Spread on the table is a huge "Mineral and Energy Distribution Map of the Ming Empire", which is several square meters in size. The bottom is signed "Drawing Supervised by the Ministry of Minerals and Energy of the Ming Empire". Xiang Xiaoqiang pressed his arms on the edge of the table, concentrating on
He had a "bird's eye view" of this huge map. Zheng Gongyin stood behind, looking at him diligently and suspiciously.
Zheng Gongyin owned a "Zheng's Mineral Exploration and Mining Co., Ltd." which mainly mined non-ferrous metals. The so-called non-ferrous metals are all metals except ferrous metals, that is, iron. In later generations, manganese and chromium were also considered ferrous metals in China.
But at this time, all Ming metals were considered non-ferrous metals.
Zheng's Minerals mainly mines tungsten ore, manganese ore and copper ore, and also mines other associated non-ferrous metals. It is considered to be relatively large among many mining companies in Daming. However, the mining industry requires huge investment, or
It is a technically very professional industry, and the mining company is not the main business of the Zheng family's business, so it cannot compete with those specialized mining companies. Coupled with the Great Depression, Zheng's Minerals has been losing money over the years.
Zheng Gongyin was about to sell it, and the world economy began to slowly improve again. Moreover, after the Nazis came to power in 1933, the situation in Europe became more and more tense year by year. In addition, Italy invaded Abyssinia in October 1935, and the Ming and Qing Dynasties in early 1936
War, the Ming-Dutch Nanyang War, and now the domestic situation in Spain is tense. With these "positive stimulations", various international strategic materials, especially iron, copper, tungsten, manganese and other "war metals" have become popular again.
So now when Xiang Xiaoqiang told him that he had several good mining sites, Zheng Gongyin's greed was immediately raised. Xiang Xiaoqiang asked to see the mineral map, and he immediately sent someone to retrieve the large map from his mining company
, please look to Xiaoqiang.
Now, under Xiang Xiaoqiang's eyes are all the mineral deposits that the Ming Empire has discovered at this time. As long as they have been discovered, they are all above.
Xiang Xiaoqiang's first impression of this map was that it was sparse. The markings on the Chinese mineral map of later generations were much sparser than in his memory. In other words, most of the mine sites in China in later generations had been discovered, and now
The Ming Dynasty did not discover it. Of course, it cannot be ruled out that this picture is relatively large and appears sparse. But even so, the marks on it are still much less than those of later generations.
Xiang Xiaoqiang first looked for the largest war metal - iron ore.
However, only two of the three largest iron ore belts in southern China are marked on the map. One is the Daye iron ore belt in Hubei, and the other is the Wuhu-Maanshan-Nanjing iron ore belt. Both of these have been mined historically.
It has been a traditional mine for thousands of years. Xiang Xiaoqiang searched repeatedly and only found some sporadic small and medium-sized iron ore in other places.
His heart was beating loudly and he felt the blood all over his body was boiling.
——Panzhihua.
Panzhihua, the super-large iron and titanium ore discovered in the 1930s in China, is not in the picture.
China's iron ores are mainly in the north. Xiang Xiaoqiang knows that Nanming's steel smelting and processing capabilities are very strong, but the iron ore is seriously insufficient. Just relying on two traditional old iron mines is not enough. Every year, it is imported from Australia.
Large quantities of imports. Now, I have Panzhihua in my hands. As long as I take out this super iron ore, Nanming’s iron ore reserves will immediately double. Judging from the amount of iron used in industry in this era, Daming may not have to rely on iron ore.
Imported.
Of course, we just don’t “rely” on imports. The disadvantage of China’s iron ore is that the grade is not high and the cost of mining, dressing and smelting is high. Therefore, even if the total amount is sufficient, some high-grade ores still have to be imported. But once the Ming Dynasty’s sea transportation encounters
After the blockade, we can still rely on local iron ore to sustain the situation, but the cost is just a little higher.
More importantly, Panzhihua is the only super iron mine in the southwest. If the Northern Expedition fails, just in case... What if the Beiqing comes over and takes over Ming Dynasty's East and South China, and Ming Dynasty loses Ma'anshan and
After Daye, the iron ore output in Panzhihua, Sichuan alone was enough to support a long-term war.
Moreover, Panzhihua not only has iron ore, but also a large amount of titanium ore. Titanium was also an expensive war metal in later generations. Xiang Xiaoqiang remembered that Panzhihua’s titanium ore reserves ranked first in China. However, in the 1930s, the era of titanium had not yet
It's a pity to arrive.
