Chapter 323: Happiness Came Too Suddenly
The conversation came to an abrupt halt.
Gareth's eyes flashed with a murderous intent, his face turned icy as he glared at Li Tang, choosing not to waste any more words. After such a firm rejection, any further attempt at persuasion would only lower his own status.
That certainly wasn't his usual style.
Gareth was accustomed to commanding respect and holding authority, not necessarily due to arrogance, but because others naturally elevated him. After all, as the CEO of BHP, everyone instinctively bowed before him.
"Lu, Long!" Gareth redirected his gaze past Li Tang toward Lu Chenyi and Long Fuyuan.
These two were old acquaintances; they'd collaborated for many years. No iron ore producer could afford to ignore these two giants.
Lu Chenyi greeted him warmly with a handshake, "It's our first day here, thanks for looking out for us."
Long Fuyuan also shook Gareth's hand politely.
After exchanging brief pleasantries, both quickly followed Li Tang, heading off in another direction. Seeing that the anticipated confrontation had fizzled out, the crowd lost interest. Conversations resumed, and people went back to their own drinks and chatter, paying less attention to Li Tang, the newly risen billionaire.
After all, everyone at this event was either influential or wealthy, each with their own pride.
"Li!" Zachary saw Li Tang approaching and greeted him warmly, thinking Li Tang had come to see him specifically.
Their cooperation was clearly beneficial to both sides. Lianying Mining had received significant support from the Western Australian government, including green lights on numerous approvals. The state government hoped Lianying Mining's successful mine development would boost employment and tax revenue. It was evident both sides were satisfied with the current situation.
"Mr. Governor," Li Tang started a casual chat.
As they discussed Lianying Mining, Li Tang noticed the plump middle-aged woman behind Zachary standing idly, appearing ready to leave. He quickly apologized, "Mr. Governor, please excuse me. I just saw an old acquaintance; I must say hello."
"No problem," Zachary politely stepped aside with his wife.
Li Tang walked straight toward Gina, raising his glass politely. "Ms. Gina, would I have the honor of sharing a drink with you?"
Gina was momentarily stunned—what was this young man's intention?
She glanced down at herself, her protruding belly blocking the view of her feet. Even when she'd been pregnant, she hadn't been this large. Right now, she wasn't pregnant—just overweight.
Apparently, this young billionaire had very different standards for appreciating women.
She brushed back a lock of hair behind her ear and smiled warmly. "Are you really the legendary hidden owner of Lianying Mining?"
"I'm the largest shareholder of Lianying Mining, though the phrase 'hidden owner' isn't exactly flattering," Li Tang replied modestly, quickly shifting the conversation to business. "If you don't mind, could we sit down and have a quick chat?"
"Of course."
Gina had once been married and had children, but was now divorced, though she did have a boyfriend. She wasn't against exploring another international romance, so she smiled and moved toward a private seating area.
However, seeing Li Tang had brought others along, it clearly wasn't meant to be a private encounter. Li Tang skipped the small talk and immediately addressed his intentions:
"We've heard Hancock Prospecting has won the case and will soon regain full control of the Hope Downs project."
"Yes, that's correct," Gina replied, realizing this conversation was about cooperation.
"No doubt Hope Downs has tremendous potential," Li Tang continued, pointing toward Lu Chenyi and Long Fuyuan. "These gentlemen are general managers from Haigang Steel and Tangshan Steel, respectively."
Gina's expression quickly turned respectful. Everyone in the iron ore industry recognized the names Haigang Steel and Tangshan Steel as towering giants of the Eastern steel market.
"Our company recently began discussing plans to visit China, looking to replicate Lianying Mining's success model, seeking collaborations with your two esteemed steel enterprises. It's truly remarkable you've traveled all this way to meet me."
With the iron ore market flourishing, now was clearly the optimal moment to capitalize. Hancock Prospecting had multiple deposits with remarkable reserves and high-grade ore, actively advancing their mining plans.
Lu Chenyi cut directly to the point. "Is Hancock Prospecting seeking partners for Hope Downs?"
"Yes," Gina nodded but frowned slightly. "You might not be familiar with the geography there. Hope Downs lies between the iron ore districts operated by Rio Tinto and BHP, effectively sandwiched between them. To ship our iron ore, we'd inevitably have to cross through their territories."
"I see," Lu Chenyi acknowledged calmly.
"For Hope Downs to access port facilities efficiently, building a railway connection northward to Rio Tinto's rail network would be ideal. It would significantly cut infrastructure costs and facilitate transporting our ore to Port Hedland."
Gina glanced around the room, spotting Alba nearby. They'd recently discussed this very topic—another promising partnership between Hancock and Rio Tinto.
