Chapter 229: It's All Molybdenite!
After arranging jobs for his cousin and sister-in-law, Li Tang and He Runqi set out that very afternoon for the Shazhai County project site.
Shazhai County was located in the northwest of Huizhou Province, bordering Huazhou Province. The project area lay deep in the heart of Mount Dabo, where the terrain rose and fell in steep, overlapping ridges.
Veteran team leader Peng Dezhi led the group, hacking through the wilderness, trekking across unmarked mountainous paths.
He led them directly to an old drill site from the previous century. Though the core samples had long since been discarded and the site abandoned, some remnants remained.
The cylindrical cores were slanted into the earth, mostly buried, with just a few tips poking through.
"This is where we drilled before. The cores were just dumped beside the site," Peng recalled clearly, despite the years. He wasn't sure why Li Tang wanted to see this in person, though, since the data and findings were already available in the archived reports.
"Dig them out. Let's see the entire core," Li Tang instructed, directing the team to excavate the buried samples and rinse them clean with water.
They worked all day. Just before dusk, they finally found what Li Tang had been looking for.
He took a rock sample from one of the technicians.
"This is it!" he said excitedly, handing it to Peng Dezhi.
"What is it?" Peng asked, puzzled.
"Look at the lithology of this core—look closely," Li Tang said, pointing at the sample.
Peng put on his reading glasses, then took out a magnifying lens and studied it closely. But after a long look, he still didn't see anything unusual.
Despite his vast geological experience, he couldn't immediately identify what was so special about the rock.
Li Tang had assumed Peng would recognize the difference. But seeing his confusion, he took the core back and scraped its surface with his fingernail, revealing a layer of dark, shiny powder.
"This rock isn't particularly hard. It's black and lustrous, kind of like graphite."
"Mudstone, maybe?" Peng guessed. It looked like a high-carbon mudstone to him.
"No, no," Li Tang shook his head, sounding sure of himself.
"This is molybdenite!"
"Molybdenite?" Peng was shocked.
He had personally overseen the final assessment when this borehole was drilled and hadn't found anything promising.
"I reviewed your historical data. You were focused on lead-zinc exploration and didn't pay attention to molybdenum," Li Tang explained.
The geological bureau had steered in the wrong direction from the start, largely because they'd never taken molybdenum seriously.
It wasn't until much later, after inviting geology experts from across the province and learning from Huazhou Province's molybdenite exploration experience, that they re-evaluated Shazhai's potential and redefined it as a molybdenum-focused prospect.
Fortunately, this shift coincided with a national policy initiative: the "Decision on Strengthening Geological Work." Huge funds flowed into the geological exploration sector. With fresh capital and the right strategy, they finally unveiled China's largest molybdenum deposit.
"Is this really molybdenum?" other geologists from the bureau crowded around to see.
Until now, they'd never even considered molybdenum as a possibility.
Even Peng, a veteran expert, wasn't very familiar with molybdenite.
"No wonder your company was willing to invest 30 million here. You must've known about the molybdenum potential all along," said Director Zeng Yuhua, always quick to spin a flattering line.
"When you first proposed searching for molybdenum, we were surprised. After all, Huizhou has never produced a large molybdenum deposit."
"You're saying there's a molybdenum layer beneath our feet?" Peng asked, clearly stunned.
Until now, he had considered himself the foremost expert on Shazhai's geology. But on the first day of fieldwork, Li Tang had already changed his perspective.
"This molybdenum layer is thin and not worth much," Li Tang said.
"Eh?" Peng was confused.
"But it proves something important: there is molybdenum mineralization here."
Li Tang waved to He Runqi and pulled out a geological map, pointing to a specific location he'd previously marked for drilling.
"According to your old surface surveys, there's a fault line that crosses the provincial border from Huazhou into Huizhou—it runs through the entire project area."
"This area has complex structural development," Peng noted, unsure why Li Tang was highlighting this particular fault.
"Right along this fault, in Huazhou—just across the border—is a molybdenum deposit called Tangshangou," Li Tang continued, pointing across the map.
"Oh, I've heard of that one," Peng nodded.
"That's exactly why we invested so heavily here and why I was so clear on where to drill—because of this fault," Li Tang said.
"Huazhou found molybdenum along this structure. That means Huizhou likely has similar potential along the same fault!"
He tapped firmly on the location he'd previously recommended for drilling.
"This hole will test the fault's metallogenic potential."
His explanation was sharp, insightful, and deeply logical.
Even an old geologist like Peng found himself stunned. He couldn't quite keep up with Li Tang's thinking—but it all made perfect sense.
"Well said!"
Zeng Yuhua led the applause, and the room echoed with it.
"No wonder you discovered Qulong and Talego!"
