Rebirth of the Mining Tycoon

Chapter 35: An Arrogant County-Level Enterprise

"So, Zise Mining beat us to it," Zhao Hepu said with his signature bright smile, not showing the slightest hint of frustration.

"It's true—they contacted us just last year," Director Lü replied. "They even established a specialized Zise Metallurgical Research Institute. Our two research teams are now working jointly on the biohydrometallurgy project. Besides, our institute had already participated in the construction of Jiujiang Copper's bioleaching plant, so we had some prior technical groundwork."

"That really is a shame," Zhao sighed, patting his thigh in regret. "If only I had made this decision two years ago! If I'd reached out to your institute back then, your team might already have a pilot plant set up at our Demen Copper Mine."

"You're right about that," Lü nodded. Then, looking sincerely apologetic, he added, "Director Zhao, gentlemen, I must again express our apologies. Regarding the proposal for a joint bioleaching research project, I have to officially decline on behalf of our institute."

"Please, Director Lü, there's no need to apologize," Zhao said, waving his hand casually. He paused for a moment, then quickly came up with a new idea. "Let's reach out to Zise Mining as soon as possible. If they agree to let Wukuang Group join the project, we could form a three-way partnership. That would make the research effort even more robust. The more minds at the table, the better."

After sending Lü Fengnian and Dr. Zheng Chengxian off, Zhao returned to his office and slumped heavily into his chair, his spirits visibly dampened.

"Director Lu," he said, glancing at Lu Kanqing, "please try to get in touch with Zise Mining's leadership. See if we can arrange a meeting with their general manager."

He spoke with exhaustion in his voice. As Lu left the office, Zhao glanced around and suddenly remembered that someone else was still sitting in the room.

Li Tang had been so quiet, sitting motionless on the sofa, he'd almost blended into the background.

"I had you come over to meet the two experts and talk tech," Zhao said. "But as you just heard, Zise Mining beat us to the punch."

He pulled out a cigarette, lit it with a clink of his lighter, then tossed both the cigarette pack and lighter onto the table. "Help yourself if you smoke. We're all friends here."

"I don't smoke," Li Tang said, shaking his head.

"Zise Mining… The name sounds familiar, but I can't place it," Zhao muttered, cigarette dangling from his mouth. "Doesn't seem like we've had any prior dealings with them."

He couldn't understand where this company had come from, nor how they'd had the foresight to jump into bioleaching so early—especially with enough confidence to set up their own metallurgy research institute.

Even Wukuang Group, with all its size and status, didn't have its own dedicated research institute.

"Zise Mining is based in a small county in Jian'an Province, in the southeast," Li Tang said. "They're not a major enterprise yet, but their management and technical capabilities are impressive."

He hadn't expected Zhao to be so unfamiliar with Zise Mining. But thinking it over, it made sense.

At this point in time, Zise was still a relatively low-profile local enterprise, running a not-so-rich gold-copper mine. They had the capital and ambition, but they hadn't yet made their name nationwide—let alone globally.

But over the next twenty years, this modest county-level company would soar to the top, becoming the leader of China's mining industry.

Despite having superior starting points and better resources, many national-level enterprises would fail to match Zise's trajectory.

The fact that Zise had already founded a dedicated metallurgical research institute said it all—they knew how to ride the wave of history. They were destined to rise.

Seeing Li Tang fall silent, Zhao assumed he knew someone at Zise. "Do you have contacts at their company?"

"No," Li Tang replied. "I've just heard of them."

He really wanted to say that in twenty years, their name would echo across the entire industry.

"A small company like that should be honored to collaborate with Wukuang Group," Zhao said confidently, puffing on his cigarette. "They'll say yes as soon as they hear our name."

But before he even finished the cigarette, Lu Kanqing rushed back into the office.

"Director Zhao, I contacted Zise Mining."

"They agreed to meet, right?" Zhao asked, assuming the answer would be yes.

"No," Lu said, shaking his head firmly.

"No?" Zhao sat bolt upright. Seeing Lu's serious expression, he crushed his cigarette in the ashtray. "Did you tell them we're from Wukuang Group?"

"I did," Lu nodded. "But they said their general manager is busy at the moment and politely declined the meeting request."

Zhao rubbed his round face, clearly unsettled. "So even county-level companies these days are this cocky. Even Wukuang's golden name doesn't work anymore?"

"What now?" Lu asked, clearly at a loss.

They had thought the road to developing bioleaching tech would be straightforward. But now, that path seemed blocked again.

"In China, only two entities have the tech: Jiujiang Copper and the Metallurgical Research Institute. And the latter's already been scooped up by Zise Mining."

Zhao scratched his head in frustration. "I don't want to be suckered by Jiujiang Copper—five million for subpar tech? No way. Try to find a contact inside Zise Mining. We have to work with the Metallurgical Institute. If we're going to overhaul this mine, we need the best technology."

…

Before long, Mining and Metallurgy Co. managed to connect with someone inside Zise Mining.

On the flight to Jian'an Province, Li Tang brought He Runqi along—not for any specific technical reason, but because the 35 yuan daily fieldwork allowance was enough to keep Runqi giddy with excitement for days.

With the end of the year approaching, Wukuang Exploration hadn't launched any new resource evaluation projects. Work was progressing steadily, and Li Tang's team was essentially idle.

Qin Jianshe had no objections to them joining Mining and Metallurgy's efforts. It was a chance to earn more and gain experience.

Zhao Hepu led the inspection team, including Li Tang, to the Zise Metallurgical Technology Research Institute, where they were greeted by Director Hao Zhengzhi.

They had originally hoped to reach Zise Mining's senior leadership through connections, but layer after layer of inquiries yielded nothing—almost no one seemed to know the executives personally.

So it was already a big deal that they managed to meet with Hao.

At first, he hadn't even wanted to talk to these visitors from a major Yanjing-based company.

It was only thanks to Director Lü Fengnian's introduction that the meeting even happened.

"This place is something else," Zhao said, gazing up at the research institute's office building. "This is a pretty grand setup."

The building was more than ten stories tall—towering over everything in the small county town.

And the entire structure belonged to the Zise Metallurgical Technology Research Institute.

Not even the Zise Mining headquarters was located here.

Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.

Read 20 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/johanssen