Not to mention anything else, just offering Panzhihua to the Ming Dynasty, his contribution is probably enough to make him a marquis.
But Xiang Xiaoqiang smiled slightly when he thought of this. Now as long as he marries Zhu Yourong, he will not be a marquis, but directly a prince.
…
Xiang Xiaoqiang knew that the name "Panzhihua" was coined in the 1950s, and it would definitely not be found on the current map. But the problem is that there is nothing on the current mineral map where Panzhihua is located. Except for mountains. Look.
After arriving at "his" Panzhihua intact, Xiang Xiaoqiang felt confident.
But now is not the time to throw Panzhihua out. Such a big cake cannot be taken out at the beginning. It would be too eye-catching and it would be at the forefront of the limelight. Moreover, the Zheng Mining family will never be able to eat such a big cake.
It doesn't make much sense.
At the beginning of cooperation, you should first bring out a few small cakes to try. When the cooperation between the two parties is more mature and the distribution of interests is more mature, then you can gradually throw out "super big cakes" like the one in Panzhihua.
On the other hand, this is an iron ore. The unit price of iron ore is low, the initial investment in the mine is large, the preparation time is long, and the money is too slow. Especially for a super giant mine like Panzhihua, it is in high mountains and there is no road.
, the preliminary preparations lasted only one or two years, and there was no benefit at all.
Xiang Xiaoqiang plans to identify a few small and medium-sized mining sites in areas with relatively mature mining conditions, such as Jiangxi, Hunan, and Hubei. This is equivalent to giving Zheng Gongyin a taste of the sweetness first and letting him know that what he said is true. In addition,
Xiang Xiaoqiang's money is really tight and he needs to make some "big money" quickly.
His original property, excluding Zheng Yucong's stocks, totaled about 7 million. But now he spent more than 3 million to buy 20% of Yuhuacong's equity. Although the money for buying stocks of more than 3 million was earned by himself,
Yes, it is legal, but now they have been bought into bearer stocks of Yuhua Cong, and they are no longer visible. Now the property in hand is only more than three million, of which two million are still the bearer bonds that swallowed up Zheng Yucong
and diamonds. Now the real "legal property" in Xiang Xiaoqiang's hands is one million.
Now he needs to first find a few mines that can make money quickly. To make money quickly, first of all, the minerals themselves are relatively valuable, such as gold, silver, tungsten, manganese, copper, etc. Secondly, the location of the mine site cannot be in the middle of nowhere.
In places like Panzhihua, we have to build roads and infrastructure first, which takes a year and a half.
…
"Your Majesty, that's good," Xiang Xiaoqiang said simply, "Will your Zheng's Minerals develop a gold mine?"
When Zheng Gongyin heard the word "gold mine", he was excited and excited. He rubbed his hands gently and said with a smile:
"What, Xiao Xiang, do you have information about the gold mine?"
He nodded to Xiaoqiang, selected on the map, and said:
"Well, yes, there are more than one. How about it, is it okay for your company to mine gold?"
"No problem!" Zheng Gongyin immediately said categorically, "There is absolutely no problem with the gold mine! ... However, I don't know what the reserves and grade are like? If it is too low, even if it is a gold mine... it will still lose money."
Xiang Xiaoqiang said:
"It's okay for you, then it's okay for me too."
He scanned the map with his eyes, thinking that the first mine should be the Xiangxi Gold Mine. The Xiangxi Gold Mine is in Taoyuan County, Hunan, and is not on the current Daming Mineral Map. The Xiangxi Gold Mine is listed in the formal history.
It was also discovered during the Republic of China. It is normal that the Ming Dynasty has not discovered it yet.
Xiang Xiaoqiang remembered that in the picture of his family in later generations, the mark on the Xiangxi Gold Mine was medium in size, which meant that its reserves were medium, which meant that the gold reserves were more than ten tons or dozens of tons. And if he remembered correctly, there was a mark next to it.
The ore grade seems to be around 8.0, which means that each ton of ore contains 8.0 grams of pure gold. This is also relatively high among gold mines. Such a gold mine can produce several hundred kilograms to more than one ton a year.
Gold should still be very realistic. In that case, it would be one to two million Mingyang a year.
