Chapter 192: Never Felt This Way Before
At that moment, Alice still didn't quite understand what Li Tang meant by comparing the Taluge Copper-Gold Project to the sun.
"I spoke with a member of Mengguo's parliament. He mentioned that with Mengguo opening its mineral resource market, a lot of Chinese people are coming in and applying for exploration rights…"
She paused, carefully watching Li Tang's reaction, worried she might be saying something offensive. She quickly added, "It seems the locals aren't very welcoming of this."
"I know," Li Tang smiled calmly at her. "I also dislike this kind of speculative behavior. It disrupts the market."
"There's more. The MP I spoke to was quite old, and he seemed concerned that Mengguo's economy is becoming too dependent on China," Alice continued, sharing her recent findings from her time in Kulun. "But the truth is, Mengguo's daily life is increasingly reliant on China. Most of their daily necessities are imported from there."
"That just proves our influence is growing," Li Tang said with a cheerful smile.
"That MP even said outright that Mengguo prefers to align itself more closely with Russia," Alice added, now feeling more comfortable discussing sensitive topics since Li Tang didn't seem offended.
"That's been their policy since the last century," Li Tang nodded. "Taluge was first discovered by a joint Mengguo-Russian exploration team. And it wasn't their only find. Up north, along another metallogenic belt, they discovered the Edente Copper Mine, which is now Mengguo's largest operational copper mine. Russia owns half of it."
Seeing Alice listening so intently, her blue eyes sparkling with curiosity, Li Tang continued, "You can even see it from their railways. Mengguo uses the Russian 1520mm wide-gauge system. It shows they're willing to transport ore to Russia, even if it means going a longer route to export it."
"You know so much," Alice said, clearly impressed.
"I wouldn't say that. I just happen to know a bit about anything related to minerals," Li Tang replied modestly. "But I think you, being in Kulun, will be of great help to our project."
"How so?" Alice asked. She had been feeling like her abilities weren't being fully utilized.
"After exploration comes the application for mining licenses, mine construction, and so on. It'll involve all kinds of processes—some even reaching the highest levels of Mengguo's government."
At first glance, Li Tang didn't seem to be doing much at the project site. He rarely appeared to be busy. But the truth was, he was already planning several steps ahead.
To act without a strategy was foolish.
As Alice had just pointed out, Chinese people were not warmly welcomed in Mengguo. So once the site was proven to be a world-class deposit, would the mining license be approved?
That was a huge question mark.
Before long, the discovery would become public knowledge. Like blood in the ocean, it would draw in the sharks—ruthless and competitive.
This wasn't China. There were no protective barriers here.
Li Tang knew that sooner or later, pressure would mount—from within Mengguo and abroad. Pressure to relinquish the mining rights, or worse.
He was mentally prepared for the challenges ahead, though he didn't yet know how intense they would be.
There was no way to prepare for every possible outcome.
He could only anticipate, plan broadly, and adapt.
Some of his thoughts he kept to himself. No one else could bear those burdens.
Still, he wasn't alone.
Behind him—stood China.
And that was the foundation of his courage.
…
After a long journey, the drilling equipment finally arrived at the project site. Some of the trucks stayed for transporting rigs within the site, while the rest returned with Jirigela to Kulun.
Guo Fengchun did a quick inspection around the site, then left with Alice and the others.
Li Zaiqiang called Zhang Tao over to discuss the next steps of the drilling program.
"At present, the two mineralized drill holes identified by BHP Tuo—one is in our southwest sector, the other in your central sector," Li Zaiqiang got straight to the point. "Why don't you go first—what's your next move?"
"Based on our current understanding of porphyry copper systems, bornite is a secondary copper mineral. It's not the primary ore of the porphyry system," Zhang Tao replied. He had been learning a great deal from Li Zaiqiang recently—especially the finer points of porphyry mineralization. "So I agree with your earlier judgment: below those known mineralized zones, there could be primary copper ore. With that in mind, we plan to drill deeper at those same locations and also fan out around them with exploratory holes."