Zeng didn't hold back on the compliments. After all, praise was free—and if it made Li Tang happy, maybe he'd invest more.
"Talking with Boss Li is more enlightening than reading ten years of books. Truly eye-opening!"
Li Tang glanced at Zeng. The man probably heard too many compliments in his daily life—and now he was using all of them on him. His flattery was top-tier.
For Peng, it was like a door had opened in his mind. Suddenly, he saw the project with new clarity.
"So, we start working around the fault line?" he asked.
"Yes," Li Tang nodded.
"Drill right where I suggested. The stratigraphy there will tell us everything. Whether we find ore or not, we'll know soon enough."
He'd said all this just to persuade the bureau to follow his plan and drill the hole.
Even as the funding party, he couldn't override their internal procedures.
Drilling programs still had to be executed by the bureau.
They had verbally agreed during the meeting to follow his instructions, but by their standard process, they still had to do surface mapping first, identify signs of mineralization, and then justify drilling.
That process was compliant with geological regulations—and essential to pass future audits.
Drilling without surface evidence was frowned upon. If they drilled into a "dead zone," the expert panel could roast them alive.
Geologists, especially those with senior titles and reputations, guarded their credentials closely. Many were stubborn, even rigid.
Their caution was understandable—but Li Tang couldn't wait.
He'd already visited China's largest molybdenum deposit. He knew exactly where the ore was. There was no need to dance around.
Clearly, Peng had been convinced.
"If your theory is right, we'll start drilling around the fault line."
"If you're unfamiliar with molybdenite, go to Tangshangou in Huazhou. Its mineralization and ore features are very similar to what we'll find here."
Judging by the earlier confusion, it was clear most of the bureau's staff had little experience with molybdenite.
That made sense—they'd spent years focused on lead and zinc.
Every mineral had its own formation process and features.
Li Tang's suggestion to go study molybdenite firsthand was well-meaning.
"Sorry to embarrass ourselves."
Peng's face reddened.
He had proudly claimed no one knew this area's geology better—only to realize on day one that he couldn't even identify molybdenite.
"It's fine."
Li Tang was kind.
"This molybdenite layer is thin, and probably low-grade. Visually, it looks a lot like carbon-rich mudstone. Easy to miss."
After Li Tang's unorthodox but logical pitch, the bureau completely scrapped its original plan and pivoted to his approach.
At his urging, they rushed a drill rig to the site. He personally led the team to choose the drill platform location on the mountain.
The diesel engine roared through the hills.
The drill rod spun rapidly, boring deep into the earth, extracting layer after layer of core samples.
The geological team, led by Peng Dezhi, later visited Tangshangou for several days. They finally grasped molybdenite's properties and formation mechanisms.
Then, just a few dozen kilometers from Tangshangou—within Huizhou's Shazhai project area—they began surface mapping.
Ten days of hard work.
And they found—nothing.
No trace of molybdenite at the surface.
Not even a hint.
So, what now?
They had no surface evidence—but a borehole was already being drilled.
That was against all the norms.
Peng thought long and hard about stopping the drill. Maybe they should hit pause before going further down the wrong path.
But that morning, as he reviewed reports, the drilling supervisor burst into the room, panting and wide-eyed.
"Boss Li just visited the rig. He looked at the latest cores and said—we've struck ore!"
"We've struck ore?"
Peng jumped to his feet and yanked off his reading glasses.
"Are you sure?"
"Positive!" the supervisor panted, still out of breath.
"We saw the cores too. Jet black. Soft. Just like the molybdenite we saw at Tangshangou!"
"Let's go—get to the drill platform!"
Peng left everything behind—even his green coat. In his white undershirt, he ran up the mountain.
At the rig, the diesel thudded noisily. The drill crew had already laid out the core boxes in a neat row at Li Tang's request.
Inside were dozens of cylindrical cores pulled from underground.
Each layer was different. Each type of rock had its own signature.
And whether those rocks held minerals was the key to everything.
"We hit a black, carbon-rich formation at around 220 meters," the supervisor said, pointing at a dark section of core.
"We're at 260 meters now. That entire 40-meter section is this black core!"
Thanks to the Tangshangou visit and further study, Peng now had a firm grasp of molybdenite's features.
He picked up a sample and inspected it.
No doubt about it—this was molybdenite.
He squatted down and checked each piece.
One after another—molydbenite. Every single one.
"How is this possible?"
He was stunned.
"Over 40 meters of molybdenite? Am I mistaken—or is this real?"
The sight before him completely shattered his expectations.
Get 30% off on my Patreon and enjoy early access to new chapters.
You can also purchase the next 100 chapters of the novel directly from my Patreon page.
Hurry up! The promotion ends on January 2, 2026.
Read 40 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Johanssen