Chapter 85: A Call from Chen Jinhe
He handed the core sample to the other technicians, hoping collective insight might shed some light.
Unfortunately, the others lacked in-depth knowledge or experience in lithology. Most simply said it was shale, nothing special.
"No, no!"
Ding Shaoying shook his head repeatedly while examining a piece of core. "This isn't ordinary shale! Look closely—this shale seems to contain fossils or breccia. Look at these spots—clearly clastic material."
"Could it be bauxite?" someone blurted out.
"It looks a lot like oolitic bauxite!"
Ding Shaoying exclaimed instinctively.
Realizing the core he held might contain bauxite filled him with an almost surreal sense of disbelief.
Even the morning sun, hanging over the distant hilltops, seemed to shimmer with a dizzying brilliance.
"Is it really bauxite?"
"Chief Engineer Ding, what should we do now?"
"The hole has reached 200 meters and clearly hasn't pierced the shale layer yet. I estimate we'll need to drill down to the dolomite below—maybe just a few more meters, maybe dozens."
The mention of possible bauxite lifted everyone's spirits; their excitement was palpable.
Ding Shaoying stood stunned for a moment, shook off the dizziness clouding his head, poured a bit of water on the core in his hand, and rubbed the damp area forcefully. A layer of mud came off, carrying with it the earthy scent of clay.
"It really could be bauxite!"
He picked up the depth-marked tag and confirmed the core was from exactly 200 meters underground.
Carefully placing it back in the core box, he paused for a moment and made his decision. "Foreman, keep drilling. Go through the shale until the lithology changes—then notify us immediately."
"Got it," the foreman replied enthusiastically.
The strata here made drilling easy; each additional meter earned hundreds of yuan. Naturally, the crew wanted to drill more.
Relocating the drill rig to a new site would incur huge costs just for transportation.
…
Originally, Luo Qinzhong had arranged to host Li Tang as a special expert. He booked hotel rooms for both Li Tang and He Runqi in Luoyi City and assigned a driver and a car for Li Tang's exclusive use.
But Li Tang didn't stay in the city. When Zhang Zhongyu was still in Tiemu Town, they had stayed together with him. After Zhang left and the rented house was vacated, Li Tang and He Runqi moved in with the Geological Survey Institute staff.
Due to previous actions, Li Tang wasn't viewed favorably by the Survey Institute, so the two "experts" didn't build any good relationships with them.
Today, the only drill hole to reach its target wasn't even reported to them.
After breakfast, the two sat idly by the door all morning. When lunchtime came and no one returned, they ate by themselves, then wandered around the town, entertaining themselves by staring into the eyes of a large yellow dog.
Then suddenly, after a long silence, Li Tang's phone rang cheerily.
He glanced at the caller ID—it was a call from Chen Jinhe!
Once connected, a slightly hoarse voice came through: "Hello, Li Tang, this is Chen Jinhe."
"I know." Li Tang answered calmly, like greeting an old friend. "President Chen, you calling me personally—something must be up?"
"I'm in Tibet Province. I just had a long conversation with your father, Li Zaiqiang, about technical issues concerning the Qu Long Copper Mine. What he said really enlightened me."
"Really?" Li Tang was genuinely surprised.
"I saw the news on CCTV, spoke with Zhao Hepu about the specifics, and personally inspected the Qu Long project site today."
It was clear that Chen Jinhe had great interest in the Qu Long discovery. He had taken a comprehensive approach to learning about the project. "I have high hopes for copper exploration in Tibet. Once I return to Jian'an Province, I'll be holding an executive meeting to assess the feasibility of launching a prospecting campaign there."
"You have great foresight."
"I've always admired your contribution to bio-hydrometallurgy. If more young people like you were in the mining industry, we'd be in a far more prosperous place," Chen Jinhe praised him generously, clearly impressed. "I heard you were behind the initial application and launch of the Qu Long project. You're quite impressive—not only in research but also in copper exploration."
"You flatter me, President Chen. Compared to you, I'm just a junior."
"Well, I'm a geologist at heart, and that's something I'll never forget. Our company, Zise Mining, aims to be a leader in copper and gold mining—that's our mission. With such promising prospects in Tibet, we must get involved, no matter the cost, to contribute to our nation's mineral future!"
"Such patriotic ambition is truly admirable!"
Li Tang wasn't sure how to respond and simply offered polite praise. These were empty, harmless words that wouldn't offend anyone.
"I heard you're in Huazhou, acting as a technical advisor for the aluminum plant?"
"Yes. The first phase of work at Qu Long is basically complete, so I came here to learn something new."
"Would you be interested in serving as a consultant for Zise Mining?"
That was the true reason for the personal phone call.
Li Tang immediately understood and thought for a moment before asking, "How large a project are you planning to undertake?"
"No matter the scale—if there's even a chance of finding ore, Zise Mining never hesitates. We'd even take out bank loans to fund exploration!"
Chen Jinhe paused, then shifted the topic to Zise's Copper-Gold Mine. "Back when it was still in exploration, I was working at the Jian'an Geological Team. I was the project lead. That was in '84. I led the team, and by '93 we'd founded the company to begin mining. I came to Zise Mining that same year. All these years, if there's one thing I believe in, it's technology. Technical expertise is the cornerstone of our company's success."
"I understand your passion. Was founding the Zise Metallurgical Research Institute your idea?"
"Yes. The institute has already achieved many results. I'm very pleased."
Talking about the mine and technology, his real aim was to win over Li Tang—because he believed Li Tang was a pure geologist like him. "Zise has never run a prospecting project in Tibet. That's why I believe the right people make things happen!"
Then he said with unwavering certainty: "Li Tang, you're the right person! Please help Zise Mining!"
This declaration showed just how much Chen Jinhe valued Li Tang—he was truly eager to bring him onboard.
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