Chapter 9: A New Prospecting Approach
In his previous life, Li Tang hadn't stayed long at Wukuang Exploration and Development Company. After the Qianshan coal project scandal broke and tensions exploded between Qin Jianshe and Li Zaiqiang, he left.
Still, there had always been endless gossip about internal rivalries, even conflicts between factions within the parent company. Even after all these years, Li Tang still retained some impressions.
Whether he wanted to admit it or not, he now belonged to the Resource Evaluation Department, which reported directly to Qin Jianshe. On top of that, he'd entered the company under Qin's recommendation. No matter how you looked at it, he was one of Qin Jianshe's people.
By conventional logic, since Qin and Yang Xueping were rivals, there was no reason to lend a helping hand when she encountered problems.
Unless Qin was genuinely putting the company's interests first and not playing petty games.
"Don't hold back. If you've got an idea, speak freely!" Qin Jianshe's tone made it clear—he sincerely hoped someone could solve the current dilemma.
"You really want me to say it?" Li Tang looked at him.
"If you can help this project achieve a breakthrough and produce results, I'll make you a promise right now—there will be a cash bonus in it for you!"
Qin then glanced at Yang Xueping. "Director Yang, would it be acceptable to allocate part of the project's funds as a technical reward?"
"Sure," Yang replied listlessly with a nod.
The company's internal technicians were basically serving as supervisors here. If real exploration work was needed, it still had to be done by the contracted team.
Besides, this young man looked unfamiliar—probably a new hire this year.
Could someone like that really offer anything useful?
Plenty of experienced technicians had offered their input, and none had come up with a solution. What could a rookie do?
To her, it felt like Qin Jianshe was just here to mock her.
"Director Yang already agreed. Stop dragging your feet—if you've got something good, out with it," Qin urged. He was growing impatient with Li Tang's deliberate pace. "You're so young, yet you move like an old man. Where'd you pick that up?"
"I can't magically improve the results of this project—unless I fake them," Li Tang shrugged.
Everyone had been listening closely, hoping for a good idea.
At that comment, several people chuckled.
Then Li Tang continued calmly, "But I do have a slightly different prospecting approach."
The Jinyindong Gold Mine had turned out to be a super-large deposit with over fifty tons of gold reserves, causing quite a stir when it was discovered.
More importantly, it was the first Carlin-type gold deposit ever found in China.
It had offered a new direction and theoretical foundation for gold exploration in the country.
Following Jinyindong's lead, several more Carlin-type deposits were eventually discovered elsewhere in China—and they weren't small either.
Of course, at the moment, knowledge of this deposit type was still in the exploratory and early research phase. A mature theoretical framework hadn't yet been developed.
It would take over a decade before numerous research papers on Carlin-type deposits began to emerge.
But Li Tang already had a fairly strong understanding of them.
Others remained silent, cautious not to say anything wrong.
He stayed calm, speaking at a measured pace. Looking at Liao Xinjie, he said, "You mentioned that Jinyindong is a stratiform deposit. That's only partially true. From what I know, it's mainly a stratabound deposit, with some structural features."
That sounded plausible—yet also vague.
Anyone could say vague, general things like that.
That's how Liao saw it too, so he didn't take it seriously. "We've already followed fault structures to the north and done surface work there. There were no signs of mineralization. We can't just blindly drill along the fault—that would be too expensive. Even if I wanted to, your company wouldn't approve it."
"Then tell me, what kind of work did you do in the structural zone?"
"Surface mapping, sampling for chemical analysis."
"Soil samples or water samples? How many did you collect?"
"Mostly soil samples—just over thirty."
"Not enough."
Li Tang shook his head. "This is a massive exploration zone. Thirty samples are far too few. I believe this aspect of the work needs to be scaled up and conducted with more focus."
"There were no signs of mineralization at the surface. Taking more samples without justification is wasteful," Liao argued.
From a business standpoint, sampling had low profit margins. Most of the budget would go to the chemical lab.
They preferred to expand surface mapping instead, using technicians to run around and draw maps to earn technical fees. Sampling just wasn't worth it.
"But that's exactly what sampling is for—to find signs of mineralization!"
Li Tang's voice sharpened. He didn't hold back at all.
Not only did Liao look embarrassed, even Yang Xueping was visibly uncomfortable.
To her, it looked like this young man had been sent by Qin Jianshe just to humiliate them.
Qin almost laughed, but held it in. "Li Tang, aside from sampling, do you have any other specific methods?"
Li Tang nodded. Holding up a chemical analysis sheet, he continued, "I'd like to talk more about sampling. Your previous tests focused on gold, silver, tellurium, and lead—why didn't you analyze for arsenic?"
Liao looked out the window and said nothing.
It was obvious now—these new arrivals were here to find fault.
But Li Tang could guess the underlying reason. The more elements tested, the higher the lab fees.
Setting the paper aside, he said earnestly, "From what I know, the Jinyindong Gold Mine has a crucial indicator: the arsenic content in its host rocks is hundreds of times higher than in normal rock of the same type!"
"That's a great pathfinder element!" Qin exclaimed.
Arsenic is indeed an important geochemical indicator in gold exploration. It's common in many rock types.
Most people associate arsenic with arsenic trioxide—also known as white arsenic, a deadly poison.
But in the context of mineral exploration, its significance couldn't be overstated.
Hearing that, Liao finally sat upright, giving Li Tang his full attention.
He was a technician, after all—he understood how important that insight was.
If the gold-bearing layers here also showed arsenic levels hundreds of times above normal, that could point directly to new targets for exploration!
"How do you know about Jinyindong's data?" Liao asked.
"I heard it somewhere," Li Tang replied vaguely.
Qin Jianshe nodded thoughtfully. "It's clear now—we really need to expand our chemical and hydrological methods moving forward."
(End of Chapter 9)
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