Chapter 344: A Hundredfold Return—He's a God!
When Li Tang entered the room, Fred and Alice immediately approached him, their faces full of concern.
"Are you alright?" Alice asked warmly, stepping forward to give Li Tang a comforting hug.
Fred, who was always enthusiastic whether dealing with friends or strangers, instinctively opened his arms to embrace Li Tang as well, but Alice beat him to it. Competing for affection with a girl would seem ungentlemanly, so he awkwardly tucked his hands behind his back, nodding at Li Tang with a slight blush and a reserved smile.
He knew this incident wasn't over yet—lawsuits and judgments were still awaiting Li Tang.
"I'm fine," Li Tang replied calmly, pulling some of Alice's golden hair strands from his mouth. "The Vancouver police said it's still under investigation. They took me into custody just to cooperate with their inquiry."
"Do they really need to publicly arrest you at the airport just for questioning?" Alice had been filled with anxiety and worry over the past few days.
For a long time, she had overseen Liantying Mining's operations in Gua Country. She knew clearly that if Li Tang were imprisoned for several years, Liantying Mining would undoubtedly collapse. This wasn't an exaggeration.
Within Liantying Mining, Fred now wielded considerable influence, issuing orders that were executed immediately. Her position as chairwoman had become practically nominal. Only Li Tang could truly control Fred; without Li Tang's authority, Fred's ambitious financial maneuvers would eventually turn Liantying Mining into his personal asset.
With Qiqie Iron Mine entering a critical construction phase, Alice hadn't directly expressed these worries to Li Tang to preserve internal stability and unity.
"Judging from the police's attitude, the issue doesn't seem very serious," Li Tang reassured them, patting Alice's back gently. He then nodded toward Fred and joked lightly, "I didn't expect my little trouble to stir you both up so much. You're both here, but Liantying Mining's mine is about to start its trial operations. I heard there were some recent problems—can they be resolved?"
"Nothing is more important than your freedom," Alice said passionately, clearly emotional about the issue.
Fred, ever rational, quickly added, "Before coming here, I clearly delegated tasks to our management team, and they'll report daily. It's manageable for us to be away temporarily."
Seated comfortably on the sofa in the luxurious presidential suite, Li Tang showed little concern over his ongoing legal troubles. Seeing those around him were his trusted business partners and executives, he quickly turned the conversation back to work.
"Alice, any updates from your side recently?" Li Tang asked.
Alice gathered her thoughts, taking a moment to compose herself. "Your judgment was correct."
"What decision?"
"The gold mining project by Lombour Resources has been a massive success. Exploration results at Fraser Ridge confirm Tropicana Gold Mine reserves exceed 200 tonnes, with very stable and high-grade ore layers."
Alice thought Li Tang should be more concerned about his own freedom rather than business deals. Her thoughts were somewhat scattered, but she had closely monitored Lombour Resources' financials, deepening her respect for Li Tang's vision and decision-making.
"We invested 20 million AUD in Lombour Resources in two rounds, acquiring a 36% stake. That stake is now worth at least 200 million AUD!" Alice looked at Li Tang somewhat reproachfully, astonished at his uncanny ability to generate wealth. "This investment has brought us at least a tenfold return!"
"Good, very good," Li Tang nodded, satisfied. "Has anyone recently made an offer to us?"
"Barrick Gold recently won a financing round, investing 15 million AUD for a 15% stake. Given their financial strength, they're not satisfied being a minor shareholder. If they acquire our 36%, they'll gain control," Alice explained. "Mark from Barrick personally called me with an offer of 200 million AUD for our shares."
"What did you say?"
"I rejected his offer," Alice replied confidently. She hadn't even consulted Li Tang, clearly familiar enough with his investment style to know his likely response.
"You did the right thing," Li Tang affirmed.
"Our team analyzed market trends and concluded gold prices would rise further. Selling now would be premature," Alice explained, then hesitated briefly. "By the way, a Chinese gold enterprise contacted me recently about Lombour Resources. They mentioned you referred them."
"Cheng Muye from Hua-Jin Corporation contacted me earlier," Li Tang clarified. "I told him I wasn't managing gold projects, so he approached you."
Li Tang raised his eyebrows slightly. "You didn't promise Cheng anything, did you? I haven't agreed to any of his demands. If he's using my name to pressure you, we won't honor it."
"I know he's your friend, but I didn't agree to his requests," Alice laughed proudly, clearly pleased with her professional judgment.
"Good," Li Tang sighed inwardly with relief. If Alice had already promised Cheng shares in Lombour Resources, it would have been awkward. Overruling Alice's decisions could undermine her authority, causing confusion among their business associates.