Hancock Prospecting and Rio Tinto had decades of shared history, given Hancock owned the mineral rights to Rio Tinto's Hamersley Iron mines, merely licensing the operations. A collaboration on Hope Downs would be natural and logical, pending the smooth reacquisition of Kumba's 50% stake.
Across the room, Alba returned Gina's glance and nodded slightly. He had previously watched Gareth's failed interaction with Li Tang, feeling some satisfaction at Gareth's embarrassment. But seeing Li Tang now speaking so closely with Gina sparked a wave of concern.
What were they discussing?
Was it about Hope Downs or other Hancock projects?
"Mr. Alba, our exploration team is extremely professional and highly familiar with Fraser Range's geology, particularly regarding gold deposits. Nobody can match our expertise!" Carroll from Rumble Resources finally seized his opportunity, passionately promoting his project to Alba. "We believe substantial gold deposits remain undiscovered near the Tropicana gold project. Surface geochemical surveys strongly support our hypothesis..."
Carroll spoke rapidly like a machine gun.
Alba responded with a distant "Hmm," clearly distracted.
Carroll quickly understood Alba's disinterest. Unless they'd already found a gold deposit of hundreds or thousands of tonnes, it wouldn't even register on Rio Tinto's radar. Companies like Rio Tinto preferred spending billions acquiring proven reserves rather than investing millions speculatively.
Dejected, Carroll fell silent. Though many points remained unsaid, the outcome wouldn't change. He sighed, following Alba's gaze toward Li Tang, the star of the evening.
As an exploration geologist himself, who wouldn't envy Li Tang? Lianying Mining represented the ultimate dream—discovering large-scale deposits and transforming them into wealth. Li Tang had undeniably become the pinnacle of their profession, an idol impossible to surpass.
The Tallego copper-gold project, Pebble Project, Simandou iron ore deposit—any one of these discoveries was beyond the wildest dreams of most exploration companies. Carroll's eyes reflected profound envy and admiration.
Li Tang, unaware of the numerous eyes upon him, remained deep in thought over Gina's words. "Have you already finalized an agreement?"
"No," Gina shook her head. "No official agreement yet, but there shouldn't be surprises. We're just finalizing terms with Kumba to complete the ownership transfer."
"Sounds like a perfect match," Li Tang sighed, slightly disappointed. Perhaps he hadn't done enough homework on this project.
Lu Chenyi patted Li Tang's shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry. We'll have other opportunities."
Gina, unsure how sincerely Li Tang and his associates had approached her, nonetheless recognized the influence of Haigang Steel and Tangshan Steel. Hancock Prospecting genuinely wanted to emulate Lianying Mining's model: selling iron ore in advance, securing long-term contracts, and smoothly attracting capital investment.
Besides Hope Downs, she mentioned, "We're also planning a feasibility study for Roy Hill."
"Roy Hill?" Lu Chenyi asked, confused. He'd accompanied Li Tang primarily out of trust, without thoroughly researching Hancock Prospecting's assets.
Li Tang's eyes brightened instantly. Roy Hill was famously known as one of Australia's largest standalone iron ore projects. Its development coincided perfectly with China's peak demand, amidst relentless iron ore price increases, providing critical competition to Rio Tinto, BHP, and Vale's monopolies.
Initially, Roy Hill sought investment from Chinese steelmakers, who declined due to unfamiliarity and fear of risk. Only later, when the project's immense value became apparent, did they regret missing the chance.
"This is an excellent project," Li Tang declared directly.
"Oh?" Lu Chenyi wasn't sure how Li Tang reached this conclusion.
Gina smiled politely. "If you're interested, once we have a concrete development plan, we'll be in touch."
Currently, Hancock prioritized Hope Downs due to existing infrastructure cooperation with Rio Tinto. Roy Hill required extensive infrastructure and larger investments, thus ranking second in priority. However, Roy Hill's reserves surpassed even Hope Downs.
"Please contact me when you finalize your plans for Roy Hill!" Li Tang eagerly reserved a spot.
Iron ore investment over the next decade was unquestionably profitable. Gina regarded Li Tang skeptically, "Aren't you busy building your own mines? Do you really have surplus resources for additional projects?"
"Absolutely," Li Tang confidently replied. "Not just me—Haigang Steel and Tangshan Steel as well."
"We're with Li Tang," Lu Chenyi openly admitted without hesitation.
Long Fuyuan nodded in agreement. "If you want to discuss cooperation with us, you can reach us through Li Tang, or of course, you're free to contact me directly."
"I see." Gina suddenly realized something crucial.
