Chapter 212: Launching a Molybdenum Project
Old Wang's BBQ.
Qian Hao was still in Yanjing and had taken the initiative to invite Li Tang, Zhao Hepu, and Qin Jianshe out for drinks.
"You always choose this place when you treat us to dinner!" Zhao Hepu grumbled, but the moment he smelled the barbecue, his spirits lifted, and his plump body jiggled with excitement.
"Good friends and good brothers always gather at the same old place."
Qian Hao slung his arm around Li Tang's shoulder as they walked inside, the sound of his leather shoes echoing crisply. "Look at us—we're all shiny-faced and well-fed. Except you, Li Tang. Why are you still so thin? Just look at Director Zhao—he's worth two of you!"
"Three!" Zhao Hepu moved closer to Li Tang, held out his arms to compare their girths, and everyone burst into laughter.
Among the four present, aside from Zhao Hepu, who was clearly overweight, Qian Hao and Qin Jianshe had started showing signs of middle-aged weight gain. Only the younger Li Tang still maintained a lean figure.
"Look at Zhao's physique—he walks into a room and looks like a leader. Very imposing!"
Qian Hao slapped Zhao Hepu's belly jokingly.
They'd known each other for many years, were familiar and informal in their speech.
Li Tang just smiled along, not daring to joke back.
Once seated, Zhao Hepu excitedly shared the day's events. "Gao Ruisi came today to talk with us—wants to buy back the mining rights to Zhongcheng Mining."
"He came to me too," Li Tang replied.
"Wow, you're negotiating directly with Bihebituo's president? Impressive!" Qian Hao put on an exaggerated expression.
"You guys should've seen the look on Gao Ruisi's face when he walked in—so arrogant. But when he realized we weren't giving him face, he turned green."
Zhao Hepu was clearly pleased with himself. "Back during the copper concentrate negotiations, Bihebituo acted like they were royalty, treating us like nobodies. Well, today we returned the favor!"
"They've been spoiled by the capital world for too long—it's time someone knocked them down a peg," Qian Hao agreed with a laugh. "What, having money makes you better than everyone else?"
"Having money does make you better," Zhao Hepu shot back, playing devil's advocate.
"Come on, we've all been doing pretty well lately—cheers!" Qian Hao raised his beer, downing it in one go.
The others quickly followed suit.
Zhao Hepu set down his empty glass and patted Qin Jianshe's shoulder. "Here's an inside scoop for you. Our group's technical director at headquarters is being transferred. That means his position will be vacant…"
He waggled his eyebrows at Qin Jianshe meaningfully. He didn't need to say it out loud—everyone understood.
"That calls for a celebration!" Li Tang picked up a bottle and began pouring.
"I got it!" Qian Hao quickly took over, treating Li Tang like a leader. "You're our main man now—this kind of grunt work is for me."
Li Tang felt a bit awkward but knew Qian Hao was half-joking, so he didn't argue.
While pouring, Qian Hao laughed. "Jianshe has done some great work these past few years—it's time he took on a bigger role."
"I haven't done anything extraordinary," Qin Jianshe said, but he couldn't hide the pleased look on his face.
After a few rounds, Li Tang was already a bit dizzy.
Qian Hao, arm draped over Li Tang's shoulder, asked, "I don't know the technical stuff, but I've got to ask—what's your secret? Qulong, Qinglong, Talego—each one's a super copper mine with tens of millions of tons. Anyone who finds just one of those can live off that reputation for life. But you—three in a row?"
Everyone was tipsy and chatting freely. The question was casual but sincere.
Zhao Hepu and Qin Jianshe, both technically inclined, fell silent and leaned in, clearly curious too.
"Honestly, I've wondered about that myself," Zhao Hepu said, nodding.
All eyes turned to Li Tang, but he didn't panic. Nor did he plan to reveal his deepest secrets.
"Can't say?" Qian Hao waved it off. "Never mind, just asking."
"It's not really a big secret."
Li Tang smiled confidently. "Finding copper deposits requires strategic vision—what I call a god's-eye view."
"What's a god's-eye view?" Qian Hao was intrigued.
"Where are the world's largest copper-producing regions?" Li Tang asked.
"Chile, Peru," Qian Hao answered.
"Chile and Peru sit on the Circum-Pacific Mesozoic Metallogenic Belt. Besides those two countries, the southwestern U.S. and Indonesia also have super porphyry copper-gold deposits."
"The Grasberg mine in Indonesia is the world's largest gold mine and the third-largest copper mine," Qin Jianshe added, demonstrating his deep knowledge.
Li Tang nodded and continued, "Besides the Circum-Pacific belt, the second-largest is the Mesozoic belt through Tibet, where Qulong and Qinglong were discovered. Another belt runs from Central Asia through Mongolia—the Paleozoic porphyry copper belt—where we recently discovered the Talego mine."