"If you ever want to develop a gold mining project, our team is also very experienced," Fred interjected eagerly, sensing an opportunity.
"Your primary focus right now should be getting our iron mine fully operational," Li Tang reminded him firmly.
Fred nodded readily. "You seem in good spirits, so let me update you on some company matters."
"Go ahead. Since we're all here, let's thoroughly review our work," Li Tang responded energetically.
"Our equipment debugging ran into problems, delaying our mine's launch date," Fred began seriously. "Also, our company's rapid stock rise in recent years has stirred jealousy. Though we previously settled land compensation with local indigenous groups, a new indigenous company recently sued us, claiming unfair compensation."
Seeing Li Tang's attentive expression, Fred continued quickly, "I'll handle the lawsuit, no need for you to intervene. However, the mine's operational timeline will certainly be delayed. Regarding our Chinese steel partners, we must explain or apologize. If delays trigger penalties, paying fines is undesirable since we're currently cash-strapped."
"I'll contact them personally," Li Tang assured. His personal involvement would undoubtedly smooth things better than Fred could.
"That covers my updates," Fred concluded confidently. "Please rest assured, I'll resolve all issues swiftly. I promise our mine operations will be profitable next year!"
"Glad to hear that," Li Tang approved. He then turned to Liu Naishun and Xie Jiashu. "Liu, Minister Xie—I came here because you mentioned a major breakthrough at Malu River Coal Mine, but got arrested as soon as my plane landed."
"Our apologies," Xie quickly responded. Both men felt guilty since Li Tang's arrival was solely due to their optimistic reports.
"My arrest isn't your fault," Li Tang dismissed with a reassuring wave. "I'm more interested in hearing updates on the coal mine."
Xie glanced at Liu. "Liu, you explain."
Liu Naishun knew the project intimately, having overseen coal exploration efforts in recent months. Li Tang had initially visited briefly, setting up a funding team, but afterward monitored progress mostly by phone.
"After working two years here, I've built solid relationships with local exploration companies," Liu explained first. "We hired a Vancouver-based exploration firm and a mining consultancy for our exploration work. Due to our ample funding, we prepaid fees monthly, resulting in rapid progress."
"Money makes things happen quickly," Xie laughed. "Gua locals usually never work overtime. But pay enough, and they really hustle."
Liu continued, "We set drilling targets based on surface coal seam indicators within the 150-square-kilometer Malu River zone. Results were very positive—stable and thick Gates Formation coal seams discovered around 100 meters underground."
"I remember you mentioning this before," Li Tang recalled.
"We've now discovered multiple coal deposits," Liu said excitedly. "Currently, we've confirmed a massive coalfield with an estimated 3 billion tonnes of coal at depths of 100 to 600 meters, including 1.5 billion tonnes of prime coking coal!"
Xie eagerly added, "Recent 800-meter and 1,000-meter deep drillings still showed intact coal seams. We're confident coal seams extend even deeper—possibly thousands of meters underground. It's an unprecedented discovery!"
Liu continued passionately, "Our technical team forecasts that continued exploration could yield at least 5 billion tonnes of coal resources within depths up to 1,000 meters. And deeper layers likely hold billions more."
"If coal seams reach 2,000 to 3,000 meters depth, reserves could total a historic 10 billion tonnes!" Xie's voice trembled with excitement. This was the largest coalfield he'd ever encountered.
Previously, the world's largest coalfield was Li Tang's Talego Mine, holding 6.5 billion tonnes total, including 1.8 billion tonnes of coking coal over a 400-square-kilometer area.
By comparison, Malu River Coal Mine concentrated its enormous resources within just 150 square kilometers—with nearly half its coal as prime coking coal, which was especially scarce globally.
The coal's quality was superior—low ash, low sulfur, medium volatility, high calorific value, excellent washability, and strong cohesiveness—qualities rarely combined in a single location.
Chinese coking coal, often criticized for high impurities and looseness, paled in comparison. If Malu River's quality coal existed in Huaxia, the land would be overwhelmed by companies scrambling for wealth.
"A coal mine with 10 billion tonnes?" Fred stared in disbelief. Moments earlier, hearing Alice describe Tropicana's 200-tonne gold discovery impressed him. But now, Liu and Xie's revelation utterly dwarfed it.
The meaning behind these simple numbers was anything but simple.
A coal resource totaling 10 billion tonnes, with half being coking coal—this was nothing short of a massive super-deposit!
Currently, international prices for thermal coal were comparable to those for iron ore. However, coking coal prices fluctuated significantly depending on quality, with high-grade coking coal often commanding more than double the price of thermal coal.
If their reports were accurate, the economic value of Malu River Coal Mine was unparalleled globally across all mineral types.
