Sail across the sea

Chapter 390: You can give me money!

Once Gao Fan's identity was confirmed, the atmosphere of the meeting immediately became harmonious.

Gao Fan's previous aggressive behavior no longer seemed offensive to the group at Zeyan Institute. They thought, "Gao is just straightforward and gets straight to the point; that's a good quality."

Xu Dan finally gained everyone's attention. When they heard that she was Gao Fan's assistant, several people immediately showered her with exaggerated compliments such as "young and promising." After all, it didn't cost them any money, right?

Of course, what everyone is most concerned about is the issue of the 100 million investment that Gao Fan mentioned.

Gao Fan offered two explanations: First, Canghua Science and Trade has always valued technological research and development, and investing 100 million yuan in a project is not a remarkable thing; second, Canghua Science and Trade is optimistic about rare earth development and hopes to gain entry into the field through this opportunity.

As for the source of funds, there's even less to worry about. Canghua Science and Trade can earn nearly $2000 million in profit a year just from the sale of Vitamin C. Part of this money will be used to repay the loan from the American Hatch Group, part will be used as income for Canghai Fertilizer Plant and will eventually be handed over to the Chemical Industry Bureau. The remaining part, converted into RMB, is more than 3000 million, which is enough to carry out such investments.

"As expected, heroes have emerged from among the young since ancient times." Xiao Ping sighed with emotion. "He understands technology, can make money with technology, and has a long-term vision. He is willing to invest in scientific research to achieve a virtuous cycle. When I read the reports in the newspaper, I thought it might be a bit exaggerated. Now I know that Xiao Gao is indeed a rare talent."

"Director Xiao, you flatter me," Gao Fan said politely, then turned to Pei Hengxue and asked, "Director Pei, if our 100 million investment arrives, how long will it take the Zeyan Institute approximately to complete the in-situ leaching process experiment?"

Pei Hengxue looked somewhat troubled. He said, "The money problem is solved. The experiment won't take long. Actually, I've been thinking about the relevant experimental plan for a long time. I can come up with it after discussing it with the colleagues in the rare earth laboratory."

"What's uncertain now is how long it will take to coordinate with Team 908. This depends not only on their cooperation, but also on whether they have any readily available mines."

Seeing that Gao Fan didn't quite understand, Pei Hengxue explained it again.

Rare earth development in Zeshan has always been handled by two entities. One is the 908 Geological Team under the Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, which is responsible for prospecting. The other is the Zeshan Research Institute, which is responsible for researching extraction processes.

Zeyan Institute does not own any mines. When researching extraction processes, it collaborates with Team 908, which coordinates with local governments to set aside a small area for experiments.

The local government agreed to the geological team's experiments because they hoped the team could help them find more minerals. The geological team, however, insisted that to find minerals, they needed to conduct experiments first. They threatened to go elsewhere if the team refused. Therefore, the local government had no choice but to agree.

When we were working on the pool leaching process, it was alright. We just dug a pool at the foot of the mountain and dug some soil up the mountain. It wasn't a large-scale operation. To put it bluntly, we did it secretly within the exploration area designated by Team 908, and outsiders really couldn't tell.

The in-situ leaching process we're implementing now involves treating the entire mountain as a single unit. First, vertical wells are dug into the mountain to recover the extract. Then, the extract is sprayed across the entire mountain for ion exchange.

Such a large-scale experiment cannot be conducted without consulting the local government. And if you do consult them, you must consider whether they are willing. After all, mines can generate revenue, and nobody wants to give them away for free to conduct experiments.

Why take it for free?

After listening to Pei Hengxue's account, Gao Fan asked with a smile.

"Are we supposed to pay them?" "We can pay them. We'll pay the same amount the county charged the farmers when they leased the mine. Then the mountain will belong to us. No matter how much rare earth we extract, it's none of the county's business. Director Pei, are you worried about losing money?"

"Hmm, that's an idea."

Pei Hengxue's eyes lit up.

Yes, we could also lease a mountain to mine.

Actually, someone in the institute has already done something like this.

Some of the engineers in the institute married local women. After the rare earth industry took off, some of their fathers-in-law, brothers-in-law, and other relatives would come to them, asking these engineers to partner with them to lease mountain areas for mining.

The engineers held public office, so they couldn't openly become mine owners. They told the institute they were just providing technical guidance, but the so-called "technical guidance fee" they received at the end of the year was clearly calculated based on profit sharing. This was an open secret within the institute.

When the institute's leaders held a meeting and discussed these matters, someone suggested that they could lease some mountain areas under the institute's name. Given the institute's technical strength, if others earn 10 yuan a year, earning less than 20 yuan would be considered a sign of poor skill.

This kind of proposal is, of course, just talk. Zeyan Institute is a public institution and cannot engage in this kind of commercial business. Everyone can only drool over the opportunity to make money, but there's nothing they can do about it.

Just now, everyone discussed the idea of ​​developing a physical entity. If we could separate the rare earth chamber and convert it into a physical entity, then the idea of ​​acquiring entire mountain areas could be put into practice.

Mine-leasing entire mountains is far more profitable than providing technical guidance to others. Using scientific mining methods, a single mine can be mined for at least 10 years. By leasing several mines, everyone can earn money passively for the next 10 years.

As for conducting trials of new processes, isn't that just a matter of course?
“I’ll talk to the city about this. Our offer can be twice as high as those farmers’, and the city can’t possibly refuse us,” Xiao Ping said.

Gao Fan gave Xiao Ping a thumbs up and said, "Director Xiao is brilliant. What we need to do is drive up the price of mining rights until it becomes unprofitable to use the pool leaching process. This will force those mine owners to learn the in-situ leaching method from us."

Pei Hengxue said with a smile, "We can also turn the mine we've contracted into a model. If anyone wants to learn, they can just take a walk around our mountain."

Gao Fan said, "That's right. In this way, local governments can collect more contract fees, small mine owners have to learn new technologies, which improves resource utilization and protects the environment. We have verified the new process and promoted the new technology..."

Song Xingkang was also infected by this and added, "Yes, we even made money."

Xiao Ping shook his head: "Xiao Song, you're wrong about that. Our purpose in leasing the mine is to conduct experiments and contribute to the country. We don't care about making money or not."

(End of this chapter)