Sail across the sea

Chapter 348 The department said they would study it.
Maolin is a major province for rare earth elements.

Rare earth mines in several southern provinces of China, represented by Maolin, differ from those in northern China and abroad. They are unique to China and are classified as "ion adsorption type rare earth mines".

Of course, it's not entirely accurate to say that this type of mineral is unique to China. Since China discovered and named this type of rare earth mineral, countries such as Australia, Malaysia, and the United States have also found some ion-adsorption type rare earth minerals, but on a much smaller scale than those in southern China.

Rare earth elements are known as "industrial MSG" due to their wide range of industrial applications. Currently, the application of rare earth elements in China is still at a relatively low level, while their application is more mature abroad, leading to a stronger demand. This makes rare earth elements a very important export product for generating foreign exchange.

Several counties in Maolin Province rich in rare earth deposits are impoverished. Take Gunan County, for example, which has the largest proven reserves of ion-adsorption rare earth elements. With a population of approximately 30, its annual industrial output was only slightly over 1000 million yuan a few years ago. In contrast, Canghai Fertilizer Plant had an annual output value of over 300 million yuan before converting its ammonium phosphate fertilizer to urine. After the conversion, its annual output value reached over 2000 million yuan – the output value of just one plant was equivalent to twice that of the entire county of Gunan.

"Holding a golden rice bowl but still begging for food"—that's how the leadership of Gu'nan County described themselves. After realizing the value of rare earth resources, Gu'nan County began large-scale rare earth development, establishing over 100 rare earth mines—run by the county, townships, villages, and individual households—within just one year. In the past, these mines produced over 400 tons of rare earth oxides annually, generating over 1000 million yuan in value. This effectively doubled the county's total industrial output value in just one year.

Having tasted success, Gu'nan's enthusiasm for developing rare earth resources has intensified. The county government has set a target, claiming that it will double rare earth production this year and double it again next year.

"They are engaging in completely predatory development!" Xia Shihui said angrily. "I went with Teacher Feng to visit one of their county-run mines. The original proven reserves of that mine were more than 4000 tons, but more than 2000 tons of reserves have already been used up, and less than 200 tons of rare earth oxides have been produced, which is equivalent to a recovery rate of less than 10%."

“If mining continues like this, many mines will have to be abandoned within three to five years at most, and the vast majority of resources will be wasted.”

"Do you know why?" Gao Fan asked.

Gao Fan in this life didn't know what Xia Shihui was talking about, but he had paid attention to it in his previous life and knew some of the reasons and issues involved. He asked Xia Shihui questions mainly to hear if she and her team had made any other discoveries, and also to compare them with his own memories.

Xia Shihui said, "Teacher Feng led us to do some research, which can be summarized in twelve words: adopt the rich and discard the poor, adopt the easy and discard the difficult, adopt the shallow and discard the deep."

"He just wants to make a quick buck," Gao Fan commented.

“Yes, that’s what Teacher Feng said too,” Xia Shihui said. “Exactly the same thing you said.”

Anyone with a bit of social experience could figure this out.

Gao Fan sighed inwardly.

County leaders want quick political achievements, so of course they pursue making quick money, regardless of resource protection. Ordinary people are afraid of poverty, and when they have an opportunity to make money, they also want it as soon as possible. Anyway, there are plenty of hillsides, and every mountain has minerals. Who has the patience to mine poor, difficult, or deep minerals?

It's fine if one or two people think this way. But if everyone in the county thinks this way, no matter how many mountains there are, they can't withstand 30 people digging them up.

Actually, this is not the time when rare earth mining is most rampant, because people are too poor to afford heavy trucks and excavators, so even if they put in their best efforts, the mining speed is still limited.

In the 90s, the rampant mining of rare earth elements in China reached a frenzied level, turning vast areas of mountains into barren wastelands, with alarming levels of soil erosion and pollution.

"Gao Fan, haven't you ever thought about making a change?"

Seeing Gao Fan sitting there in a daze, Xia Shihui asked.

"Change it?" Gao Fan was taken aback. "Why me?" Xia Shihui retorted angrily, "You're from Maolin! Shouldn't you be concerned about Maolin's affairs?"

“But I’m still a child…” Gao Fan subconsciously used a reference to a later era, and before Xia Shihui could explode, he continued, “Didn’t Teacher Feng report this situation to higher authorities?”

"Of course we reported it," Xia Shihui said. "After Teacher Feng came back, he submitted an investigation report to the real estate department, and I even wrote some of the content."

"and then?"

"Then the ministry said they would study it."

"What happens next?"

"And then, that's it. I asked Teacher Feng yesterday, and he said it wouldn't be that fast."

"That settles it. The ministry says they'll look into it, what can I do?"

"How can you say you have no way?" Xia Shihui glared at Gao Fan. "Didn't you say you'd go back and make money, and that once you made money you could do whatever you wanted? Now that you've made so much money, can't you even care about rare earth issues?"

Gao Fan was amused by Xia Shihui's antics: "Hey sis, when did I ever say that making money means you can do whatever you want? And who told you I've made a lot of money?"

Xia Shihui looked around, then lowered her voice slightly and said, "You don't need to hide it from me, I know that the Canghua Science and Trade Center you run generates tens of millions of US dollars in foreign exchange every year."

"How did you know?" Gao Fan was genuinely surprised this time. How did this news get to Peking University?

Xia Shihui said, "I was in Maolin a few months ago. Officials from Gunan talked to Teacher Feng about your company, saying that it's the company that earns the most foreign exchange in Maolin Province."

"Okay..." Gao Fan was speechless.

While Canghua Science and Trade's performance might not be remarkable on a national scale, it stands out within Maolin Province. Which city or county official, when discussing Canghai Fertilizer Plant and Canghua Science and Trade Company in Cangtang County, doesn't express envy and resentment?

“Rare earth matters fall under the jurisdiction of the geological and mineral resources system. Canghua Science and Trade is a unit of the chemical industry system, so we can’t get involved even if we wanted to,” Gao Fan explained. “Besides, what can a small company like mine do when it comes to matters involving the local government’s performance?”

Xia Shihui shook her head and said, "I don't know what you can do. But if we can't stop this kind of mining in Gunan County immediately, and they continue mining for another two or three years, all the rare earth mines there will be ruined. Such good mines, don't you feel any heartache at all?"

As she said this, she looked at Gao Fan again, her eyes clearly filled with expectation and pleading.

Gao Fan smiled helplessly: "Alright, alright, let's eat quickly. I'll look into this matter again when I get back to Maolin. I promise you, I will do my best to protect your precious mineral resources."

"I knew you would do that!" Xia Shihui's face brightened instantly. She picked up a piece of chicken leg meat, hesitated for a moment, and finally, not wanting to feed it directly to Gao Fan, put it in Gao Fan's rice bowl instead.

(End of this chapter)