Chapter 3: Drill Cores
Those words hit like a bolt from the blue.
You really dare to say it!
Everyone in the room drew a sharp breath.
This was no longer an academic debate—it was an accusation of criminal wrongdoing!
If the allegation of project fabrication was proven true, all relevant personnel would face legal consequences.
Up to this point, everyone had thought the project documentation, while seemingly well-prepared on the surface, contained some oversights at most—sloppy drafting or careless review.
No one had seriously considered the worst-case scenario.
But once Li Tang uttered the words "fabrication," the atmosphere in the meeting room grew heavy and somber.
"You have to take responsibility for what you say!" Li Zaiqiang warned.
"To conclude that the Qianshan coal mining exploration project is fabricated based solely on some errors in the documentation seems quite reckless," Hu Chuanlai said, thinking the young man was chasing shadows. "I've been to the site myself, and I assume all of you have too. We've seen the core samples with our own eyes—the coal layers in the drill cores are real. That can't be faked. As long as the coal seams are genuine and the reserve data is accurate, the other issues are trivial."
Liu Kaisheng had put in a lot of work. After hearing Li Tang's speech, he'd started to question his own judgment, but now that he'd calmed down, he felt the young man had gone too far. It wasn't that serious.
"I've personally examined every core sample from each borehole. Yes, some of the cores were a bit disorganized, but the coal layers were clearly visible," Liu added.
Qin Jianshe lightly patted Li Zaiqiang's hand, signaling his old friend to stay calm. Then he looked at Li Tang with a friendly smile. "They say harsh advice is good medicine. Your perspective is bold and shocking. But over the past few weeks, we've all been seeing and hearing the same things—no one suspected the project was fabricated. Tell me, what detail made you so sure?"
Li Tang saw his father's warning gaze, but he didn't back down.
This matter, rather than allowing it to fester after a contract was signed and later explode into scandal, was better exposed now.
After all, it was his father who had recommended this project to Qin Jianshe.
In this grand scam, Li Zaiqiang bore at least some responsibility.
Standing in front of everyone, Li Tang chose his words carefully.
"The drill cores are real. Every borehole's endpoint marker is legitimate. If the exploration team faked this project, then they certainly spared no expense in doing so."
Liu Kaisheng grew increasingly irritated. In his view, Li Tang was just trying to attract attention, and his words were becoming more frivolous.
"Pointing out small technical mistakes is one thing—but that doesn't justify declaring the entire project a fake."
Hu Chuanlai also reflected for a moment and agreed that everyone might be overreacting. He raised his teacup again and took a sip. "You keep talking, but you haven't shown us exactly where the fabrication occurred. Without evidence, we can't convict people or accuse them lightly. You know, faking an exploration project is a criminal offense—it leads to prison time. That's a serious charge, not something to be tossed around carelessly."
He paused and then added, "Assuming the exploration team did so much work and the investors spent so much money, what would be the motivation to commit fraud?"
That line of reasoning pretty much shut down Li Tang's earlier arguments.
It was now a debate between two camps. And as the sole dissenter, Li Tang stood alone and in a weak position.
Everyone looked at him—some waiting for him to fall flat, others hoping he might pull off a surprising comeback.
Hu Chuanlai and Liu Kaisheng exchanged a glance and then focused intently on Li Tang again, curious if the young man had any more tricks up his sleeve.
Knock knock!
The meeting room door opened. A young receptionist from the guesthouse peeked in. "Gentlemen, someone from Jiajia Coal Mining Company is here to see you. Shall I bring them in?"
"Have them wait a while," Qin Jianshe said firmly.
Before he could confirm whether the Qianshan project involved fraud, he wasn't ready to meet with anyone from Jiajia Coal Mining.
He turned back toward Li Tang and said, "Don't worry. Whatever happens, I'll have your back. Just speak your mind."
Li Tang nodded. "Thank you, Director Qin. As a member of the Resource Department, evaluating investment projects is part of my job."
"Then don't hold back," Li Zaiqiang added, though he still had no idea what his son was about to say.
Li Tang hesitated for a moment, then said, "The reserve data in this project is incorrect."
"Incorrect?" Liu Kaisheng was still struggling to believe there could be a problem with the core data. "This project claims 200 million tons of coal, including 120 million tons of coking coal. All of that was calculated based on borehole and trench data, using standard formulas. I don't see anything off."
"It's not one or two numbers that are wrong—the entire dataset is invalid!"
As Li Tang made that bold declaration, Hu Chuanlai was already poring over the chemical analysis reports of the core samples—comparing values like sulfur content and ash yield. But everything appeared to fall within the normal range for that region.
"My eyes must be failing me," he sighed, frustrated. "I don't see anything wrong with these numbers."
"The chemical data isn't the problem," Li Tang said plainly. "The cores you saw at the core storage site have all been switched out."
"All of them?" Liu Kaisheng scoffed. "Do you even understand what you're saying? Do you know how many boreholes are in this project? Seventy-five! Swapping out the entire set of core samples is impossible! Drill cores aren't just rocks you can pick up from a hillside. They're taken from precise depths and stored accordingly."
To him, Li Tang sounded like someone who didn't understand basic geological procedures.
"I'm not saying every single core was replaced. Only the sections where coal was found were swapped."
"What makes you so sure?" Qin Jianshe asked, his tone growing more serious.
Li Tang rummaged through the stacks of documents on the table, but couldn't find what he needed. He called out, "Can someone get me a geological or topographic map?"
A technician quickly pulled out a large topographic map and spread it across the table.
There were no smartphones yet, and finding a precise location on a physical map wasn't easy.
Still, Li Tang quickly pointed to an exact spot amid the contour lines. "This location is also a coal mining area. It's an older mine that's been operational for many years. There's a warehouse here with lots of leftover core samples from earlier exploration."
By regulation, core samples from any exploration project must be preserved for at least two years—they serve as critical evidence of a mineral deposit.
For projects where coal was discovered, it wasn't unusual for core samples to be stored for up to ten years.
"You're saying they stole cores from that mine and placed them at Qianshan?" Liu Kaisheng's eyes widened as the tangled web suddenly began to make sense.
"We can confirm it quickly by sending a team to check," Li Tang replied.
"How could you know with such certainty that there's a core warehouse at that location? And how would you know they were swapped?" Li Zaiqiang finally broke his silence.
The place Li Tang had pointed to was indeed a mine—the Pizigou Coal Mine—with a substantial core storage facility that had existed for nearly ten years. Only seasoned geologists or locals over the age of forty would know it existed in that remote valley.
At this point, even he started to believe what his son had said.
"That's the Pizigou Coal Mine," he confirmed. "And yes, it has a large core storage site."
"I was in elementary school—or maybe middle school—when I visited that place during summer vacation," Li Tang said calmly, looking his father in the eye.
Back then, the 101 Geological Team had conducted exploration at Pizigou.
As the project lead, Li Zaiqiang had spent months in the mountains. The only way to see his son was to bring him up there.
Li Tang had been on those treks through the mountains more than once.
(End of Chapter 3)
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