Chapter 191: Like a Dazzling Sun
Alice really did resign from HighGain Investment Bank's China office and officially joined Li Tang Shengshi Holdings.
Because of her arrival, the company established a brand-new "Investment Department." Alice was named department head, but she was essentially the only member. The department had no concrete projects and not even a shadow of a long-term plan.
Still, on her third day, Li Tang assigned her a task: to accompany Guo Fengchun and the team to Kulun City in Mengguo immediately.
The Taluge Copper-Gold Project's exploration rights were directly held by the company Nanhuang Resources, whose office was based in Kulun. Someone had to be stationed there to liaise with the Mengguo Ministry of Industry and Trade and its subordinate Mineral and Petroleum Administration Bureau. It was also vital to gather relevant policy updates from the Mengguo mining sector.
Meanwhile, Zhou Zhenxing and Li Zaiqiang led a massive caravan—ten off-road vehicles and dozens of technicians—on a journey from Guizhou to Yanjing, where they would regroup with the rest of the team.
All the customs procedures were completed. Alongside the dozens from the Guizhou Geological Bureau, the China Geological Survey also sent a large team. They crossed the border directly into Mengguo's Nanhang Province through a border checkpoint.
The 800-kilometer journey was smooth on domestic highways, but once inside Mengguo, the last 100 kilometers turned into dirt and gravel roads.
Fortunately, the terrain was flat enough to keep the convoy moving.
Nanhang Province in Mengguo is vast, dominated by grasslands and desert, with a population of barely over ten thousand, most of whom live in the provincial capital, Dalan City.
As their convoy made its way across the Gobi Desert, they rarely saw another soul—only one nomadic family after 100 kilometers.
Once they arrived at the designated site, they set up camp and settled into basic living conditions.
They had acquired detailed geological data from BHP Tuo's exploration department, and obtained official exploration permits from Mengguo's Mineral and Petroleum Administration. Once they were on-site and settled, they jumped straight into work.
Everyone was there to work, not to sightsee. They quickly immersed themselves in the task.
Since vehicles could drive across most of the project area, the teams from the Guizhou Bureau and the China Geological Survey lived in a shared camp and traveled to different regions daily.
However, Li Tang provided very clear direction when it came to how work should be divided. "The project area is gourd-shaped. Our current camp is roughly in the center."
The area was vast and remote, so they had the freedom to set up camp wherever they liked.
Li Tang glanced at key technical leaders—Zhang Tao, Zhou Zhenxing, and Li Zaiqiang—then continued, "Based on previous data, there are four key mineralized zones in the area. We'll divide them into southwest, south, central, and far-north regions."
He pointed to a spot on the map and then gestured to the ground beneath them. "We're currently in the central region."
"Just tell us your plan," Li Zaiqiang interjected impatiently. He was the only one present who dared to talk to Li Tang like that.
"Alright," Li Tang nodded sincerely. "Here's the breakdown: the central region, where we are now, is convenient for fieldwork. But the far-north zone is about 20 kilometers away—pretty remote. So I'm assigning the central and far-north zones to the China Geological Survey."
"No problem," Zhang Tao responded cheerfully, unconcerned about the added distance.
"Then the southern and southwestern zones will go to the Guizhou Geological Bureau?" Li Tang turned to Zhou Zhenxing and Li Zaiqiang.
"We have no objections," Zhou replied with a smile.
"Alright then," Li Tang concluded. "You've all reviewed the project documents. From here on out, you're free to conduct your investigations as you see fit. Whether we strike ore—or strike it big—is in your hands!"
Li Zaiqiang ignored the pleasantries and dove straight into a technical discussion with Zhang Tao. "The foreign team's work focused mainly on surface mapping, hydrology, and sediment chemical sampling. They also did magnetic and induced polarization surveys—quite thorough!"
"Agreed," Zhang Tao nodded. "Their division into four mineralized zones was based on the results of these techniques."
"Right," Li Zaiqiang said, laying out his team's game plan. "We haven't brought in the drilling rigs yet, so our immediate priority is to verify the accuracy of the foreign data with our own tools and expertise."