What’s more convenient is that because this place is located in Hunan, there are many tungsten mines marked far and near on the map. In other words, the mining industry here is relatively developed, and various conditions are relatively mature, including transportation, mining and so on.
The machinery, related personnel, etc. are all relatively complete. From the time of settling in to the time when the gold is mined, it only takes a few months at most.
Like the super-large cake Panzhihua, Xiang Xiaoqiang also has a super-large cake from a gold mine. That is the Boka gold mine in Yunnan, which was later discovered in 2006. This is a world-class gold mine with an estimated gold reserve of 150 tons. It was discovered at that time
After that, it became known as "China's No. 1 Gold Mine." Xiang Xiaoqiang wanted to keep this super large gold mine and not take it out for the time being.
…
Xiang Xiaoqiang also studied the copper mines in the Ming Dynasty. Copper mines are the second largest war metal and are directly used to make bullets and cannonballs. In addition, all industries related to electricity are indispensable for copper. And copper is also relatively valuable. Xiang Xiaoqiang speculates
The futures are relatively clear. The current international price of pure copper is 125 US dollars per ton, which is 179 mingyang. China is very short of copper, both in the south and the north. And copper is very important. Regardless of China in later generations, or the current Nanming and Northern Qing Dynasties
, all copper needs to be imported in large quantities.
Whenever there is a war, copper is always one of the most rapidly rising commodities in the world. In addition, copper mines have another advantage. Gold mines often accompany them. When mining copper mines, you can often mine a certain amount of gold.
Mine. Therefore, investing in copper mines is very profitable, and it is not only beneficial to yourself, but also to the empire.
Xiang Xiaoqiang discovered that the main copper mining areas in the Ming Dynasty are the Daye Copper Mine in Hubei Province, the Dongchuan Copper Mine in Yunnan Province, and the Tongling Copper Mine in Anhui Province. They are also traditional copper-producing areas in history. However, there is another
The super large deposit-Jiangxi Dexing Copper Mine is not marked on the Ming Dynasty's mineral map.
Dexing Copper Mine... This is no joke. Dexing Copper Mine has later proven reserves of eight million tons. It is the largest copper mine in China and the largest copper mine in Asia. It has the same meaning as Panzhihua.
In terms of industrial copper consumption in this era, once the Dexing Copper Mine is removed, Nanming will no longer have to rely on imports for copper.
Then, Xiang Xiaoqiang worked hard and looked for tungsten, manganese, and several other most important strategic metals on the mineral map... and also found the "super big cake" that Daming didn't know about at this time.
Xiang Xiaoqiang felt that he had a good idea, so he turned around and said to Zheng Gongyin, who was already waiting a little impatiently:
"Your Majesty, I have a lot of mineral veins. This is our first time to cooperate. I will provide you with a medium mine of gold, copper, and tungsten. We will make a small fortune first. If we
The cooperation is quite pleasant. Next, I will have a large number of large mineral veins, giant mineral veins, and super mineral veins. At that time, we can seriously make a fortune. How about it? "
Zheng Gongyin looked at Xiang Xiaoqiang and was a little dumbfounded. From what he said, the mineral veins he controlled were like supermarkets, with complete varieties and large quantities, and they ranged from high to low-end...
Just when he was in a daze, Xiang Xiaoqiang said to himself:
"Well, let me give you a general introduction first. A gold mine has a reserve of more than ten tons of pure gold, with a grade of 8 to 10 grams of gold per ton of ore. A copper mine has a reserve of hundreds of thousands of tons.
The grade is about a few percent. A tungsten ore has tens of thousands of tons of reserves, and its grade is about a few percent."
As he spoke, he ignored the suspicious Zheng Gongyin, sat down at the table, grabbed a pen and paper, and started doing calculations. After a while, he raised his head, looked at Zheng Gongyin and said:
"Your Majesty, as for this gold mine, even if it produces 1 ton of gold every year, that's more than 1.6 million mingyang. As for the copper mine, even if it mines 200,000 tons of ore every year... the international price of copper ore of this grade is about 15 mingyang 1
tons, that is 3 million Mingyang per year. This tungsten mine is not too big, but even if it produces 2,000 tons of tungsten concentrate every year... the international price of tungsten concentrate is 475 Mingyang per ton, then it is 950,000 per year,
Nearly 1 million Mingyang.
"Your Majesty, these three mines can produce about 5.6 million Mingyang every year. In this way, I will draw their detailed positions for you, and we will follow the original agreement. I want 20% of the shares in each mine. In addition,
Just give me 5 million Mingyang in one lump sum."
