Chapter 329: Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten JQK
When Long Fuyuan of Tangshan Steel, Zhu Youxin of Hualing Steel, and Wu Yueming of Fengli Group heard that Li Tang had discovered a large-scale magnetite deposit in Huizhou Province, they immediately rushed over.
If it had merely been Haigang Steel investing in exploration and discovering the ore, these competitors wouldn't have felt particularly excited—after all, it belonged to Haigang Steel alone.
But the critical point was Li Tang's involvement in the discovery.
This presented them with real hope and potential opportunities. Each believed their existing relationship and iron ore trading ties with Li Tang could help them gain his favor, and perhaps even launch joint exploration projects.
However, upon arriving in Huizhou's provincial capital, they quickly realized that many others had exactly the same idea.
"President Long, even you're here personally!" Zhu Youxin exclaimed in surprise.
Both Tangshan Steel and Hualing Steel were state-owned enterprises, and their executives often crossed paths in the steel industry. It was common for rivals in the steel business to know each other very well.
"Aren't you here yourself, President Zhu?" Long Fuyuan replied, equally surprised at the large turnout of familiar faces waiting to meet Li Tang.
Hilariously, to increase their chances of meeting Li Tang sooner, all had booked rooms in the same hotel where Li Tang was staying. Thus, when they came down to the hotel restaurant for breakfast in the morning, they found themselves staring at a room full of familiar faces.
"Li Tang called me earlier, suggesting we meet in Huizhou, so I just came over," Zhu quickly invented a convenient lie, both to save face and to show off his closeness with Li Tang.
"Actually, during our last long-term iron ore contract signing with Lianying Mining, I already arranged a meeting this time," Long Fuyuan countered, unwilling to appear behind. "In the next decade, we'll import 150 million tons of iron ore from Lianying Mining. Li Tang personally promised that after finishing Haigang Steel's exploration project, he'd cooperate more deeply with Tangshan Steel."
"Congratulations, President Long!" Zhu Youxin said politely, though secretly feeling more anxious. If Li Tang had indeed promised Tangshan Steel cooperation on further exploration, other companies might have to wait indefinitely.
"Thank you." Although Long appeared honest and reserved, he was shrewdly calculating the competition around him.
Breakfast was a self-service buffet offering noodles, porridge, various dim sum, and pickles. Even though everyone knew each other well, they each took seats quietly at different tables, thoughtfully sipping their tasteless breakfasts, each lost in their own thoughts.
These past few days, Li Tang had been caught up in endless rounds of banquets and heavy drinking, barely able to refuse the constant invitations. First, it had been drinks with Chen Aimin and Lu Chenyi, then the Geological Bureau officials, then local business leaders. He had politely declined tonight's invitation, feeling overwhelmed and needing rest.
Even after showering, Li Tang could still smell alcohol on his breath. A simple, bland breakfast seemed perfect to cleanse himself. Yet, upon entering the restaurant, he was stunned—everyone here was an acquaintance!
"Li Tang!" Long Fuyuan had strategically chosen a seat by the door and immediately waved upon spotting Li Tang, feigning surprise. "What a coincidence meeting you here!"
"President Long?" Li Tang greeted him, then turned, startled, to see the others in the room—"President Zhu, Boss Wu..."
He asked the waiter for noodles and porridge, then turned around, noticing everyone's expectant gazes. Suddenly, he felt awkward, uncertain which table he should join. Everyone clearly hoped he'd choose their table.
Feeling slightly helpless, Li Tang decided to remain standing, casually eating noodles while chatting with Zhu Youxin. "President Zhu, so many steel company leaders gathered here simultaneously—are you holding a Steel Association meeting?"
"Sit down and let's talk slowly," Zhu quickly stood up, gesturing politely to his seat. His secretary immediately rose, offering his own seat to Li Tang.
"No need, I prefer standing," Li Tang politely declined, standing awkwardly with his bowl. "Is there something important happening here?"
"It's just a coincidence that you're also here," Zhu replied cautiously, embarrassed to admit they'd come specifically because of Li Tang.
Earlier, during their phone call, Zhu had heard Li Tang mention being in Huizhou Province but hadn't disclosed his own plans. Now, seeing everyone else had done the same, he felt awkward.
"I'm here helping Haigang Steel with an iron ore exploration project," Li Tang explained.
"I heard about it—a large magnetite deposit and pyrite deposit discovered, right?" Zhu smiled warmly.
"You've heard about this in Sanxiang Province already?" Li Tang was surprised. Had information dissemination become that fast, even without explosive internet use yet?
"Such significant news spreads quickly among industry insiders," Zhu laughed.
