Journey 1995:Non-Stop

Chapter 428 On the Mine
Li Haifeng didn't really appreciate Yan Hui's praise; he indeed had very little social experience.

"Zhiyuan, why don't you talk to him?" Yan Hui felt that it was too stuffy in the car when Li Haifeng didn't say anything.

“Well, I’ve always had a question I wanted to ask,” Song Zhiyuan turned to look at Li Haifeng. He started to say something, but then swallowed it back. He saw his past self in Li Haifeng. “Relax, Mr. Yan is a very nice person. We’re probably the same age. I’m only 27 this year.”

"I'm fine," Li Haifeng leaned back. "What do you want to ask?"

"So, why are you studying sedimentary mineralogy under Professor Wang? Isn't Professor Wang a chemical engineer? Your major should be considered geology, right?" Song Zhiyuan asked curiously.

"Professor Wang is very capable. His main research area is mineral chemical engineering, which overlaps with many of our specialties. He is not actually my supervisor, but my supervisor went abroad for a six-month exchange, and Professor Wang temporarily took over my supervision. He is a very nice person, and he helped guide my master's thesis."

"Oh, I see. No wonder he's so interested in precision calcium oxide. It's a perfect fit for his major." Song Zhiyuan exclaimed, then asked, "I actually studied organic chemistry in college. If you studied chemical engineering, I'd know a bit about it. Could you give me a brief overview of sedimentary mineralogy?"

“Well, our major is quite complex. Many people think we're just about mineral processing, but actually, this major becomes more academic in the later stages. The main subjects we learn are sedimentology, paleontology, and geochemistry. We need to know how to draw, use equipment, and understand geology. We need to study isotopes and have some modeling skills. Some people in our major are good at oil and gas exploration and development, which makes it easier for them to find jobs. My abilities are just average, and I haven't achieved much over the years, except for publishing some papers.” Li Haifeng said somewhat embarrassedly.

"So, this major is pretty much all about luck?" Yan Hui suddenly asked.

"It should be said that all scientific research projects rely heavily on luck," Song Zhiyuan said.

"That's true." Yan Hui nodded.

He wasn't actually that familiar with Professor Wang, but after hearing Li Haifeng's words, Yan Hui couldn't help but think more highly of Professor Wang. Li Haifeng wasn't his "personal disciple," yet he was willing to give him this opportunity—that was no simple matter.

The mining area was not far from the university. An hour and a half later, the car arrived near the mining area. Yan Hui made some arrangements, and the car entered the mining area and drove into a courtyard.

There are some old bungalows here, about forty or fifty rooms in total. The courtyards are just earthen courtyards, with a dozen or so different pieces of equipment parked there, almost all of them covered in rust.

"Who are you looking for?" a security guard ran over. "Are you the person Mr. Liu was just talking about?"

"Yes, it's me. Where's General Manager Liu?" Yan Hui asked, following up on the conversation.

If Yan Hui remembered correctly, this "General Manager Liu" was a very low-ranking official, only in charge of a few people in the company. How could someone like that be called a "General Manager"? Or was there someone else named "General Manager Liu"?
"Mr. Liu just told me that if you need anything, just come to me, I'll be with you," the security guard said.

"Alright, we'd like to see this mine. Would it be convenient for you to take us up there?" Yan Hui frowned slightly. This guy surnamed Liu wasn't even going to accompany us personally?

"You can take a look, but you can't touch anything," the gatekeeper said.

"You can't touch anything?" Yan Hui pointed to himself. "Do you think I came here to steal your lime?"

"No, it's just that the leaders recently said that our mine is going to be sold. It's time for asset inventory, and nothing can be moved. The leaders said that even a single rock is public property of the mine, and no one else can touch it," the gatekeeper emphasized. "Okay, take us upstairs to have a look," Yan Hui immediately sensed the problem.

It's only a few hundred meters from here to the mining area. Yan Hui came here a few days ago, and a car took him up from here. Now he can only walk up.

Because of its well-developed joints, limestone is prone to forming steep cliffs. The mining area is a huge open pit with a cliff on the other side, and behind it are high mountains covered with vegetation.

"This mine has been in operation for a long time, why are they still mining it?" Li Haifeng asked with some doubt.

"What's wrong with this mine?" Song Zhiyuan asked.

"this."

Before Li Haifeng could speak, Yan Hui immediately interrupted him: "How are the reserves?"

“You can’t tell the reserves like this.” Li Haifeng shook his head. “Exploration is a huge undertaking.”

"Hmm, no rush, let's take our time." Yan Hui looked at the gatekeeper. "Don't follow us. We're empty-handed, do you really think we can take anything? If all else fails, we'll have you check when we go down the mountain."

The gatekeeper didn't want to follow them at first, but after carefully observing the group without even taking their bags, he turned around and went down the mountain.

After the man descended the mountain, Song Zhiyuan asked, "President Yan, something feels off."

“With any change, some people benefit and some people suffer. If this mine is sold, the people who were there before will definitely not get anything out of it. Do you even need to think about what might happen?” Yan Hui has seen this kind of thing many times over the years.

"If that's the case, buying this mine must be profitable, otherwise they wouldn't have done it," Song Zhiyuan reasoned.

“That’s not the logic. The mine itself is definitely fine, but the question is how much it will cost to acquire it. I would definitely be willing to get the mining rights for a little over 10 million. But investing another 30 million to build a factory is a different matter.” Yan Hui shook his head slightly. “Since our current focus is on fine calcium oxide, the grade of this mine is crucial. We know this, and they probably know it too, so it seems like they won’t even allow sampling now.”

"Mr. Yan, don't assume everyone is so smart. What's so difficult about taking samples here? The security guard will leave as soon as you tell him to."

"Well, anyway, let the professionals take a good look. As for the sampling, we'll see how it goes," Yan Hui said, looking at Li Haifeng, "Take a close look."

“This mine looks pretty good,” Li Haifeng said, leading Yan Hui and the others to a mined section. “The color here is light gray and uniform, which means there are few impurities such as iron and manganese, and very little associated clay. We can’t smell any humus here either, which means there’s little associated bitumen or humus. But this is just a preliminary assessment. There are many things that are not visible to the naked eye. I need to go deeper into the mining area, take samples from multiple locations, and conduct systematic geological work.”

(End of this chapter)