No wonder Lianying Mining had been able to grow from scratch to a market capitalization exceeding ten billion Australian dollars in such a short period of time—it had strong financial backing all along!
Otherwise, a young man like Li Tang wouldn't have been able to dominate the iron ore and capital markets so effortlessly. What initially seemed extraordinary now became entirely logical.
They chatted about business briefly, then exchanged some casual conversation. After Gina politely excused herself, Li Tang turned toward Lu Chenyi and Long Fuyuan with an apologetic expression. "Hope Downs is indeed a great project, but I overlooked the issue with its geographical position."
"It's not your fault," Lu Chenyi replied casually, genuinely feeling the trip hadn't been wasted. "At least we met some important players from the Australian mining industry."
As they were talking, Palmer approached, holding a wineglass and smiling warmly. "Mind if I sit down and have a chat with you gentlemen?"
"Hello," Lu Chenyi politely responded, despite not recognizing him.
Palmer seized this opportunity deliberately when Li Tang and Fred had left. He knew Fred's opinion of him well enough to realize that influencing Li Tang was unrealistic. However, Lu Chenyi and Long Fuyuan appeared to be promising potential partners.
"My company owns a magnetite project with reserves of one billion tonnes!" Palmer eagerly threw out his enticing bait.
"Oh?" As expected, Lu Chenyi showed some interest.
…
Meanwhile, Fred, the consummate socialite, was mingling comfortably, engaging people left and right. Li Tang, however, felt somewhat hungry, noticing a variety of fresh seafood, snacks, and fruit nearby.
"Alice, are you hungry?" Li Tang asked the lovely woman beside him, who had been quietly serving as little more than a decorative presence.
Although Alice held the position of chairwoman at Lianying Mining, she often felt relegated to the role of a mere figurehead. Investors worldwide, construction contractors, and mining equipment suppliers invariably approached Fred when discussing business, since everyone knew him. Very few even knew Alice existed. Similarly, Chinese steel companies wanting to sign long-term contracts exclusively targeted Li Tang himself.
While Alice occasionally felt slighted, she accepted the reality and willingly stepped into the background whenever Fred or Li Tang were present. She'd learned plenty throughout the company's growth, gradually acknowledging her own limitations.
Tonight, Alice wore an elegant gown, accentuating her graceful figure, with enticing curves and dazzling beauty, flawlessly fulfilling her ornamental role.
Hearing Li Tang's question, she gently took hold of his arm, smiling sweetly. "Actually, I was just thinking about sampling some of these delicacies myself."
They headed toward the buffet together, sampling the fine dishes. Others intending to speak with Li Tang politely waited, refraining from interrupting the intimate-looking pair.
Carroll patiently trailed behind Li Tang and Alice for quite some time, anxiously watching them savor the food without pause. His heart raced with worry, knowing how desperately his company needed capital.
They had barely enough funds for a handful of shallow drill holes. If they wanted even one deeper exploration hole, they'd have insufficient resources. Thus, he'd been frantically seeking investors.
Aware that Li Tang was a renowned expert in exploration, Carroll anticipated that Li Tang might resonate with his ideas.
"Sorry to interrupt your pleasant evening," Carroll finally apologized, unable to hold back any longer.
"No worries. And you are?" Having satisfied his hunger, Li Tang acknowledged him politely, noting privately that while the ingredients were premium, the taste was lacking somewhat.
"My name isn't important," Carroll said, bypassing personal introductions entirely. Instead, he handed Li Tang a detailed exploration proposal. "This is the project my company plans to undertake this year. If you're interested, perhaps you might look it over."
The exploration proposal was highly technical. Earlier attempts to attract investors with it had utterly failed, failing even to gain minimal interest from major industry figures. With countless exploration projects launched annually, successful finds were rare indeed.
Li Tang began reading through the report with careful attention. As a geologist himself, he easily understood the technical content. Upon skimming the key sections, something caught his attention. "Your project is near the Tropicana Gold Mine exploration area?"
"Yes, but on the periphery," Carroll cautiously explained. "We've conducted surface work and had some encouraging indications."
"Tropicana Gold Mine…" Li Tang repeated thoughtfully, trying to recall why that name sounded so familiar.
He flipped deeper into the proposal. The planned work was modest: only five drill holes—a 50-meter hole, two at 100 meters, one at 150 meters, and a deeper 300-meter hole. Altogether, the planned drilling totaled just 700 meters, meaning the budget wouldn't even reach one million Australian dollars.
"Do you have questions about the report?" Carroll watched Li Tang's reaction closely, accustomed to reading facial expressions after repeated rejections. Observing Li Tang's slight frown, he silently concluded that his pitch was about to fail again.