These metallogenic belts lie in regions with active geology, favorable for magmatic intrusion—often overlapping with volcanic zones.
"Ohh…"
"No wonder!"
"When you compare these major finds, the common thread becomes obvious—they're all porphyry-type copper mines in famous metallogenic belts."
Zhao Hepu and Qin Jianshe were enlightened, though they only grasped the broad concept.
They still had no clear method for finding copper. The world is vast—it's not easy to spot a gem in the rough.
Finding a major mine is like searching for a needle in a haystack.
"It sounds mystical—like you're plugged into a satellite, scanning mineral belts around the globe," Qian Hao joked, giving a thumbs-up. "Impressive!"
"Many experts know about these belts, but that doesn't mean they can find a major deposit," said Qin Jianshe. "Each belt spans thousands of kilometers—how do you pinpoint where minerals are concentrated?"
"That's what makes Li Tang amazing," Zhao Hepu added, raising his glass.
"These deposits already had some work done by earlier explorers. There were known mineral traces. I just stood on the shoulders of giants and finished what they started," Li Tang replied humbly.
"Let's drink to that!" Zhao Hepu lifted his glass.
Qian Hao clinked glasses with Li Tang but then frowned. "So you only specialize in copper?"
"Porphyry copper," Qin Jianshe clarified. "All of Li Tang's projects are porphyry-type copper deposits."
"That's a shame," Qian Hao sighed dramatically.
"What's wrong?" Li Tang had already suspected something when Qian Hao brought up the technical question.
"I was hoping you were a generalist—thought you could help us launch a molybdenum project. But sounds like you're just a porphyry guy."
Qian Hao had been given a task by Cui Mingyuan and used the dinner as a chance to float the idea. But after the conversation, he found it hard to bring up.
"Looking for molybdenum?" Li Tang's mind began to spin.
Molybdenum demand is much lower than iron, bauxite, or copper. The market is heavily affected by the production capacity of a few major mines. If any one of them increases output, it can crash prices.
Because of that, molybdenum's boom period is short.
In around 2005, the price of molybdenum concentrate skyrocketed to ¥6,000 per ton-degree.
An insane price—profits were through the roof.
As a result, all major mines ramped up production, and output surged. Within a few years, there was serious oversupply, and prices plummeted to as low as ¥670 per ton-degree.
That peak-to-trough contrast showed how explosive profits were in 2005—so high it bordered on illegal levels of profitability.
To make money in molybdenum, you had to strike early.
"The Gongcun project is still underway, and Talego will need deep drilling in the far northern zone next year—there's still a lot of work," said Qin Jianshe, thinking Li Tang was too polite to refuse and offering him an excuse. "He can't possibly handle so many projects alone."
"Everyone wants Li Tang to help them find mines—if he said yes to everyone, he'd be exhausted!" Zhao Hepu chimed in. "Even Cheng Muye from Huajin asked him to find gold, and he turned it down. And Huajin not only invested in Zhongcheng but loaned him tens of millions."
"I'm just trying to ease Li Tang's burden. He's got all that debt—our Luoyi Molybdenum has money. President Cui said if Li Tang agrees, we'll fund it, no matter how much it costs!"
Qian Hao was as cocky as ever. "He's already done successful projects with Huazhou Aluminum and Zise Mining. We could model our partnership the same way."
"Copper and aluminum projects aren't the same as molybdenum," Zhao Hepu said, shaking his head.
"Now isn't like before. He's clearly too busy to take on your project. Otherwise, we Wukuang would've pulled him into a solo venture already."
"Exactly. If he agrees, our Mining & Metallurgy Company will invest without hesitation. I'll personally greenlight 10 to 20 million for any project Li Tang proposes!"
"You two just can't stand to see others succeed! Let me remind you—I'm footing the bill tonight, so show some respect!"
As the three of them drank and argued, Li Tang raised his glass. The cold beer sent a chill down his spine and brought his thoughts back to the moment.
"To be honest, I actually do want to start a molybdenum project," he said thoughtfully.
"Huh?"
"Shush."
"What did you just say?"
The noisy group immediately quieted down, staring at Li Tang in surprise.
They couldn't believe that after turning down so many companies, Li Tang was actually interested in Qian Hao's proposal.
It was completely unexpected.
"I'm very interested in President Qian's proposal," Li Tang confirmed.
He had already formed a rough plan in his mind.
When he applied himself, ideas for new deposits always came.
And with Huajin's 50 million loan due in six months, he needed a plan. Otherwise, Gongcun's mining rights could be seized—and they were worth far more than that loan.
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