Sail across the sea

Chapter 395 One Mine Turns into Three Mines
Hey!

Zhong Shubao looked at Zhong Nairong's rosy face and cursed inwardly.

He wasn't a time traveler, so he didn't know what Versailles was, and he was even less aware that years later, an uncle surnamed Ma had said something similar, roughly that if he could start his life over again, he would rather be a middle school teacher than create that company with a market value of over one trillion.

You can only say things like that when you own a company worth trillions. It would be a joke if any high school teacher said that.

Putting aside the topic of his own family, Zhong Shubao said to Zhong Nairong, "Uncle Rong, I want to ask, is the actual yield of your mine less than half of what was originally estimated?"

Zhong Nairong frowned and asked, "Shubao, what do you mean by that?"

Zhong Shubao pointed to the slag heap in front of him and said, "It's very simple. You dig soil down from the mountain and soak it in the pool. After soaking, you pile the waste soil on the side, which results in the good soil being buried underneath and unable to be extracted."

"Also, when you're digging, do you only dig the areas with more rare earth elements and leave the areas with less? As a result, you haven't even extracted half of the ore in the entire mine."

"That's for sure," Zhong Nairong replied instinctively.

The rare earth elements adsorbed in the soil are not evenly distributed; some areas adsorb more, while others adsorb less. The same cubic meter of mineral soil can produce more than one kilogram of rare earth oxides in some areas, while it can only produce a few hundred grams in others.

Mining owners want to make quick money, so they naturally make their workers mine ore with high rare earth content, and discard the ore with low rare earth content.

When geological teams conduct resource exploration, they estimate the amount of resources based on the average grade, which also includes low-grade mineral soils that have been abandoned by mine owners.

Adding in the losses during leaching and precipitation, the final result is that a proven reserve of 1000 tons of ore can only produce about 100 tons of rare earth oxides, with a resource recovery rate of less than 20%.

Before contracting the mine, Zhong Nairong was unaware of the details. The mine he contracted had a resource volume of four to five hundred tons. He thought he would eventually get at least 100 tons of oxide, which would be worth 260 million yuan at the current price. After deducting the contract fee, raw materials, and staff wages, he would ultimately make at least 100 million yuan.

Based on actual production conditions, it would be good if I could produce 50 tons of oxides, and the total profit would probably not even reach 40.

Zhong Nairong knew these things himself, but he believed that no one else in Xiechong Village knew them—including his wife.

So how did this kid, who's in high school in the county, know all this?

"Shubao, do you have to study mining in school?"

Zhong Nairong asked tentatively.

Zhong Shubao shook his head and said, "Of course, our school doesn't teach mining. However, today the school invited experts from the Zeshan Metallurgical Research Institute to talk to us about rare earth mining. They said that all the rare earth mines in our Gunan County are currently using outdated mining methods, which will cause serious waste of resources."

"They also said that the government will soon start levying a rare earth resource tax, and those who mine using the old methods will all lose money. To make money, they must learn new methods." Zhong Nairong's eyes widened. This news from Zhong Shubao was a real blow to him. He didn't understand what the rare earth resource tax was all about, but even without considering its impact, he could already feel the rising costs of mining.

Zhong Shubao's last sentence caught his attention. He almost reached out to grab Zhong Shubao's arm, but halfway there, he realized it was inappropriate and quickly shook his hand off, asking Zhong Shubao:

"You just said that the experts at Zeyan Institute said we need to learn new methods. Did they say what those new methods were?"

Zhong Shubao said, "They didn't go into details, they just said that the current method is called pond leaching, and they also mentioned ten drawbacks of pond leaching. I only remembered two of them, which are the ones I just told you. They also mentioned a saying: 'Change the leaching method, and one mine becomes three mines.'"

What the hell is this mnemonic?!
Zhong Nairong mentally scoffed, but didn't delve into it further. Instead, he asked, "Shubao, you just said you came back so I could help you get rich. What did what you just said have to do with helping you get rich?"

Zhong Shubao chuckled awkwardly and said, "Uncle Rong, those two experts who came to give the lecture said that they have developed a new leaching process that can increase the recovery rate of rare earth to more than 50%, and the output of one mine can reach the output of three mines."

"They said they had set up a demonstration mine in Youtang Township and welcomed all mine owners in the county to visit. They also said that they would reward anyone who could bring a mine owner there with 50 yuan."

For high school students of that era, 50 yuan was a huge sum of money. Students like Zhong Shubao, who would specifically run home to tip off others in order to earn the 50 yuan "recruitment fee," were not uncommon.

There was one more thing Zhong Shubao didn't tell Zhong Nairong: the other party had another reward. If the mine owner they introduced eventually signed a technical guidance agreement with Zeyan Institute, the introducer would receive an additional 1000 yuan commission.

That's a whopping 1000 yuan! If you're careful with it, it's enough for four years of university. How could anyone not go crazy for it?

Zhong Nairong understood, and feigning anger, he lectured Zhong Shubao:

"You sold your Uncle Rong for 50 yuan!"

“How could you say it was sold?” Zhong Shubao argued. “I heard the news and rushed back to tell you, Uncle Rong. Think about it, if you learn their new method, you can earn three times the money when you come back. Isn’t that a great thing?”
"Look, I took a day off to come back and deliver this message. Uncle Rong, would you like to reward me with some money for running errands?"

“That’s easy.” Zhong Nairong reached into his pocket and pulled out two ten-yuan bills.

He stuffed the money into Zhong Shubao's hand and asked, "You said that the experts from the Zeyan Institute set up a demonstration mine in Youtang. Where exactly is it located? Also, is it free to visit?"

Zhong Shubao happily accepted the money and said, "There's no need to pay for the visit, but if Uncle Rong wants to use their new methods in the future, they'll need to send someone to provide guidance, and then we'll have to pay. As for the location of the demonstration mine, they mentioned a place, but I've never been there and don't know where it is."

"They said that anyone who wants to visit can go to the county town first, where they are staying at the county government guesthouse. They will then arrange a car to take you there."

"I'm going! I definitely have to go see it." Zhong Nairong stomped her foot hard, making up her mind.

(End of this chapter)