Nonetheless, Carroll politely offered, "There are some technical terms inside. If anything isn't clear, I can explain."
"No need," Li Tang replied, still lost in thought. "I understand perfectly."
"Of course you do—you're the world's foremost exploration expert," Carroll responded respectfully.
"You own the mineral rights?" Li Tang suddenly asked.
"Yes," Carroll nodded proudly. "We also have an experienced exploration team."
"Tropicana Gold Mine…" Li Tang mumbled again, deep in contemplation, periodically glancing at the date printed on the report.
2005 This year's Australian Mineral Exploration and Development Association didn't award the prestigious Exploration Grand Prize. However, every few years, this coveted prize was indeed granted to groundbreaking discoveries.
Li Tang vividly remembered that a massive gold deposit discovery would soon receive this prestigious award—unexpectedly revealed after just a few shallow drill holes. Three of five initial drillings intersected high-grade ore, astonishingly rich, at just 40–50 meters depth, featuring thick ore zones with more than 10 grams per tonne gold.
That discovery had shaken Australia's exploration circles and the global gold industry. Sometimes luck appeared precisely when one was about to abandon all hope.
"Could this be it?" Li Tang wondered, uncertain.
Seeing Li Tang hesitating, Carroll's heart sank once more, resigned to rejection yet again. But he politely smiled. "Please don't feel obligated. You're among the most successful exploration experts globally and an inspiration for us geologists. Your foresight in acquiring Lianying Mining during its lowest ebb truly impresses me. It's an honor simply meeting you."
Having concluded his polite speech, Carroll waited expectantly for Li Tang to return his precious documents. With limited funds, even printing costs were significant—he couldn't afford handing out proposals indiscriminately.
Though unsure if this was indeed the famed Tropicana discovery from memory, Li Tang's instincts told him there were strong similarities.
"Your company short on funds?" Li Tang asked directly.
"We have some budgeted capital but require additional funding," Carroll answered cautiously, avoiding sounding overly desperate.
"Your next stage involves just five shallow drill holes, the deepest being only 300 meters," Li Tang clarified. He knew drill holes were essential for confirming mineral presence accurately.
"If nobody invests, we'll abandon the deeper hole, drilling just five shallow ones under 100 meters," Carroll admitted reluctantly.
In Australia, drilling, labor, and equipment costs were significantly higher than in China. Li Tang calculated that a streamlined version of Carroll's plan might cost around half a million dollars. Expanding the exploration scope with additional geophysical surveys would push costs slightly higher, but still under a million. Of course, should significant gold be discovered, further exploration would demand substantial investment.
"How much more do you need exactly?" Li Tang asked bluntly.
"We're hoping to raise five million Australian dollars, enabling more extensive exploration," Carroll explained, but quickly softened upon observing Li Tang's raised eyebrows. "Actually, two million would cover our current plans adequately."
"Would you sell your company outright?" Li Tang asked directly.
"No," Carroll said instantly, surprised. "This business is my life's work."
"How about this—I invest, but I want controlling shares," Li Tang proposed, backing down slightly.
"Impossible." Carroll remained stubbornly resolute. "I prefer limited funding to losing control."
"I'll invest 30 million Australian dollars," Li Tang stated casually.
Thirty million! Carroll stared dumbfounded, believing he'd misheard. His struggling company couldn't possibly justify such valuation—maybe not even three million.
Unless… Carroll stared at Li Tang's calm expression, suddenly questioning everything. Had the world's top exploration expert spotted something truly extraordinary?
"Don't joke with me," Carroll chuckled nervously. No one previously offered even one million, let alone thirty.
"I'm serious. However, I require at least 51% ownership," Li Tang replied confidently.
"I feel you're playing a prank," Carroll admitted, unconvinced. "You're famous, but teasing someone like me isn't right."
Li Tang laughed, realizing perhaps 30 million sounded absurd. "If I offer ten million, realistically, what stake would you grant me?"
Carroll paused, reconsidering seriously. Ten million was twice his ideal five million financing.
"That's excessive," Carroll said hesitantly. "We don't need that much."
"What amount, then?"
"Five million."
"For five million, how many shares?" Li Tang pressed.
"30%," Carroll answered firmly.
Li Tang laughed good-naturedly, agreeing without hesitation. "Deal."
"Huh?" Carroll froze, stunned in disbelief.
Happiness truly arrived too suddenly.
"What?" Alice looked even more bewildered.
Who was this man? What exactly was this Tropicana project? Li Tang hadn't even investigated thoroughly, yet he just casually invested five million dollars—had he gone mad?
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