Zheng Gongyin's eyes suddenly widened. He almost shouted:
"Xiao Xiang, are you too outrageous? Don't tell me that I haven't done any on-site exploration. Even when you said it yourself, it was 'tens of thousands of tons' or 'hundreds of thousands of tons'. It is extremely vague. You can see that you
I haven’t done any serious exploration, so why do you think you can produce 5.6 million Mingyang a year?”
"Oh," Xiang Xiaoqiang said with a smile, "it's not much different... the deviation is about 1 million Mingyang at most."
Zheng Gongyin's face turned purple because of his anger, but he still restrained himself from getting angry. He took a breath and said:
"Okay, let's take a step back and say, even if these mines can produce 5.6 million Mingyang a year, then these 5.6 million Mingyang can't be all mine, right? I have to pay a few dozen percent tax, right? Xiaoxiang, you
Don’t you think asking for 5 million is too much for you to ask for 5 million?...Okay, you said you want 20% of the dry shares, that’s no problem, I can agree, because we agreed at the beginning that we would give you 20% of the dry shares.
But you have to remember that the price you asked for originally was 10,000 Mingyang for one mine in addition to 20% of the dry shares. Now you have gone from 10,000 Mingyang to 5 million Mingyang in one go. That’s a huge increase.
500 times. Do you think this is appropriate?"
Only then did Xiang Xiaoqiang remember that when we negotiated the conditions before going to Beiqing, the "mineral clause" attached was really only 10,000 Mingyang per mine.
He smiled coquettishly, still smiling:
"Your Majesty, one moment and another... At that time, I was very poor, extremely poor, and didn't have a dime in my pocket... Think about it, back then I worked hard to go to Beiqing just for 500,000 yuan...
…But now, I sit still and my annual annuity is 500,000 yuan. And I can make hundreds of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars in the international market just by making a few phone calls while sitting at home. Your Majesty
Think about it, does Ten Thousand Mingyang have even a little bit of appeal to me now?...My lord, if you put yourself in my shoes, would you think highly of this Ten Thousand Mingyang?
.”
Zheng Gongyin still shook his head like a wavy drum, indicating that he would not listen to his deception.
Xiang Xiaoqiang smiled and said:
"Your Majesty, your Zheng Minerals is not the largest among the Daming Mining Company, nor does it have the strongest exploration and mining capabilities. But I consider that we are old friends after all, and... Haha, Cong Cong and I
...hehehe... no matter what, the money and water cannot flow to outsiders... Besides, I still have a lot of shares in the mine... So, you weigh these two things: Can I make you suffer?
When I make you suffer, I make myself suffer.
"Besides, you only need to give me a one-time payment of 5 million now, but from now on, you will get millions of dollars from these mines every year... Even if you give half of it to the country, you will still get 250 miles! ...
Ahem, there are still 2.5 million miles left!”
…
The two clashed for a while, and finally Xiang Xiaoqiang came up with his trump card and reiterated that he still had a lot of mineral deposits here. These three mines were just experiments. If everyone cooperates satisfactorily, then in the future it will not be 5.6 million Mingyang a year.
Mine, 56 million is also very realistic.
Zheng Gongyin's money-grubbing nature finally gained the upper hand. After careful consideration, he agreed to give Xiang Xiaoqiang 1 million mingyang first. But then his company would go to these three mines for field exploration. If it was true as Xiang Xiaoqiang said, then he would still
Give Xiang Xiaoqiang another 2 million Mingyang. However, each mine can only give Xiang Xiaoqiang 15% of the dry shares.
Xiang Xiaoqiang wholeheartedly agreed. On the one hand, he is short of money now, and on the other hand, he feels that he can only stay in Ming Dynasty for five years, so a few million Mingyang is more economical than a dozen percent of the shares. And this time it is just a pre-payment.
Stand, you still have more cards in your hand. Next time you throw out a more attractive "cake", as long as you are happy, you have no final say in the proportion of shares.
In this way, when he came out of Yanping Palace that day, Xiang Xiaoqiang had another 1 million Mingyang cash in his suitcase.
At the same time, the "mineral plan" that he had dreamed of but had never had the opportunity to carry out finally began to be implemented.
He plans to double the proven reserves of various strategic minerals in the Ming Empire within a year. In other words, he will raise the war potential of the Ming Empire to a new height.