Rebirth of the Mining Tycoon

Chapter 38: You Guessed Right

Li Tang nodded, then circled the heap site once. With the tip of his shoe, he scraped a small pit into the ground and stared thoughtfully at it for a moment. "The ore is too finely crushed," he said. "When heaped, it packs too tightly. The gaps between the rocks are too small, which restricts the flow of oxygen and carbon dioxide inside the heap and makes heat dissipation difficult."

Nearby, Lü Fengnian and Hao Zhengzhi, who had been discussing technical details, turned to glance at him briefly but didn't take it seriously. They quickly went back to reviewing the experimental logs.

Li Tang crouched down and pressed his palm against the rocks. "The surface temperature is clearly high. The bacterial oxidation process releases large amounts of heat. The interior of the heap could easily reach over 80°C. Since you're using moderate thermophilic bacteria and went five days without spraying leach solution to cool it down, the bacteria would have died off en masse."

Even standing on the edge of the heap, they all felt like they were standing over a massive hotplate.

The ore heap was indeed a heat source.

And because the heap was no longer functioning, its internal temperature had already begun to drop.

"What did you say?" Lü Fengnian finally stopped talking with Hao and turned to Li Tang, now taking him seriously.

If he hadn't misheard, Li Tang had just stated the very cause of Heap No. 5's failure.

"I said you used the wrong ore particle size, heap height, bacterial strain, and spray interval. All those missteps led to mass bacterial die-off," Li Tang said bluntly.

"You're saying the leaching rate dropped because the bacteria died off and stopped the reaction?" Hao asked skeptically.

"Yes," Li Tang nodded firmly.

"That's… a very professional answer."

Hao said the words, but it was clear he still wasn't fully convinced. After all, how could someone diagnose such a complex microbiological failure just by looking, touching, and walking around?

Inside a nearby building was a lab where their team had already extracted samples of the leach solution for analysis. They'd have real data soon.

Still, the young man's remarks had definitely caught his attention.

"I've never heard of Wukuang Group having any serious R&D team in this field," Hao muttered. "And I've never heard of them participating in any biohydrometallurgy research projects."

Biohydrometallurgy was a national-level key research area, bringing together most of the top experts in the field.

And since theory hadn't yet turned into widespread practice, it wasn't even part of the curriculum in most universities.

Yet here was this young man, discussing it with fluency and precision.

It was… strange.

"We don't have an official research project," Zhao Hepu interjected before Li Tang could answer. "But our company has been closely following developments in metallurgical technology and has invested in learning and talent development."

But Hao ignored Zhao, focusing more intently on Li Tang.

"Do you have any family working in this field? Any experts in hydrometallurgy? Or maybe someone involved in research abroad?"

He was trying to find an explanation for Li Tang's knowledge. He didn't believe someone so young could have developed this understanding on his own. So either Li Tang's parents were researchers, or someone close to him worked in a top-tier foreign lab.

After all, internationally, biohydrometallurgy was more advanced. Several foreign mines had been using it at scale for years.

Especially in countries like the U.S. and Chile, where copper mines had adopted these technologies with great success.

For example, Chile's Quebrada Blanca heap leach plant had been bioleaching bornite ore for years, producing 170,000 tons of cathode copper annually—a very mature system.

And many of the researchers involved were Chinese nationals.

If Li Tang had family working in such places, and could bring in those connections to help their team—it would be a huge asset.

But Li Tang shook his head. "No. My family isn't involved in this field."

Hao looked disappointed but also more surprised. "Then how do you know so much about our research methods?"

Li Tang paused and then casually replied, "Thanks to the training and support of Wukuang Group."

He was bluffing, of course.

Zhao Hepu almost laughed out loud at the response but managed to hold it in. He picked up the thread and said with full confidence, "Wukuang has always been committed to tracking the latest trends in metallurgical technology. We're more than willing to invest in learning, training, and attracting top talent."

He gestured at Li Tang like he was unveiling a prized sculpture. "Li Tang is one of the top technical talents our group has trained! And he's not the only one—we have a whole team behind him!"

He delivered the lines without missing a beat, as if they were rehearsed, and even looked slightly proud as he said it.

Hao wasn't quite convinced, but before he could dig deeper, Zheng Chengxian rushed over from the lab, holding a stack of papers.

"Director Hao, Director Lü—the lab analysis of Heap No. 5's leach solution is complete!"

"Let me see," Hao said, grabbing the report.

He scanned the data and the technician's conclusion. "Significant drop in bacterial count. Reduced activity."

The leach solution sprayed onto the heap should have allowed bacteria to attach to ore surfaces, multiply, and accelerate the release of copper ions.

In theory, the solution then drains through the heap's base mesh, carrying out both metal ions and bacteria.

The quality of that solution tells you everything you need to know.

Bacteria count, activity, pH—all indicators of what's happening inside the heap.

According to the lab's findings, Heap No. 5's trial had indeed failed.

And the likely causes? Just as Li Tang had predicted:

Ore too finely crushed, piled too tightly, limiting airflow.

High temperatures from bacterial activity left unchecked due to missed spray cycles, killing off the bacteria.

Every factor Li Tang had named—dead on.

"You guessed right," Hao said, raising a thumb toward Li Tang.

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