Reborn since 1993

Chapter 1221 Counterattack
Upon hearing Li Dongling's words, Li Minghan suddenly raised his head.

Currently, in inland areas, including port cities, there are very few companies that are venturing into raw materials.

Domestic companies that haven't yet experienced the rollercoaster ride of raw material prices are currently busy producing products and haven't yet reached the ceiling that limits domestic companies based on raw material costs.

Even domestic mining companies don't deal with overseas markets very often these days.

On the contrary, Nippon Benzoate, having been the earliest to develop the industry, experienced the disgust of soaring raw material prices, and thus began to establish overseas mining operations as early as the 1960s and 70s.

In the past, when the three major international mining giants were ripping off domestic steel manufacturers, Japan also engaged in many underhanded tactics. Japan was too familiar with the domestic market, and its methods were incredibly ruthless.

"Mr. Li, if we want to invest in overseas mining, the capital required will be enormous, and there will be many competitors!"

"If you want a long-term and stable supply of ore, you must invest in local mining companies and lock in ore production through long-term agreements so that you are not affected by market prices."

Li Minghan is a veteran in the industry and knows this business inside and out. He knows all too well how powerful the players in this industry are; they would be considered giant companies in any country.

Behind these mining groups is another large group of players: global futures investment institutions. This market is even more insane than the stock market. Getting rich overnight and jumping off a building overnight is extremely common in this industry.

In a past life, on a certain short video platform, a "Huangmei Opera" background music almost became the go-to farewell song for futures traders. Every time the background music played, without even looking at the content, one knew that another player who might have once been incredibly successful had reached the end of their life...

Li Dongling nodded, then shook his head. "What Dongling High-Tech needs Kunlun Minerals to do is bring the ore that Dongling High-Tech needs back to the inland!"
Dongling High-Tech doesn't need traditional iron, copper, or coal mines; instead, it needs ores such as lithium, cobalt, and nickel.

In the traditional iron ore industry, to be honest, the market has long been dominated by companies from the United States, old Europe, Japan, and other countries. If newcomers want to squeeze in, the only good way is to acquire shares from the original companies at exorbitant prices and accept their sky-high ore purchase prices.

However, lithium, cobalt, nickel and other ores are now considered "niche" minerals on the international market. Even Wall Street institutions like Goldman Sachs don't bother to look at them. Iron, copper, coal and aluminum are what mining companies and futures institutions are most interested in.

Currently, lithium ore costs less than $90 per ton, but a decade or so later, when lithium batteries take off, especially with the rise of new energy vehicles, the price will rise to over $700.

Of course, when China became a major chemical producer, it began to bypass lithium ore and extract potassium carbonate from salt lakes. But that was many years later. Before the technology made a breakthrough, lithium ore was still needed.

When Li Minghan heard that the philanthropist Li wanted him to acquire the ore, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. If Kunlun Minerals were to go head-to-head with international mining giants like BHP Billiton and BHP Billiton right from the start, there would be no chance of winning. This wasn't just about money; there were too many other things involved.

However, Li Minghan was confident in acquiring lithium ore and other resources.

“Currently, lithium ore and other minerals are not expensive on the international market. Kunlun Minerals could try to acquire shares in these mining companies, lock in supply prices, and sign long-term supply agreements.”

only……"

Li Minghan glanced at Li Dongling and said, "If we transport all these ores back to the inland, the transportation and storage costs will probably be a considerable expense!"

Lithium ore is not expensive now, but the price is different when it is transported back. Add in storage costs, and it's probably not cheap at all.

"It would be better to transport it back and store it at Kunlun Minerals' storage base in the mainland!"

Li Dongling also said something meaningful to Li Minghan.

If we don't ship them back, it will be much harder to bring them back when the price of these ores rises. There are far too many cases of overseas mining companies reneging on their promises.

"In addition to investing in or acquiring overseas lithium, nickel, cobalt and other mining companies, Kunlun Minerals also..."

Inland, Kunlun Minerals plans to invest in companies that process ores, such as the Shehong Lithium Salt Plant and Salt Lake Industry. In the future, Kunlun Minerals will also invest in these inland companies that process ores.

Furthermore, Kunlun Minerals also intends to invest in inland rare earth mines and processing companies, aiming to become a major player in the inland rare earth market with significant influence!

Li Dongling said that Kunlun Minerals could not process all the ores it bought itself. That would require a series of processes such as building factories and developing technologies, which would take an unknown amount of time.

It is much easier to invest in inland ore processing companies and bring them into the "Kunlun Group" camp, thus enabling them to process ore.

Some people may be unfamiliar with the Shehong Lithium Salt Plant, but when it reveals its true identity as Tianqi Lithium, which at its peak had a market value of 240 billion yuan, it is probably a household name among many investors.