If a deposit of this magnitude truly existed, it would be peerless—no other single deposit in the world could compare!
"Ten billion tonnes of coal, even calculated solely at thermal coal prices, represents an economic value of at least 500 to 600 billion USD!" Fred quickly did the math, arriving at a staggering figure.
"So far, the confirmed reserves are within the 100 to 600-meter depth, totaling about 3 billion tonnes, including 1.5 billion tonnes of prime coking coal," Xie Jiashu clarified upon hearing Fred's astonishment. "When I mentioned 10 billion tonnes, it was purely speculative and without solid basis."
"Although currently confirmed reserves stand at 3 billion tonnes, deeper exploration guarantees that reaching 5 billion tonnes is almost certain," Liu Naishun added confidently. "Our deeper drilling shows stable coal seams up to 1,000 meters underground, practically ensuring at least 5 billion tonnes. Further drilling into even greater depths makes it difficult to estimate precisely."
"Five billion tonnes still represent 200 to 300 billion USD in economic value!" Fred inhaled sharply, clearly overwhelmed.
He was astonished not just by the scale of the coalfield, but even more by Li Tang's remarkable investment insight.
He was like a deity!
Li Tang always managed to identify the richest mineral deposits buried deep underground, investing with astonishing accuracy and foresight.
Having spent decades immersed in the mining and investment sectors, Fred had never seen anyone like Li Tang—someone who deeply understood geology and consistently pinpointed perfect investment opportunities.
Every project he invested in yielded incredible returns.
For instance, Tropicana Gold Mine alone—a 20 million AUD investment easily transformed into 200 million AUD, yielding a tenfold return at least.
As for Malu River Coal Mine, Li Tang had reportedly invested around 30 million USD…
If the reserves indeed reached 5 billion tonnes, its economic value would range between 200 and 300 billion USD. Such a mining right could effortlessly fetch over 3 billion USD on the capital market. Global mining giants would undoubtedly scramble madly to acquire it, ready to fling enormous amounts of cash at Li Tang.
A hundredfold return on this project was practically inevitable!
If the mining rights were retained and developed personally, the profits would be unimaginable. Even a mediocre manager generating a modest 10% profit margin would produce earnings of 20 to 30 billion USD.
A mining right like this could easily sustain wealth across three generations, instantly placing its owners among the world's wealthiest elites.
"Is this all true?" Alice asked incredulously, clearly overwhelmed.
What was going on here?
Just moments ago, she felt immensely proud of investing in Tropicana Gold Mine, believing she'd secured an incredible fortune for the company. Now, compared with Malu River Coal Mine, Tropicana Gold Mine seemed trivial—utterly insignificant by comparison!
Alice's blue eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at Li Tang. "You never mentioned how enormous the potential of this coal project was!"
She suddenly found breathing difficult, her heartbeat racing, adrenaline surging. Everything felt surreal. She gazed at Li Tang as if seeing him clearly for the first time.
What kind of monster was her boss?
"All these numbers about economic value are just theoretical," Li Tang replied casually, appearing entirely unconcerned.
All of this had long been anticipated by him.
While others were overwhelmed with excitement, Li Tang remained perfectly calm, like a gentle breeze passing by.
The world was vast, with each piece of land and each handful of soil containing hidden riches. Countless mining rights existed, but Li Tang chose carefully. He merely had a slightly larger scoop than others.
"No wonder you entrusted Liantying Mining entirely to Fred's management," Alice finally understood Li Tang's strategy. "Your goal wasn't merely building a single world-class mining giant with Liantying Mining—you wanted to flourish everywhere, creating numerous global mining giants simultaneously!"
"Ah, you've finally caught on," Li Tang laughed cheerfully.
"If this mining right can truly be developed, Malu River Coal Mine Company would certainly rival Liantying Mining in scale," Fred confidently predicted. His imagination ran wild with possibilities—what would he do if he ran such a coal mining company?
Regardless of management style, he realized that running such a project would guarantee massive profitability.
The current mining market was practically a license to print money—especially with a resource of this size and quality. Investors worldwide would flood in eagerly. It was like a money tree everyone desired to water and nurture, sharing in its abundant harvest.
Compared to the stunned expressions on Alice's and Fred's faces, Liu Naishun and Xie Jiashu appeared relatively calmer, having already experienced waves of excitement and gradually growing accustomed to pleasant surprises.
"Malu River Coal Mine's confirmed reserves are already ten times greater than the Gaisen Coal Mine, something I never dreamed possible," Liu reflected repeatedly. "These past days, my emotions have been beyond words."
"The success of Malu River Coal Mine belongs to all of us," Li Tang reassured Liu, understanding Liu's complicated feelings.