"Exploration at Nihe Iron Mine has just started," Li Tang clarified. "It's essentially a deep-mining exploratory project, more akin to research. Achieving our expected outcomes might take one or two years. While we've identified a large deposit, exact reserves still aren't confirmed. Saying it's a large-scale deposit right now isn't entirely precise."
"Not a large iron deposit?" Zhu questioned skeptically.
"Yes, we can basically confirm it's large, but precise data isn't finalized yet," Li Tang explained patiently.
"If you've said it's large, then it must be accurate," Zhu assured him confidently, having complete faith in Li Tang's expertise and judgment.
At the same time, Zhu felt immense envy. Recently, domestic iron ore mines, previously shut down during market downturns, were reopening rapidly. Steel enterprises with iron ore resources were profiting enormously, smiling at competitors forced to pay high import prices. What could be more satisfying?
Hualing Steel was expanding rapidly, increasing demand for iron ore. The only way to maintain profitability was controlling iron ore extraction directly. Yet, they lacked their own mineral rights. In a saturated steel market with growing competition, vertically integrating upward became increasingly critical for large steel enterprises.
But quality iron ore deposits were scarce and tightly controlled. Finding new, significant deposits was incredibly challenging. The only realistic path was to enlist Li Tang's help.
Suddenly, Li Tang grasped why everyone had shown up—they all sought his expertise.
"You all came here for magnetite exploration?" Li Tang finally understood their intentions.
"We came here mainly to learn," Zhu laughed, quickly diverting the topic to personal matters. "Your cousin, Fan Heguang, works at our company, responsible for warehouse management and iron ore stock data. He's performed excellently."
"Oh?" Li Tang remembered clearly having asked Zhu to arrange a job for his cousin at Hualing Steel a couple of years ago, thus owing Zhu a favor.
"He's meticulous and accurate in every detail," Zhu continued enthusiastically. "I've had my eye on him for a while and plan to promote him to warehouse manager soon."
"Is that appropriate?" Li Tang knew Fan's limitations. With minimal education, advancement in a large SOE like Hualing Steel was challenging. Clearly, Zhu intended this as a goodwill gesture toward Li Tang.
"Absolutely appropriate!" Zhu insisted. "Fan is dedicated and capable. We plan to nurture him seriously. After two or three years of observation as warehouse manager, he could advance quickly to deputy factory manager, even factory manager."
"Factory manager might be too challenging," Li Tang smiled gently, knowing Fan couldn't grow that fast realistically.
"People grow under pressure," Zhu emphasized. "Fan definitely has potential."
"President Zhu, you're incredibly generous. I genuinely appreciate it," Li Tang responded with a bitter smile, knowing Zhu's motive wasn't solely promoting Fan, but signaling goodwill to Li Tang.
"I recently chatted with Fan," Zhu persisted warmly. "His family visited you for the New Year, right? Come visit Sanxiang Province more often—visit family and friends. Sanxiang is beautiful, with wonderful scenery and lovely people!"
"I definitely will," Li Tang acknowledged Zhu's subtle invitation, openly addressing his hidden intent. "Does Hualing Steel have exploration projects or iron mine developments in Sanxiang Province?"
"As a matter of fact, several sites in Sanxiang have strong exploration potential," Zhu replied eagerly. "I don't intend to flatter, but nobody can match your skills in finding deposits. If you're ever visiting relatives in Sanxiang Province, it would be great if you could advise our exploration team."
Zhu carefully avoided directly mentioning hiring Li Tang—considering his current status as owner of a multi-billion yuan enterprise, formal employment was unrealistic. Zhu hoped instead for friendly, reciprocal help.
"You'd like me to assist with iron ore exploration, correct?" Li Tang bluntly summarized Zhu's intentions.
"If you have time, we'd certainly welcome it," Zhu smiled warmly.
Li Tang hesitated, uncertain how to reply. Sanxiang Province wasn't particularly favorable for large iron ore deposits. He quickly realized everyone else here—Long Fuyuan, Wu Yueming, and others—had similar intentions.
Previously, iron ore had been priced at just 200 yuan per ton, unprofitable to mine extensively. Now, prices had surged to nearly 500 yuan per ton, creating enormous profit margins. Suddenly, everyone saw mining iron ore as more profitable than steel production itself. Capturing profits from both mining and steel production was naturally appealing.
Li Tang glanced around discreetly, noticing everyone quietly paying attention to their conversation, ears perked up. Hearing Zhu's family-related strategies, they felt anxious—fearing Li Tang might commit exclusively to Zhu.
