"1.25 billion tons of iron ore?" The three people next to them were shocked when they heard this number. No matter what kind of mine, as long as the reserves reach the level of 100 million tons, it must be very valuable, even if it is the most basic coal mine. , the significance is also very important. Not to mention that this is high-quality iron ore.
"Okay, then prepare all the information immediately, publish it to the outside world, and then invite some other third-party professional surveying companies to confirm." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.
All this was naturally expected by him. The number of super mineral deposits discovered in the 1990s in human history was very small. Many of them Chen Zhiwen simply did not remember, and some of them he was unable to intervene, such as many oil giants or The National Oil Company has discovered a large number of high-reserve oil and gas fields on the coasts and even deep seas of various places. He cannot intervene in these things. Furthermore, even if he can, he does not know the location. The coast can only be marked by longitude and latitude, or which city. Which direction, angle, how many nautical miles away? He couldn't remember this kind of data.
The few he can remember are a few high-quality mineral deposits in Australia or Canada. In these places, Chen Zhiwen has arranged for people to buy the survey rights in some areas. However, because he does not know the specific longitude and latitude locations, he can only Explored step by step.
The Christmas Creek side is famous because it is the core mineral base of later mining giant AMG. It is the easiest to find, and it is normal to be the first to be discovered.
"Okay, Chen Sheng." Zhou Jiayang nodded and said. Hutchison Whampoa's investment in mining adds up to almost 100 million US dollars. If the group had not had high-return income in other fields, it would really not be able to support it. This industry, the mining industry, is really impossible to operate without strong capital.
But now it finally pays off. The discovery of such a large iron mine can be regarded as a firm foothold in this industry.
"Chen Sheng is really awesome. He set off such a big firework without making a sound." Bao Yugang said in amazement. As a shipping king, his business often does business with mining or oil giants. Naturally, we also know how valuable an iron ore that exceeds one billion tons is.
"It's not really a firework. The value of the iron ore itself is very high, but it also depends on the location and transportation. If these two aspects are poor, it means nothing." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.
This is true. The weight of iron ore is bound to be very high, and the requirements for various infrastructures are very high. If it is not on the edge of the ocean and there is no port nearby, then railways and ports need to be built, which is very important. Investment, many proven inland iron ores have turned into a pile of useless waste for this reason. For example, the iron ore in Bolivia, South America, has tens of billions of tons of national reserves, but as a landlocked country, it has no outlet to the sea. Iron ore cannot be monetized.
The situation of the Christmas Creek Iron Mine is of course better. After all, this is an iron mine that will be developed for a long time by later generations. However, there are also major deficiencies in the existing infrastructure. To make up for it, it will also require an investment of hundreds of millions of dollars.
"Where is this iron mine located?" Bao Yugang asked.
"Western Australia." Chen Zhiwen said.
"As for Western Australia, the various infrastructures there are pretty good. My freighters also cooperate with the mining giants there. Mr. Chen, if you want to develop this iron ore, the best way is to cooperate with these mining companies. Cooperate and make use of their already perfect railway network and ports." Bao Yugang thought for a while and said.
"Thank you, Mr. Bao, for reminding me." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile. Of course, he knew this.
Seeing that Chen Zhiwen had his own business and that their purpose of coming here was basically the same, the three of them said goodbye and left.
Zhou Jiayang said: "Chen Sheng, I have already checked the railway network near the Christmas Creek Iron Mine. If we can connect it, we only need to invest in building a 120-kilometer-long railway."
"Do you think the railway network controlled by these Western mining consortiums can be used by us at will?" Chen Zhiwen asked.
"They will definitely ask us to pay a small price, or the various tolls will be so high that they may swallow up most of our profits." Zhou Jiayang said helplessly. This is the essence of business. When you master other people's After Lifeline, a normal capitalist will do his best to squeeze other people. A hundred years ago, this was the case in many civilian products industries. Subsequently, anti-monopoly laws were born at the national level to suppress these companies, but commercial companies exploit each other. , then the government can’t control it.
"So, for this mine, we will either borrow other people's channels and be ripped off, or we will have to build our own railway network and ports, or we will sell it or sell part of it and form a joint venture with others." Chen Zhiwen said calmly, this situation is actually also the case He expected it.
"So, for this mine, we will either borrow other people's channels and be ripped off, or we will have to build our own railway network and ports, or we will sell it or sell part of it and form a joint venture with others." Chen Zhiwen said calmly, this situation is actually also the case He expected it.