"Exactly," Zhang Tao replied.
"If their work proves accurate, we can skip redundant steps and go straight into targeted drilling," Li Zaiqiang added.
"We're completely on the same page!" Zhang Tao said with a grin.
Both teams had brought magnetic and electrical geophysical instruments. Once their equipment was inventoried, they headed out to officially begin their fieldwork.
After several days of surface-level surveys, both teams agreed on one thing: BHP Tuo's previous work in the project area—and the data they compiled—were solid.
In other words, there was no need for redundant fieldwork.
BHP Tuo's Miles had spent four years here and burned through $3 million, not on drilling but on comprehensive geological mapping, sampling, and geophysical surveys.
The four mineralized zones they outlined were scientifically grounded.
Although Li Tang had expected this outcome, he still insisted both teams re-verify the work.
Now the next phase was clear: drilling.
Aggressive, full-scale drilling!
In the historical timeline, Aiwanhao took over the exploration license from BHP Tuo and soon launched over 100 drill holes with nearly 10,000 meters of depth.
If history was any guide, Fernando had likely intended only to validate the mineralization around BHP Tuo's two known drill holes.
What he didn't expect was that the deeper they drilled, the more promising the results became.
That's how the world's largest copper-gold deposit was unveiled!
With a proven historical blueprint, and knowing the Taluge Project was worth trillions, Li Tang didn't need to innovate the exploration strategy. It was crystal clear.
At that moment, Guo Fengchun and Alice landed in Dalan City.
Though dubbed a provincial capital, Dalan had a population of just 14,000—less than many small towns in China.
It was 600 kilometers from Kulun. There were no buses, only a small grassland airstrip with two weekly flights between Dalan and Kulun.
Li Tang didn't have much to do at the camp, so he drove the 200 kilometers to Dalan to meet them.
Arriving alongside them was a convoy of trucks that had traveled all the way from Kulun. They carried all kinds of drilling rigs, rods, and technicians.
Mengguo Mineral and Petroleum Bureau Director Jirigela didn't fly. He accompanied the truck convoy by road, personally escorting the precious equipment.
"Li Tang!" Jirigela greeted him warmly—much more so than their first meeting. "To help you get enough rigs, I practically pulled every one from across our country!"
"Thank you, Director Jirigela!" Li Tang smiled and shook his hand.
He understood the warmth and personal attention. It was all about money—millions of dollars had already been wired from China into Nanhuang Resources' account.
The moment the rigs were delivered to the site, money would start flowing directly into local pockets.
Of course, Jirigela wasn't the owner of the drilling company. He clarified, "I personally escorted the rigs to ensure your safety. We don't want anyone sabotaging this."
"Thank you very much for your support!" Li Tang replied.
The rigs still had to be transported from Dalan to the project site, but this stretch had no proper roads—only dirt and gravel tracks.
Li Tang drove at the front of the convoy, with the trucks following close behind.
Alice sat beside him. The American girl seemed to have fully adapted to her new role.
"Tired?" he asked with concern.
"Not really," she said. "But I didn't feel very useful in Kulun working with Guo and the team. Can I come stay at the site?"
Alice was curious about life in the remote Gobi.
"The rigs need to go to the site, so you can tag along. But there's no need to stay. Life out there is hard and boring. I don't think you'd enjoy it," Li Tang said, worried for her safety and well-being.
Alice had once dreamed of working on massive mergers and acquisitions. But after joining HighGain China, she'd never completed a single major project. Her ambition had faded.
Now, she had joined Li Tang, imagining a thrilling, action-packed career. But so far, things felt a little… dull.
Still, it was early days. She hadn't begun to regret it.
Looking at Li Tang, and knowing more about his remarkable mineral discoveries, she felt nothing but admiration and trust.
"In Kulun, people don't seem to care much about the Taluge project," she said, sharing her observations.
"That's normal," Li Tang nodded. "Once the drilling results come in, everyone will care. The Taluge Project is like a blazing sun—it'll be too bright for anyone to ignore!"
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