Long Fuyuan muttered quietly, half-jokingly, "President Zhu played a smart card—recruiting Li Tang's relatives to connect personally. Why didn't we think of using his extended family?"
"It's indeed a clever tactic," his assistant nodded solemnly. "But remember, we already secured a major contract with Lianying Mining during their toughest times. Li Tang surely won't forget that!"
"Let's first wait and see how Boss Li and President Zhu's conversation goes," someone whispered quietly. "President Long, look at Li Tang—he seems hesitant and hasn't fallen into Zhu Youxin's trap. Using relatives to get close clearly doesn't work well with Li Tang."
"You've observed carefully," President Long nodded. "It indeed seems Li Tang is struggling."
"Should we step in and help Li Tang out now?"
"Wait a bit longer."
Li Tang indeed found it difficult to directly agree to Zhu Youxin's request, mainly because mining iron ore in Sanxiang Province had limited potential.
Not only Sanxiang Province, but across all of China, iron ore resources were abundant but widely dispersed. High-grade deposits were scarce, and most were low-grade. From the perspective of large state-owned enterprises such as Hualing Steel or Tangshan Steel, developing smaller mines producing a few hundred thousand tons annually wouldn't suffice. They were clearly looking for something larger.
Obviously, Zhu Youxin, Long Fuyuan, and others hadn't traveled all this way merely for small-scale projects. Their goal was large mines with substantial investments—operations producing tens of millions of tons annually, generating billions in revenue. Only such massive projects would interest giants like Tangshan Steel or Hualing Steel.
"I know everyone wants to move upstream, to develop their own iron ore resources," Li Tang finally spoke after careful thought. "But within China, it's quite challenging to find iron ore projects big enough to satisfy everyone."
"But you've discovered giant deposits before—Qulong Copper Mine, Qinglong Copper Mine, Shazhai Molybdenum Mine—these are enormous successes," Zhu Youxin smiled encouragingly. "Why can't iron ore be the same?"
It was evident that everyone's blind trust in Li Tang stemmed from his impressive track record. They felt that as long as Li Tang was involved, discovering a super-large iron ore deposit was almost guaranteed.
"It's different," Li Tang shook his head firmly. "China's iron ore situation is not optimistic. Resources are abundant but dispersed, rarely concentrated."
Li Tang raised his head, looking around. Realizing everyone shared similar objectives, he decided not to waste time repeating himself individually. "Has everyone finished breakfast?" he asked aloud.
All nodded or confirmed verbally.
"Then let's find somewhere to sit down and discuss iron ore," Li Tang said decisively.
He quickly finished his noodles and porridge, then arranged with the hotel to use a small meeting room. Soon, everyone gathered together, ready to discuss.
"Just before the New Year, we heard you were helping Haigang Steel explore for iron ore. Barely any time passed before you discovered a large magnetite deposit!" Long Fuyuan laughed heartily, praising, "Your talent in exploration is unprecedented."
Others nodded in strong agreement.
Li Tang acknowledged their praise briefly and directly jumped to the point. "Everyone here is interested in developing iron ore projects. You all have sales channels and sufficient capital."
"You acquired Lianying Mining in Australia, and the mine development is thriving. It's enviable!"
"Once that mine reaches its full capacity, given current iron ore prices, Lianying Mining—though not profitable yet—will generate astonishing profits starting next year or the year after."
"Producing 50 million tons of iron ore annually, the revenue could reach three billion U.S. dollars, with annual profits of at least four or five hundred million dollars!"
"Incredible!"
"Who wouldn't envy such a business?"
"Boss Li truly has a sharp eye, entering the market at its lowest point!"
They admired Li Tang's foresight, noting how the development of Lianying Mining to its current market value demonstrated his extraordinary vision and management skills.
At a time when steelmaking profits were shrinking, everyone was eager to invest upstream, sensing greater profitability. Globally, steel companies were fiercely competing for iron ore resources, as this was where significant profits now lay.
Li Tang raised his hand to quiet the enthusiastic chatter. "This meeting was impromptu, so I haven't prepared formally. I'll simply share my thoughts on iron ore."
"We're all ears!" Long Fuyuan prompted his assistant to record everything carefully.
Li Tang organized his thoughts before slowly explaining, "In China, the largest deposit we can realistically hope for is something like Nihe Iron Mine, possibly one or two hundred million tons. Once exploration concludes, mining will probably proceed underground at around two or three million tons annually—frankly speaking, this doesn't solve Haigang Steel's import dependency."
Haigang Steel imported tens of millions of tons annually and produced twenty to thirty million tons of steel each year. The Nihe deposit was significant, but not enough to resolve their fundamental supply issues. Nonetheless, discovering it was still encouraging news.
