the project like it was nothing—never asking how it was going or whether Li Tang was pocketing any of it.
But when he got Li Tang's call, he heard the urgency and didn't hesitate. He came straight from Gaolumu City.
When he arrived, he didn't even ask how the project was going. Maybe he'd never really expected much from it.
"Brother, I went to check out the Qinglong Copper Mine project," he said, throwing an arm around Li Tang's shoulder with typical exuberance. "You wouldn't believe it—my God, the scale of that copper mine! With current international prices, it's worth hundreds of billions! If we could get a piece of that, I swear—we could become not just China's richest, but the richest in the world!"
This guy already had assets in the hundreds of millions, but it wasn't enough—he dreamed of being world famous.
No wonder he once threw 1.5 billion at the Qulong Copper Mine. It was in his nature.
"What's the point of visiting if you can't get in?" Li Tang asked.
"I met with Chen Jinhe, tried to feel him out."
Xiao sighed. "But Chen's not looking for partners. That guy's greedy as hell."
"For a mine that big, no one's going to share it," Li Tang said. "With Zise Mining's strength and the local government behind them, they can handle Qinglong alone."
"They might choke on it!" Xiao shook his head, regretting he'd missed his shot at world domination.
Still holding onto Li Tang's shoulder, he grinned. "I know you're tight with Zise Mining and Chen. Why don't we go together and talk to him again? Maybe we can work something out for Qinglong?"
"No need." Li Tang didn't want any part of Qinglong's future. A massive domestic project like that wasn't where he could shine.
"You don't get it. Even Broken Hill Mining from Austria is trying to buy out Zise Mining just to get their hands on Qinglong."
Xiao seemed excited by the opportunity. "If a foreign company can try, why can't we?"
"You're dreaming. That's not realistic. And how do you even know about Broken Hill?" Li Tang asked.
"When I went to Gaizhe County, I saw their whole foreign delegation touring the site with Chen. They were negotiating a buyout or equity investment."
"That's never going to happen," Li Tang said flatly. "There's no way China's leaders would allow a foreign firm to take control of a strategic resource like Qinglong. That kind of sell-off was something we did 30 or 40 years ago when we needed foreign capital and technology. Not anymore. What we lack now is resources."
"You're right," Xiao nodded, still clearly yearning for a piece of the action. "But seriously, why'd you go with Zise Mining back then? Why not come to me for Qinglong? Don't you take care of your brothers?"
Li Tang gave him a sidelong glance. He thought, If I'd brought you into Qinglong, I'd have been ruining your life.
If Xiao had led Qinglong, he'd probably end up bankrupt—or worse.
But Xiao's earlier comment had triggered something in Li Tang's mind. Fragments of memory began flashing through his head, glowing like stars in a night sky.
"Broken Hill, Broken Hill…" he muttered.
Xiao thought Li Tang didn't know the company. He took the chance to show off his international knowledge. "It's been all over the foreign press—Broken Hill merging with BHP. You check any international newspaper, it's front-page news."
"Merging…"
The fragments in Li Tang's memory began to coalesce into something clear.
He looked up. "After the merger, is it called BHP-Billiton?"
"How would I know? It's not like I get to name it," Xiao joked, a little puzzled by Li Tang's expression.
Li Tang checked the date on his phone and muttered, "It really is BHP-Billiton."
"What's going on?" Xiao was confused.
"Nothing," Li Tang replied. But the train of thought had cleared up in his mind.
A bold idea was starting to take root—a seed that had just been planted deep inside.
In the vast world of mining, countless hidden treasures were still slumbering underground, waiting to be awakened.
They're waiting for the right person.
Xiao didn't think much of it. He'd come all this way and still didn't know why Li Tang had called him in such a rush. "So… is this about Broken Hill's merger?"
"No, no." Li Tang waved it off. "We've been chatting so long I almost forgot. You're the big boss. The potash business is booming. You haven't been around here much…"
"Come on, don't flatter me," Xiao said, waving him off.
"You said earlier I didn't take care of you. I'll push back on that. With the Gongcun project, I didn't go to anyone else—I came to you. Why? Because I believed in the potential!"
Li Tang explained briefly, then got to the point. "We've found ore at Gongcun. It's a big deposit."
"Huh?" Xiao paused, genuinely surprised.
He'd visited once and talked to Damba. A few holes had hit ore—but the grades were low. He'd even consulted some experts who told him those grades were worthless.
So he'd lost interest.
And now Li Tang was telling him it was a major find?
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