Indeed, Liu had many previous opportunities to exclusively claim the mining rights before Li Tang's involvement in the Rocky Mountains. Naturally, Liu felt both regret and relief. He held 25% of this enormously valuable project. His partners included Li Tang and Shenxia Group.
Li Tang's reputation, capability, vision, and vast assets were renowned globally, supported by Liantying Mining's established operational experience. Shenxia Group, China's largest coal mining company boasting world-leading underground coal extraction technology, was an equally excellent partner.
Currently, everything aligned perfectly—timing, location, and partnership. It would be nearly impossible not to succeed. Even sleeping, Liu sometimes awoke smiling from dreams.
"The results achieved over these months have been phenomenal. We're roughly halfway through the exploration stage now," Liu concluded, composing himself. He turned to Li Tang for guidance: "What's our next step?"
"I'll rely on your continued efforts, Liu and Minister Xie," Li Tang responded politely.
"It's our duty," Xie said enthusiastically, proud of his involvement in such an extraordinary project.
"We're honored to be part of discovering such a substantial coal deposit," Liu added with obvious pride.
Li Tang thought carefully before instructing, "Since Malu River Coal Mine is such a significant discovery, we should share this good news. This discovery is important not only for us but also for Columbia Province and the entire country of Gua."
"That's true," Liu agreed immediately.
"Then let's publicly announce it," Li Tang decided.
Malu River Coal Mine Company wasn't publicly listed, so there was no legal requirement or obligation to disclose such information. Knowing Li Tang usually preferred discretion, Liu was slightly surprised: "Why go public?"
"Good news should be shared," Li Tang explained simply. "Have we submitted detailed exploration data to the Columbia provincial authorities?"
"We've maintained constant communication, reporting every stage and submitting all necessary documentation promptly," Liu assured him. "Even if we accidentally damage a small tree, we report it immediately to the Mining and Environment Departments. That's the local requirement, which we strictly observe."
"Perfect," Li Tang nodded. "Malu River Coal Mine's significant discovery carries historical importance for Gua. Even if we remain silent, local authorities will inevitably announce it—it's a political achievement and source of pride for them. Rather than allowing them to disclose first, we should proactively announce it, pleasing everyone involved."
Recalling his recent arrest, Li Tang smiled bitterly. "While in custody, the police informed me our Malu River Coal Mine Company is under suspicion as a spy operation."
"I saw those media accusations too," Xie said indignantly. "We're honestly exploring resources for their country, yet they label us spies stealing military secrets. Utter nonsense without any factual basis—highly irresponsible!"
"Announcing this discovery publicly will silence critics," Li Tang indicated to Liu. "Get mainstream media involved—many outlets will eagerly cover this."
"Alright," Liu glanced outside, hearing muffled shouting and seeing camera flashes. "The global media is already here. Releasing this news will be simple."
"Can you handle this, Liu?" Li Tang preferred avoiding media exposure due to ongoing controversies.
"No problem," Liu accepted easily, accustomed to managing such scenarios. "I'll arrange a professional press conference shortly."
"Thank you all," Li Tang nodded appreciatively.
Liu and Xie left quickly. Organizing a global media conference sounded straightforward but required meticulous preparation. Any unprofessional behavior or mistakes would be magnified, potentially complicating Li Tang's situation further.
Fred, still pondering the coal mine's development prospects, murmured softly, "Boss, why not entrust Malu River Coal Mine's future development to Liantying Mining? We're publicly listed with strong capital connections worldwide. Once our iron mine becomes operational, profits will flow steadily, funding coal mine development easily. Our experienced team has extensive mining expertise…"
Alice interrupted sharply, glaring at Fred coldly: "Fred, Li Tang's exhausted. Please save work matters for later!"
"Oh, right," Fred reluctantly fell silent.
Alice sighed, looking at Li Tang drinking tea leisurely. "Your arrest was definitely unjust! We must hire Gua's top legal team. No matter the cost, we can't let you face prison!"
Li Tang sipped calmly. "Liu hired Gua's top lawyers. Look how quickly I was bailed out—that's their effectiveness. Trust them, trust me, and trust the Vancouver police. Everything will resolve soon."
Yet Alice remained concerned. "So, what do we do now?"
"Just wait calmly for the investigation results," Li Tang replied serenely. "Relax…Hmm, the tea's wonderful. Want some?"
Fred continued mumbling about coal development strategies, oblivious.
Alice sighed again, turning down Li Tang's offer irritably. "I don't like tea!"
"Tea's healthy—develop a taste slowly," Li Tang encouraged gently. Seeing her furrowed brows, he teased playfully, "Frown less or you'll age prematurely and never marry!"
Alice's frustration flared: "If I never marry, I'll follow you forever!"
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