"If we build our own railways and ports, the investment cost will be too high. This also needs to be combined with the cost of developing the entire iron ore. Moreover, if the international iron ore price drops in the future, we will inevitably lose money. Unless we take long-term considerations, we will also lose money in the future. Continue to invest in mining in Xio and build our own complete industrial chain and transportation chain." Zhou Jiayang thought for a while and said.
"I estimate that the price of iron ore will still rise in the future, but it is unrealistic for us to do it alone, and the price/performance ratio is too low. We should find a way to cooperate with other capital, either by selling it all or establishing a joint venture." Chen Zhiwen said: "We also I don’t have much mining experience, so let’s take this opportunity to learn more.”
The so-called century-old mining giants. The existing large-scale mining companies have a long history. These are the few winners left after a large number of eliminations. At the same time, this industry requires sufficient foundation to operate. Although Hutchison Whampoa is not short of capital, it only It is impossible to enter the market smoothly with abundant capital, and continuous learning is required.
Of course, another simple and crude model is acquisition, but this also requires a huge amount of funds. Chen Zhiwen can get the money, but in the 1980s when there were countless golden investment opportunities, it was difficult to spend such a large amount of money. Mining is such a loss.
And use the golden finger of the prophet to invest a small amount of money to discover a giant mineral deposit first. You can either sell it all and get a lot of money, or you can get a lot of experience after joint ventures. You can even take the opportunity to obtain a small part of some mining giants. shares.
"Well, after this news gets out, I think those mining giants will take the initiative to contact us." Yang Xiao of the Zhou family said.
"Well, just wait." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said. In the 1980s, the global price of iron ore was relatively stable. One ton was around 20 US dollars. The low-grade ones were cheaper, and the high-grade ones were more expensive. As long as it was not the location In places that are too remote, the development of iron ore is profitable. Especially in many Asian countries, the economy has been developing very well recently. Once the economy improves, the demand for iron ore will increase. After all, there are a lot of infrastructure and houses. All require steel. As long as you hold a high-quality iron ore deposit and the location is not bad, you will not have to worry about no major mining company taking the bait, unless the global iron ore giants work together to suppress themselves, but that is obviously impossible. They are all competitors, so it is difficult for them to come together for an iron ore mine.
In the next few days, the news of the discovery of large-scale high-quality iron ore in Christmas Creek also spread around the world. Zhou Jiayang did not need to be behind this matter. Many media naturally reprinted it, especially some commercial ones. The newspaper put this matter on the front page.
This is especially true in Hong Kong. A super iron mine with over 1 billion tons. In the history of Hong Kong, no company has ever engaged in large-scale mining. It is a very big commercial progress, but there are also some who don’t understand anything. The media actually determined that the total value of this iron ore exceeds US$25 billion based on the transaction price of iron ore, claiming that this iron ore is worth half of Hong Kong.
Of course, it is also possible that they are deliberately attracting attention. In the future self-media era, there will be many such people. Now, because the requirements for media work are very high, there are also such people.
In the international market, mining companies around the world are beginning to pay attention to Hutchison Whampoa, a once unknown junior.
A few years ago, after Hutchison Whampoa spent tens of millions of dollars to purchase survey rights in several places in Australia and Canada, some large companies were still looking at the joke because they dared to directly hoard land and bet on the potential of it without any foundation. Mineral deposits were still a favorite operation during the American gold rush era more than a hundred years ago. They relied blindly and completely on luck. For the modern prospecting industry, it is simply too stupid.
However, when a high-quality iron ore deposit of more than one billion tons was discovered, everyone was dumbfounded. Considering the authenticity of the matter, these companies still sent some professional engineering teams to Christmas Creek for verification, and Hutchison Whampoa We are also open to this. Anyone can prospect for minerals by themselves and do whatever you want. You can take back the mined minerals for testing. If there is no railway, how much can you take away?
A week later, the major mining giants also received various analysis reports and confirmed that it was really a large-scale high-quality iron mine, which immediately attracted the interest of many large companies.
Regardless of various investments, the value of this iron ore can really reach almost 30 billion US dollars. Based on the location, depth of mineral deposits, local taxes and labor costs, a simple calculation shows that the profits here are still good.
As a result, all mining development companies in the West dispatched professional teams to Hong Kong. On the Asian side, there were representatives from the Japanese consortium. Even a leader from the Shanghai Stock Exchange made a call through introduction. The reason is very simple. , Baosteel, which is about to be completed, also needs high-quality iron ore from overseas.
The so-called rare goods can be lived in. Of course, even if it is so, it must be sold, at least part of the shares. Then whoever can give themselves the highest value will sell it.
(End of chapter)
