Chapter 10: Stewed White Goose
"You all said earlier that the sedimentary mineralized layer, on the north side of the reverse fault—in other words, the footwall—has very low gold content. Plus, the mineralized zone is deep, so the drilling depth increases accordingly, and exploration costs rise. That's why I think it's time to shift our prospecting approach."
Li Tang's tone was steady and confident. He had full belief in the viewpoint he was presenting.
His manner didn't resemble that of a fresh graduate just out of university—it was calm, analytical, even commanding.
Looking again at the project layout map, he pointed at the ten boreholes drilled north of the fault and sighed, "These ten or so deep holes, each around 300 to 400 meters—when it was already clear the mineralization was poor—are a huge waste of money. This section of work probably cost more than a million yuan."
This guy had been making well-founded technical arguments just a moment ago.
Now he was criticizing the project's spending decisions. It really made people wonder whether he had been instructed by Qin Jianshe to come here and poke holes on purpose.
Liao Xinjie had no choice but to swallow his frustration. As for Li Tang's proposed new approach, he didn't know whether to support it or not—so he turned to Yang Xueping.
After her angry outburst earlier, she had all but lost hope in the project.
But now, after hearing the young man's detailed explanation—though most of it went over her head—she got the vague impression that he was suggesting there were still alternative methods.
Suddenly, her spirits lifted a little.
"So, according to you, how much more money would this require?"
She might not understand the science, but she was the one who controlled the project's purse strings and would need to approve any further spending.
"Not much. If it's just surface sampling and chemical analysis, somewhere between 100,000 and 200,000 yuan should be enough."
Li Tang couldn't remember the precise budget standards at the time, so he gave a rough estimate. "If we later detect good mineralization indicators, then we'll have to drill again. How many holes, and how much that would cost, would be up to the geological team."
When she heard the number, Yang Xueping thought it was surprisingly low—nothing to even hesitate about.
She turned to Qin Jianshe. "Director Qin, what's your opinion?"
Qin wasn't too concerned about the budget—that wasn't his job. What he cared about was the technical side.
"Li Tang, you're saying we should shift the prospecting model from a sedimentary-type deposit to a structurally controlled one. So in terms of exploration techniques, what should we be paying special attention to?"
"Everyone here probably knows more than I do about methods for structurally controlled gold."
Li Tang tried to recall what he'd read before. "From what I've seen about Jinyindong, structural-type mineral bodies are definitely in the fault-fracture zones. They tend to appear in vein or lenticular forms. The ore-forming process involves hydrothermal fluids. Pyrite is the main carrier of the gold, so keep an eye out for surface pyrite. Also, high mercury content is often associated with this type of pyrite—it's sometimes called 'toxic sand' mineralization. And wall-rock alterations—like silicification and pyritization—are often good indicators."
He rattled off a list of important points. While many still looked confused, Qin Jianshe was diligently taking notes.
"Anything else we should know?" Qin asked.
"That's all I can think of for now. If I remember more later, I'll bring it up."
Li Tang's mouth was dry from all the talking, and no one had even offered him a glass of water. Though he had more knowledge to share, at that moment, he didn't feel like saying anything else.
Clap clap clap…
Qin Jianshe closed his notebook and led the applause. "That was excellent. I really think you have extraordinary foresight when it comes to prospecting Carlin-type gold deposits!"
Whether or not he was right remained to be seen. After all, no gold had been discovered yet based on his ideas.
But in a moment where everyone else was stuck and silent, he had dared to step forward and offer a solid, logical, and actionable proposal—that alone was impressive.
How many young people nowadays could do that?
A few others joined in the clapping, though most were still confused.
Yang Xueping offered a polite couple of claps, then turned to Liao Xinjie. "Follow what that young man just said—get back to work."
Then she stood up and forced a smile. "Director Qin, it's getting late. The white goose stew should be ready. Let's have lunch. You've all traveled a long way—you deserve a good meal."
"I think I can already smell it! My mouth's watering," Qin laughed, obviously in a good mood. He carefully tucked his pen into his notebook, then walked over and gave Li Tang a pat on the shoulder. "Let's go—time to eat!"
He was more and more impressed with Li Tang's eloquence and capability with each passing day.
Bringing him into the company might have been the best move of the year.
After a hearty work meal, the Jixing Exploration team gathered all their technicians in the afternoon to revise the work plan based on the new strategy.
As the client, Wukuang Exploration didn't impose many hard requirements on their own technicians. Their main role was to supervise the work done by the contractor.
Initially, five technicians from the Mineral Exploration Department's third team had been assigned to the site—some veterans, some newcomers.
Now that additional staff from the Resource Evaluation Department had come along, the group had grown.
While the higher-ups held a private meeting, the regular staff took the chance to relax. Many of them were friends and were soon chatting and joking together.
Naturally, the conversation turned to Li Tang.
Who was this new guy?
"He's a Yanjing Geology University graduate—one of this year's recruits. Still on probation," one of the evaluation team members explained. They'd spent two months with Li Tang and knew a bit about him.
"Man, he's got guts—talking like that in front of everyone."
"You didn't catch it? He went head-to-head with Boss Liao."
"He doesn't know Boss Liao is related to Director Yang?"
"Still too young. Offending leadership—no matter how good you are—can cost you your future in this company."
"Why'd you folks from the Evaluation Department leave the comfort of the provincial capital to come to this remote place?"
"Now that's a story. I bet you haven't heard it—turns out the Qianshan coal project's so-called reserves were fake!"
"Fake? No way!"
"Totally fake. They swapped out all the core samples. I'd bet the trench samples were rigged too—they probably stuffed coal into them. Sounds crazy, right? No one believed it at first. I didn't believe it."
"I heard they were about to sign the contract—how did this scandal even break?"
"Li Tang."
"What?"
"That kid who gave that long technical speech earlier—he was the one who uncovered the fraud. After some quick checks, it turned out there was a major problem. The acquisition is off now. The company's probably going to report it to the authorities."
"Holy crap, that's wild!"
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