Chapter 194: Deserving Greater Respect
It was this one deep drill hole that completely ignited a frenzy of mineral exploration.
Previously, everyone had been cautious, worried they wouldn't find ore. Drill hole planning was done with extreme care.
But now, the facts were undeniable: not only was this a large deposit—it was a rich one.
With plenty of funding and surging confidence, drilling blossomed across the entire project zone.
In a team meeting, Li Tang even publicly declared: "We will complete 100,000 meters of drilling before the winter sets in!"
It sounded like he was planning to burn through the full 100 million yuan in exploration funds.
And indeed, more and more holes kept hitting mineralization. Good news came in nonstop.
In the southwest zone, they quickly mapped out the rich orebody: a massive vertical cylindrical deposit, approximately 250 meters in diameter and over 700 meters deep.
Surrounding this high-grade core, they also found a lower-grade halo extending over an area 600 meters long and over 1,000 meters wide, with copper grades still exceeding the 0.3% cutoff, and gold grades reaching 0.3 grams per ton.
In the southern and central zones, they each identified a primary orebody with 200–300 meters of mineralized thickness, and grades that still met industrial thresholds.
But compared to the southwest's rich orebody, they paled in comparison.
Then came the most exciting part.
Under Li Tang's prolonged, hands-on supervision, and with him personally shouldering responsibility for the decision, they drilled several ultra-deep holes in the far-north zone—some reaching depths of over 1,000 meters!
And once again, Li Tang's judgment proved correct.
In the far-north zone, they discovered two more major ore bodies.
One stretched 2.6 kilometers in length. In one section, between 400–800 meters depth, they found an even more shocking high-grade orebody, with copper averaging over 3%!
Following the mineralized belt northward, they uncovered another ore body.
This fifth discovery, however, was much deeper. The richest part of the orebody was buried at around 1,500 meters.
With winter approaching, they wouldn't be able to explore that deep this year. It would have to wait.
But as the discoveries kept piling up, so did morale. Everyone became completely absorbed in the work.
And without realizing it—months had flown by.
As the weather grew colder, they suddenly realized how much time had passed.
Meanwhile, back in Kulun, Alice, Guo Fengchun, and the others were also busy. Acting on Li Tang's instructions, they submitted a request to the Mengguo Mineral and Petroleum Administration for an expanded exploration zone.
The current project area of 238 square kilometers was already proving too small for such large-scale success. They needed room to grow.
…
At the same time, BHP Tuo's CEO, Gores, arrived in Yanjing on a private jet with his entire family.
They stayed in a quiet, upscale neighborhood in a luxury villa with a swimming pool.
The chef they brought from Austria was already preparing breakfast.
Gores stood before the mirror, adjusting his tie.
"Dad! Breakfast is ready!" called a teenage boy in pajamas.
"Coming," Gores replied with a smile as he stepped out. "What's the morning special?"
"Same as always," the boy said, not too impressed. He had clearly grown accustomed to their standard gourmet routine.
The family sat at the dining table, eating from their individual plates.
"I heard China has amazing food and lots of historic sites. When are we going out to see something?" the boy asked, setting down his fork impatiently. "We've been stuck in this house for three days. It's boring!"
"I came here for work. You insisted on tagging along and turned a business trip into a vacation," Gores replied, shaking his head with a smile.
He always put family first, no matter how important work was.
He simply couldn't refuse his children's requests.
Seeing the disappointment on their faces, he pretended to tease them but then added, "Alright. Once I finish my meetings today, we'll start a seven-day vacation across China."
"Yay!"
"Love you, Dad!"
"I want to go outside and meet Chinese people!"
The kids cheered, spirits instantly lifted.
"Take care of these little troublemakers," Gores told his wife, kissing her cheek before heading out.
Outside the villa, BHP Tuo China's general manager, Wu Yan, had been waiting patiently. Seeing Gores step out, he immediately greeted him with a beaming smile. "Mr. CEO, the heads of China's top copper smelting companies are all here in Yanjing and have been waiting eagerly."
As he spoke, he opened the door to a sleek black sedan.
"Let's settle everything today," Gores said coolly as he got in.
Wu Yan quickly entered from the other side. "We've got all the major players: Jiujiang Copper, Tongdu Nonferrous Group, Wukuang Mining & Smelting, and more."
"Let's aim to finalize it today," Gores said flatly.
To him, it was a routine matter. But to Wu Yan, it was gospel.
If Gores said it would be finalized today, then that's how it would be.
As the year neared its end, China's copper companies were under immense pressure to lock in next year's contracts.