As for rare earth acquisitions, domestic rare earth prices are currently extremely low, with exports of less than $5 per kilogram—that's right, even cheaper than salt. It's hard to say how much rare earth is mined domestically each year, because the export of rare earth to Japan and the United States generates four to five hundred million US dollars in foreign exchange annually.

In reality, there are more than 100 companies mining rare earths in China, as well as a large number of unlicensed small workshops that sell the mined rare earths to places like Japan through non-customs channels.

In the future, all electronic products will need to use various rare earth elements to some extent, so Kunlun Minerals' acquisition of rare earth elements is a precautionary measure.

However, it's hard to say how much of the rare earth will be used by Dongling High-Tech's products, since Li Dashan has allowed Kunlun Mining to acquire and reserve it. The most important thing is to prevent certain competitors from using the cheap rare earth!

If certain people in America want to undermine Dongling High-Tech in the future, then Kunlun Minerals will have to step in. It's hard to say how much it will help, but as long as it annoys them and makes them uncomfortable, that will be enough!

If you suffer a loss, but the other party feels worse than if they swallowed a fly, then it's not a loss.

Rare earth elements are found all over the world, but the majority are located inland. The ability to process rare earth elements is only possible in inland areas with complete industrial chains, since many rare earth elements are byproducts of industry.

In the previous life, America's military and other industries began to slow down the production of weapons such as fighter jets due to a shortage of rare earth elements.

As for the current situation of rare earths in China, it is not something that Kunlun Minerals alone can change. However, Kunlun Minerals can enter the domestic rare earth market, acquire mines, stockpile rare earths, and drive up the price of rare earths to prevent companies like Japan Benzene from stockpiling them at rock-bottom prices.

Li Minghan hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping himself. To be honest, he couldn't quite figure out Li Dashan's thought process. He could tell that Li Dashan was planning to use the Kunlun mines to cause trouble.

However, instead of allowing Kunlun Minerals to enter the iron ore and other minerals market, it focused on niche minerals such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, and rare earths, which he found hard to understand.

To accomplish what the philanthropist Li instructed, Li Minghan needed to estimate the exact cost before he could determine it, but it was certainly not a small sum.

“Investing in mines and ore processing companies both overseas and inland, plus setting up professional teams and storage bases, will probably require a large amount of start-up capital!” Li Minghan said to Li Dongling.

“Cyberport can join forces with the Zhixing Foundation to invest $800 million in Kunlun Minerals as seed funding!”

Li Dongling said directly to Li Minghan, "In addition, Kunlun Mining Company will receive further investment from companies such as the Export-Import Bank of China, Yanjing State-owned Assets, and State Development & Investment Corporation in the inland areas!"

If Kunlun Minerals wants to operate more conveniently inland, it will definitely need the support of departments such as the Economic and Trade Commission, the Development and Reform Commission, and the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, as well as the company itself. It will certainly need to bring in these shareholders.

Upon hearing Li Dongling announce that he would invest $800 million in Kunlun Minerals and bring in so many inland departments to support it, Li Minghan and Li Yonghong gained a clear understanding of Li Dongling's strength and connections in the inland region for the first time.

Li Minghan was stunned. Even half of the eight hundred million US dollars would be enough for him to acquire a number of small mines overseas. He had truly witnessed the charisma of Asia's richest man.

With the support of these inland departments, Li Minghan felt that Kunlun Minerals would be able to rampage through the inland rare earth industry. What kind of license or mine couldn't Kunlun Minerals obtain?
At that moment, Li Minghan couldn't help but feel a surge of urge to make a big splash. He couldn't help but wonder if Kunlun Minerals would become another major international mining giant in the future, or even compete with overseas mining giants.
"Dongling High-Tech will do its best to meet Kunlun Minerals' needs, but I don't want Kunlun Minerals to disappoint Dongling High-Tech in the future!"

Li Dongling made it clear upfront: the money and resources had been provided; now it was up to Li Minghan's abilities.

If he can't do it, then Li Dongling wouldn't mind replacing the leader of Kunlun Mining with a new one.

After all, the time left for Kunlun Minerals is limited. If they miss these few years, it will be much harder to get in once lithium prices start to soar.

Therefore, Li Minghan must prove his worth to the great philanthropist Li as soon as possible!
"I see!"

Li Minghan said, then thought for a moment and added, "Kunlun Minerals is located overseas, and it still needs some security and banking support."

It's the same all over the world; whenever minerals are involved, chaos, fighting, competition, and even war are inevitable.

Because mines are tangible and can be converted into cash, as long as you occupy the mine and then dig it out, you can sell it for money. In addition, since the mine cannot be run away, it naturally attracts competition from all parties.

"Asia An and Hong Kong-based banks will support Kunlun Minerals. In the future, wherever Kunlun Minerals are located in the world, Asia An will provide security!"

Li Dongling directly asked Li Minghan if Li Dashanren had already satisfied his concerns and allowed Ya'an to protect Kunlun Minerals.

(End of this chapter)