Chapter 11: The Chemical Analysis Results Are In

Chapter 11: The Chemical Analysis Results Are In

The conversation in the group was buzzing with excitement when Li Tang stepped out of the restroom and headed toward the door. As soon as he appeared, everyone turned to look at him in unison.

"Hello, everyone," he greeted them casually.

Since joining the company, Li Tang had spent two months working in the field, mostly running around the mountains of the Qianshan coal district. Aside from a few people from the Resource Department, most others had never met him.

"Li Tang?"

A tall, skinny young man stepped forward and reached out a hand. "I'm Li Xiuneng, group leader of the third team in the Mineral Exploration Department. You're really just a university graduate? Not a PhD?"

Li Tang shook his hand and replied, "Just four years of college."

"He was in my class—same dorm too! We took the company interview together and joined at the same time!" shouted a short, chubby, dark-skinned man from behind Li Xiuneng.

That man was He Runqi.

Li Tang had noticed the plump, dark fellow earlier. Strictly speaking, it had been years since they'd seen each other—especially someone as young-looking as He Runqi now appeared.

"Same class, huh? He Runqi, you don't look as impressive as your dormmate," Li Xiuneng teased with a laugh.

"I roomed with him for four years and never noticed Li Tang was this sharp!" He Runqi burst into laughter, his two prominent front teeth gleaming with each chuckle.

"Come on, let's take a walk—help digest the food."

Li Tang wasn't really in the mood to chat with the others, but he genuinely wanted to catch up with his old classmate.

A friendship that transcends time—it had the mellow taste of a fine aged wine.

Inside the meeting room, the door was shut.

Qin Jianshe, Yang Xueping, Liu Kaisheng, and Zheng Shan—the Minister of the Mineral Exploration Department—were holding a quick strategy meeting.

"That guy who spoke earlier didn't come?" Yang Xueping asked, a little surprised.

Zheng Shan also seemed curious. "Director Qin, that guy—was he a consultant you brought in? Or maybe a PhD from some university? He looked young but very confident."

"He's one of our new hires," Liu Kaisheng said proudly.

"What's his academic background?" Zheng Shan asked.

"Bachelor's degree."

"Bachelor…" Zheng Shan looked skeptical.

"Young people nowadays are impressive—each generation better than the last!" Qin Jianshe laughed cheerfully.

Yang Xueping, however, frowned slightly. "Can we really trust what he said?"

"That depends on each individual." Qin Jianshe, for one, trusted Li Tang completely. "With the situation we're facing at the Guanling Gold Mine project—if you don't trust Li Tang, do you have a better alternative?"

That was the crux of the problem.

Yang Xueping didn't like accepting help from Qin Jianshe's side—it made her seem like she lacked capable people of her own.

But deep down, she didn't want to see the Guanling project fail.

So far, eight million yuan had already been invested in the project, and only three tons of gold had been found. It clearly fell short of expectations.

After their brief meeting, Liao Xinjie took Qin Jianshe and the others to inspect the surface and geological works at the site.

But after half a day of field observation, it was difficult to offer any new insights.

In the end, they decided to proceed with the plan Li Tang had suggested—continue exploring the site as a structurally controlled Carlin-type gold deposit.

That evening, Qin Jianshe pulled Li Tang aside and patted his shoulder in encouragement. "You did great today. Your ideas were really refreshing. Given the situation, the Mineral Department wants you to stay on to help guide the work. Do you have any objections?"

"I follow orders," Li Tang replied, already showing the mindset expected of a new employee.

"Your technical skills and maturity are impressive," Qin said sincerely.

"I might have used the wrong words during my presentation today. I noticed Director Yang didn't look too happy," Li Tang said carefully. As a newcomer, he understood the importance of handling interpersonal relationships. "Director Qin, I hope you can help smooth things over. I didn't mean to offend anyone."

Qin gave his shoulder another reassuring pat. "Don't worry about it. Stop overthinking."

Then he took the Resource Evaluation Department staff and left, leaving Li Tang behind.

Yang Xueping stayed in North P County and rarely visited the project site.

Li Xiuneng and the others didn't stay with the exploration team either. They lived in town and commuted each day to the project area, working with the contracted technicians to remap the site, identify large and small faults, and collect soil and water samples from fractured zones.

Half a month flew by, and the results of the first batch of chemical analyses finally came in.

Early that morning, Liao Xinjie rushed into town to find Li Xiuneng, visibly excited.

"The first batch of chemical analysis results is out!"

He held the lab report in his hand, eyes gleaming with excitement. "The results are totally unexpected!"

Li Xiuneng remained calm. "What did you find?"

"We tested for a wide range of elements. In a few samples, the levels of arsenic, mercury, and lead are exceptionally high!"

Clearly burdened by weeks of pressure from Yang Xueping, Liao now looked ecstatic over the results. "Especially the arsenic—it's hundreds of times higher than normal levels. It's insane!"

Li Xiuneng glanced at Li Tang, then looked down and carefully reviewed the data. "These elements are all key geochemical indicators for gold deposits!"

Liao unfolded a geological map and pointed to a specific spot. "These exceptional samples came from here. It's an anticline, and there's a small secondary fault running right through the axis. I suspect the fractured zone along the fault could be hosting a gold vein!"

He added, recalling their earlier mapping efforts, "We saw exposed pyrite in that area. The fractured zone showed obvious signs of pyritization!"

After his excited explanation, he turned to look at Li Tang.

"If what he said before is correct, I think we've found another gold-bearing structure," he said, eyes practically glowing with hope.

Li Xiuneng looked at Li Tang but didn't know what to say.

Over the past two weeks, he'd come to realize that Li Tang was a bit distant—never quite integrated with the group.

Still, he was always polite and never unpleasant.

"So, what do you think we should do next?" he asked.

Li Tang looked at the chemical data calmly, unsurprised. "Naturally, we should send more samples for analysis. As for that anticline—with such high anomalous readings and clear gold indicators—the next step is definitely drilling. But drilling requires more funding. We can't decide that—call the higher-ups."

Li Xiuneng nodded, pulled out the group's only satellite phone, and dialed Yang Xueping to report the findings.

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