City: Ocean Mining Ship

Go straight along the South China Sea and out of the high seas!

Arrive in the Luzon Sea, then turn left!

Head straight for the island country's mainland.

The whole journey is not short, reaching more than 2,600 kilometers, equivalent to 1,400 nautical miles. At a speed of 330 knots, it still takes more than 4 hours.

"Beep... The water level is 1,314 meters, the seabed depth is 26 meters, and copper ore is found, with an industrial grade of 3%!"

Smart No. 1 first gave a formal prompt, and then changed its tone: "Captain, this is a rich copper mine!"

"If the industrial grade exceeds 1%, it is already considered a rich mine. Only when the grade is lower than 0.4%, it has little mining value, because the subsequent refining cost is very high."

Zhang Heng is professional in this area. This is the major he studied in college. Since ancient times, smelting and minerals have been inseparable: "Is there a fault at a depth of 150 meters under the seabed?"

"No fault!" Smart No. 1 answered immediately.

"What about the range?" Zhang Heng asked again.

"Currently, the diameter is within 30 nautical miles, and it remains consistent!"

"This is a bit scary!"

Zhang Heng knows what this data represents. To put it simply, the copper mines are all from 28 meters to 150 meters deep under the seabed within a radius of 30 nautical miles: "The copper ore layer with a thickness of 121 meters is still 30 nautical miles in radius. It is estimated that this copper mine will not be less than 2 billion tons, right?"

"Captain, the minerals on the seabed have a characteristic, that is, when they are formed, they are clustered, and the ore layer is relatively thick, not scattered."

Intelligent No. 1 corrected, and did not dare to be too intense: "It is estimated that it will not be less than 3 billion tons, and the total reserves may double!"

"Indeed, the ocean, especially more than 1,000 meters, is already a deep sea, a place that humans cannot set foot in for the time being. After who knows how many years, if not 100 million years, there are at least six or seven thousand years, it is normal to form such a mining area."

Zhang Heng also has his own understanding. He is not excited about the discovery of this super-giant copper mine. It belongs to him if it is scanned and detected by the mining ship. He just feels a little emotional: "If I remember correctly, the largest copper mine in the country has a reserve of only 1.71 billion tons."

"This copper mine has doubled!"

"Okay, start mining, process and refine while mining, and refine it into pure copper!"

"Total goal, 1220 tons!"

Zhang Heng gave the order.

"Start the operation..."

"Boom boom boom!"

The power system roared, not to provide power, but to supply all the power to the processing cabin.

Zhang Heng was very calm, because he had long been accustomed to it. No matter how loud the roar was, he asked leisurely: "Is the extended diameter now 30 nautical miles?"

"Yes!"

Intelligent No. 1 had not explained it before. Maybe in its code, the diameter range was not that important. Seeing the captain asked, he also explained: "The scanning detection device is aimed at the seabed, while the range scanning detection belongs to another system. Some of it has been repaired this time."

"Well, the design of the two sections does not interfere with each other, and they also cooperate with each other!"

Zhang Heng understood this design idea and asked curiously: "I'm afraid this range scanning detection device is more used to prevent ship collisions?"

"Yes, Captain!"

"Very clever design, dual-purpose device!"

Zhang Heng praised it, satisfied his curiosity and stopped paying attention: "This copper mine is extremely huge, but it is too far away. It takes more than four hours to sail once."

"But it doesn't matter. When the mining ship is repaired more in the future, the speed is increased, and the storage space is larger, it will be much more convenient to come here to mine."

"Besides, with the current technology of the islanders, they can't mine. It's good enough to be able to detect. Mining... can only stare blankly!"

"Hehe... By the time they can mine, this super-huge copper mine will have disappeared, right?"

Zhang Heng couldn't help laughing out loud, laughing very cunningly: "By that time, I think the expressions of the islanders will be very interesting, right?"

"Captain, there are many drill holes on the seabed..."

"Are there any ghost ideas?" Zhang Heng realized something, and Smart No. 1 also learned bad things?

"You can keep the copper mine around the drill hole and not mine it. In this way, when the islanders spend a lot of effort and invest a lot of mining, they will find that it is a very small number of scattered copper mines. I think their expressions will be more exciting when they come." Smart No. 1 simulated a naughty smile.

"Good idea, hahahaha... great idea!"

Zhang Heng laughed even more cunningly, and the more he thought about it, the funnier it became: "Okay, let's do it!"

"Got it, my captain!"

"Hahaha!"

...