"That's about what we're planning too," Li Zaiqiang nodded. Then he glanced at Li Tang, and for a moment, his thoughts wavered. "The rigs we brought over are all reverse circulation drills…"
"I specifically asked for those," Li Tang interjected. "They're better for these conditions—less likely to break rods or damage the hole when the rock is fractured. Plus, they're efficient, and we can use air as a drilling medium, which is ideal in a water-scarce area like this."
"With so many rigs and such high efficiency, won't we burn through the budget too fast?" Li Zaiqiang asked, worried that they might waste funds if the holes didn't turn up ore.
"That's the nature of exploration. Not finding ore is normal," Li Tang replied calmly. "We have enough funding to support several hundred holes—tens of thousands of meters of drilling. Don't worry about money. If the geology makes sense, drill without hesitation."
If it weren't for the fact that both project managers were senior engineers—and one of them was his father—Li Tang might have already ordered a full-scale drilling campaign across all the mineralized zones.
As long as they hit one deep primary porphyry zone, it would confirm the presence of a major deposit.
There were four identified mineralized zones in the entire area. If the high-grade ore was deeper, all they needed was one lucky hit to set the direction for the entire project.
Of course, knowing this didn't make it easier. He faced the same challenge he had encountered in the Yunyun Bauxite project: knowing there was a deposit but not knowing its exact location or depth.
Back in Huazhou Province, he used controlled-source electromagnetic and microgravity surveys to locate the ore body.
Here, the terrain was too vast, and the surface mineralization too widespread to rely solely on geophysics.
That left drilling as the most direct—and most expensive—method.
Fortunately, this was a very large deposit. If they invested properly and used the right methods, there was no reason not to find the ore.
Normally, Li Zaiqiang wouldn't ask Li Tang to join him in the field. Even though Li Tang was the project lead, he was still his son. If he could spare him from hardship, he would.
But this time, he urgently called Li Tang to the southwest drilling platform.
"We're hitting ore at 80 meters. Not high-grade—about 0.6% copper, 0.9 grams per ton gold—but this layer extends down to 600 meters!" he said, unable to hide his excitement.
Professionally, he had to report this. Li Tang was in charge. He had to be informed to make decisions.
"600 meters thick," Li Tang nodded. "That's consistent with Qulong and Qinglong—low-grade but massive, with stable distribution."
Li Zaiqiang picked up a deeper core sample and had it analyzed by a technician with a portable XRF analyzer. He handed the data to Li Tang. "Look at the readings below 600 meters—the values keep rising."
"Let me see," Li Tang took a closer look and agreed. "You're right."
"Between 600 and 700 meters, copper is at 1.1%, gold at 2.4 grams per ton!" Li Zaiqiang read aloud, barely able to suppress his joy.
He had been stationed at the drill site almost around the clock. At this point, he might as well have brought a bed and moved in.
As technical lead, he wasn't obligated to stress over results. But this was his son's project.
His role as a father outweighed his professional one.
Everyone around him could see it—he was working over 15 hours a day, poring over data late into the night.
He had never invested this much emotion and effort into a single project.
With every meter of successful drilling, his emotions soared.
Today, he felt like he had reached the peak of joy, pride swelling in his chest like a geyser about to erupt.
He had worked on many successful projects—Qulong, Qinglong, and more—but none had brought him a sense of fulfillment and pride quite like this.
Never before had he felt such emotional release after enduring so much pressure.
Never before had he felt such boundless honor.
He looked at Li Tang, hoping his son would feel the same excitement and pride.
But Li Tang remained calm.
In that moment, Li Zaiqiang felt like his son looked older than he did—more composed, more seasoned.
Was this what it meant to stay calm even when the mountain collapses?
Was this the mark of someone destined for greatness?
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