Especially smelters that relied on copper concentrate refining fees for survival—they were scrambling to secure long-term deals.
News that Gores had come to China in person had caused a stir. Many rushed to Yanjing hoping for a meeting.
After three days of waiting, they finally got word that Gores would meet them today.
In a luxurious hotel conference room, executives from Jiujiang Mining, Tongdu Nonferrous, Wukuang Mining & Smelting, Jintian Copper, and other top-tier firms gathered.
Each one of them was a heavyweight in China's copper industry.
Yet, for the past three days, they'd had to wait anxiously for a foreign executive.
The wait had been agonizing.
Some were frustrated but kept it to themselves.
After all, being invited was already a privilege. Many smaller smelters hadn't even made the guest list.
Everyone knew: BHP Tuo had the clout to choose its partners.
Inside the room, though competitors, the Chinese companies had agreed to present a united front.
Zhao Hepu raised his notebook, which had two key figures written on it. "During the meeting, let's not contradict each other. These are the prices we're asking for."
Everyone nodded—they'd already discussed the numbers and committed them to memory.
"Got it," said Geng Feiran.
"We must stay united," added Feng Sinian.
Just then, Gores entered the room in a tailored suit, surrounded by staff.
Each step he took exuded an aura of dominance—as if the God of Gamblers had arrived, just without the background music.
He nodded to the Chinese executives one by one, then took his seat at the head of the table.
After brief pleasantries, he went straight to the point: "BHP Tuo values the Chinese market. Globally, China's demand growth for minerals is the highest. Next year, a significant portion of our copper concentrate output will go to China. We've been long-standing partners. Today's meeting is to finalize next year's TC/RC (Treatment and Refining Charges) agreements."
Zhao Hepu, chosen as spokesperson, replied, "We appreciate your willingness to meet with us, Mr. Gores."
"I hope we can finalize the rates today," Gores said directly.
It became clear: this was a price-setting meeting.
They hadn't expected him to be so blunt.
Zhao was prepared. "Given rising labor, shipping, and coal costs, we believe next year's fees should increase appropriately. After thorough analysis, we propose a treatment charge of $58 per ton and a refining charge of 5.8 cents per pound."
Gores paused briefly—then shook his head.
"We're not here to discuss prices," he said. "We're here to inform you of the rates we've already set."
He gestured to his assistant.
Wu Yan handed out a document and read aloud: "Per BHP Tuo's offer: Treatment charge is $52/ton, refining charge is 5.2 cents/pound."
"Only $52 per ton?" Zhao Hepu practically shouted.
"That's way too low—almost the same as last year!"
"At this rate, we'll lose money!"
"Costs are rising across the board. The prices we proposed were carefully calculated!"
The Chinese executives erupted.
BHP Tuo's quote was more than 10% lower than what they wanted—effectively cutting their profit margins in half.
The number was not just disappointing—it was insulting.
Gores waited patiently for the room to calm down, then spoke again: "These rates were finalized after negotiations with Japan's smelters. BHP Tuo is a global company, and we maintain global consistency."
"Mr. Gores," Zhao tried to reason, "every country has different cost structures—labor, tax, logistics. You can't treat them all the same. And Chinese smelters aren't all coastal. Many are inland."
"The rates are set. That's final," Gores replied. "Same price, globally."
"You didn't even consult us—you just gave us Japan's numbers. We're supposed to be partners."
"We've worked with BHP Tuo for years. Our demand is growing fast. That should count for something."
"Japanese firms have ships and ports. We're inland—our costs are different!"
The Chinese side tried to push back, clearly aggrieved.
But BHP Tuo wasn't listening. Their expressions showed amusement, not concern.
This was the harsh reality of the global copper concentrate market.
It was a seller's market.
The major mining giants controlled the top mines, limited output, and manipulated global prices.
And for the foreseeable future, China—despite being the second-largest copper concentrate importer—had no bargaining power.
Every year, the TC/RC rates were handed down by suppliers.
Refuse their terms? Then go fight it out in the volatile spot market.
At least the big smelters in this room had long-term contracts.
Most smaller ones had to settle for worse spot prices—or take scraps from intermediaries.
Seeing his peers falling silent, Zhao tried again.
"In 2001, China produced 1.52 million tons of refined copper. 940,000 tons came from imported concentrates. We're now the world's second-largest copper concentrate importer. Our demand is growing 15% year over year—the highest globally. That growth has been consistent for four years and will continue."
He phrased it diplomatically, but the message was clear:
China deserves more respect.
You didn't consult us.
You handed us a price you negotiated with someone else.
That's not how you treat your second-largest market.
China's copper industry deserves greater respect.
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