"Are you suggesting domestic iron ore exploration isn't promising?" someone asked hesitantly.
"Indeed," Li Tang affirmed.
"Then is it even worth continuing exploration investments domestically?"
"Yes," Li Tang clarified. "You all know the steel industry is reaching production saturation. Warehouses may already be accumulating surplus steel inventories."
Long Fuyuan, Zhu Youxin, and others exchanged surprised looks. Wu Yueming was astonished. "How do you know our industry's situation so clearly? Honestly, recent production hasn't been selling as well as last year. Some products are indeed accumulating in storage."
Several others nodded in acknowledgment.
"Markets can't expand indefinitely. There's always a saturation point," Li Tang explained gently, careful not to alarm anyone unduly. "However, economic growth will continue driving steel demand, though competition will intensify."
"Your analysis aligns closely with current market conditions," Long agreed.
"Enough on steel—you're all experts in that area," Li Tang quickly changed the subject. "Iron ore demand will inevitably keep rising with steel production. Iron ore development still holds substantial potential."
"You're making us dizzy—is the outlook positive or risky?" someone joked nervously.
"In China, small-scale iron mining can make money, but you all likely aren't interested in small-scale ventures. If you want significant profits comparable to Lianying Mining, there's only one way—go abroad."
"Overseas?"
"Exactly," Li Tang said bluntly. "Mining investments are large, long-term, and extremely risky. Everyone knows that aside from China, only two locations are best suited for mineral investment."
"Where?"
"Australia and Canada."
"But you're exploring iron ore in Guinea, Africa."
"Africa is also an option, but conditions vary greatly," Li Tang carefully explained. "My ultimate recommendation remains Canada and Australia."
The idea of investing abroad wasn't new to them, but committing huge sums in unfamiliar territory was intimidating.
"Austalia's Pilbara region is the world's top iron ore area. However, Lianying Mining's success also involved luck and your collective support," Li Tang explained. "Canada is distant and not particularly known for iron ore, but it's vast and underexplored. Honestly, I'm seriously considering mining there—iron, coal, nickel, even diamonds."
"You plan to mine in Canada?" Long asked intrigued.
"Potentially any resource," Li Tang confirmed. "If anyone is interested in joining me, come speak with me privately."
After the discussion, they parted ways, each contemplating the same question: was investing in overseas mining feasible, given the risks?
Li Tang didn't follow up individually since he received a call from Alice. After resting a few days, he flew to Perth.
After brief greetings, Alice quickly addressed business: "The team you asked me to set up to monitor BHP and Rio Tinto has uncovered something significant."
"Go ahead." Li Tang found Perth's sunlight particularly dazzling, though he wasn't sure why.
"BHP is negotiating a major acquisition—WMC Resources. The deal may cost between six and eight billion U.S. dollars," Alice summarized succinctly.
"WMC Resources?" Li Tang wasn't familiar.
"They're among the world's top nickel producers, also owning copper mines and smelting plants," Alice explained thoroughly.
"How will BHP finance such a huge deal?"
"Mostly cash. BHP earned huge profits recently and kept dividends low this year, clearly preparing funds for a major acquisition. They're determined," Alice detailed carefully.
"So, the acquisition isn't financially burdensome for BHP?"
"No significant burden," Alice affirmed. "They have ample cash, easy access to loans, and some stock exchange options."
"Then let's watch without intervening," Li Tang said decisively. Currently, he lacked the financial means or strength to compete against giants like BHP.
"Agreed," Alice replied. She didn't fully grasp Li Tang's intentions regarding BHP, but clearly saw no opportunity to profit from the deal at this point.
"Another thing," Alice added.
"Go on," Li Tang leaned back, enjoying the sea breeze and sun, sipping coconut water leisurely.
"Lumble Resources completed five drill holes at the Fraser Range gold project," Alice watched Li Tang closely. "Three of the five holes hit gold."
Li Tang removed his sunglasses, surprised. "Really?"
"Absolutely!" Alice confirmed emphatically.
"It seems we made the right bet!" Li Tang smiled broadly.
"A bet?" Alice questioned skeptically. Clearly, Li Tang had again demonstrated extraordinary foresight, identifying potential where everyone else saw nothing.
"Investment is just sophisticated gambling," Li Tang laughed heartily. "Another successful investment for you."
"How's that my success?" Alice wrinkled her nose skeptically.
"You led this investment," Li Tang teased. "You've earned another big credit. How should I reward you?"
Alice's smile turned mischievous. "How about you spend tonight with me?"
Li Tang nearly choked on his coconut water.
Are foreign girls always this bold?
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