Chapter 24: Let's Look Somewhere Else
It was easy to say "shut it down," but for the decision-makers holding the reins, there were far more factors to weigh—economic loss was just one piece of the puzzle. There were also issues like workforce resettlement, and the impact of low ore supply on the copper smelter linked to the mine.
Lu Kanqing, one of the internal experts from the Mining and Metallurgy Company, spoke up. "The life or death of Demen Copper Mine is also tied to our company's smelter in the neighboring county. Because of declining mine production, the smelter's copper output has dropped year after year, causing huge financial losses. It's a chain reaction—one link affects the whole."
"Isn't your smelter located by the river? With a deep-water port? You can import copper concentrate from abroad and ship it upstream. I remember your plant has always relied on imports for at least half of its copper concentrate," another expert interjected.
"Sure, we can import it, but that only earns us TC and RC fees," Lu replied. "Those are basically just processing charges. The real profits are tiny, especially since all the bargaining power lies with the foreign mining giants. But if we process our own copper concentrate—mine it, smelt it, produce our own copper products—that's where the big profits are."
Every major commodity had its own trading structure.
In copper mining, producers of concentrate typically contract smelters to process the material. Smelters earn a fixed service fee: TC for treatment (rough smelting) and RC for refining.
Running your own full production chain from mining to smelting to product sales gave far greater profits than just offering processing services.
That was why, despite being told over and over by experts to shut down, Zhao Hepu kept trying everything to keep the mine alive.
This involved downstream operations most experts weren't familiar with, so no one commented further.
"What kind of smelting process does your plant use?" Li Tang suddenly asked.
The experts turned their heads toward the young man who had asked the question. Lu Kanqing, annoyed and frustrated, didn't even bother to answer.
But Zhao Hepu's expression brightened as he saw Li Tang and smiled warmly. "We use pyrometallurgy—fire smelting. More than 90% of domestic copper smelters do. It's a mature process."
"No wonder," Li Tang nodded knowingly.
Even if Zhao hadn't said so, Li could've guessed. It was 1999—hydrometallurgical (wet) copper refining was still rare in China and hadn't reached industrial-scale production.
Even abroad, hydrometallurgy lacked a unified technical standard. Each mine was different—chalcocite, bornite, cuprite—and their associated minerals all varied, which greatly affected smelting processes.
Wet refining worked for some mines, but not for others.
Qin Jianshe saw the thoughtful look on Li Tang's face and asked curiously, "What do you mean, 'no wonder'?"
Qin's own view matched the experts'. There didn't seem to be any way to extend the mine's lifespan.
"Fire refining requires higher ore grades and is also costly. Internationally, most profitable copper mines have grades over 1.2%. Demen's nearing depletion, and its cost per ton is only going up," Li Tang said quietly, not trying to make a scene.
The other experts were busy discussing among themselves and didn't pay much attention to what he was saying.
But Qin listened intently and agreed. "You're right—but the reality is often more complicated than theory."
"In mining—whether it's extraction, processing, smelting, or downstream sales—it all starts with theory. You test and validate those theories, then apply them."
Li Tang had always been confident, and that often made him speak more freely than most.
To someone who didn't know him or his relationship with Qin, it might've looked like he was contradicting his superior.
He paused for a moment, then added with resolve, "This problem's been researched for two or three years now. If the current path isn't working, and we know it won't work, maybe it's time to think differently."
Anyone could say pretty words.
But when it came to a mine of this scale—with an entire smelting plant downstream—you couldn't just change direction on a whim.
Still, when Li Tang said it, Qin couldn't help but fall into deep thought.
There was something about the young man's serious expression that made him pause.
"Director Zhao!"
Qin called out to the front.
Zhao Hepu had been in the middle of a discussion with the experts, but he turned and walked back. "Yes?"
"Listen to what Li Tang has to say."
"Oh?"
Zhao's plump face bloomed into a smile.
He had a way of putting people at ease, his demeanor always warm and non-threatening.
"The reserves in the deeper part of the mine—I did some calculations," Li Tang began. "Even using the minimum industrial grade as the boundary, the total reserve doesn't even reach 100,000 tons. That's not even enough to qualify as a mid-sized deposit. You've studied this over and over. And the experts have said the same: deeper mining—whether open-pit or underground—has no economic value."
Li Tang wasn't saying anything new. It was all common knowledge by now.
Zhao nodded, still smiling. "That's correct."
"I think everyone's been staring too deep—always looking down, into the darkness. We've fallen into a mindset trap."
"Oh?" Zhao's smile grew wider. "Only the young dare think outside the box."
For some reason, he felt a flicker of hope.
After hearing the same conclusions from expert after expert, over and over again, he sometimes fantasized about an outlier—a genius with a never-before-seen solution. Someone who might save Demen.
Such a person would be like a god.
"My idea isn't even that innovative. But I think there's one area we've all overlooked—or perhaps just avoided."
Li Tang looked back at He Runqi and the others, then spotted Mr. Xu, the old technician.
"These past days, we've done a lot of testing in one particular area."
"Where?" Zhao asked eagerly.
"How about we go take a look?" Li Tang offered.
"Let's do it."
Seeing the discussion around the ore body go nowhere, Zhao decided to follow Li Tang's lead. Maybe the young man could spark some new ideas among the experts.
"Gentlemen, let's go check out another area," he called.
"Why not?"
"Where haven't we been already?"
(End of Chapter 24)