Located 50 kilometres north of Sabha, the Shati River is an ancient river channel that has long since dried up, but since no underground water source has been found here, no one lives here at all.

The gravel and sand all over the ground are here now, and there is no dead wood to be seen here, and it is a place where birds don't. Only the stones of various colors make this place different from other places.

Today, however, things are a little different. Dozens of riders appeared here. It was Major Karlsson who was in the lead, and beside him Lieutenant Steele was telling him something.

"I was shocked when I saw it, it was definitely the most spectacular sight I've ever seen, and you can imagine the iron ore just scattered all over the place, and it was just exposed. This scene is so fascinating that I believe that the Kingdom will give us enough honor and reward for it. ”

Well, this last sentence should be his heart.

However, Karlsson, for his part, had not studied geology, so he could not understand the mood of Lieutenant Steele at that time. But he knew that what he saw today must be very beneficial to him.

However, in order to confirm, he followed Lieutenant Steele here to make sure.

"Lieutenant, you're saying there's an iron ore here?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

Karlsson, who had been confirmed, continued to ask. "So how big do you think it is?"

"I can't confirm this due to lack of tools and time, but I believe it shouldn't be low, at least tens of millions of tons, right?"

In the end, Lieutenant Steele was a little lacking in confidence. It's not that he doesn't dare to say more, but the knowledge he has learned has been learned, but he has not practiced it much.

Speaking of geology, there is some metaphysics in this era, maybe what you see in front of you is all the amount of iron ore, and there may be more iron ore hidden underneath. But no matter what, this iron ore must not be less, 10 million tons is said according to the low number. Of course, if the government is interested, then it can send a more professional exploration team to explore carefully.

And according to his preliminary investigation, the iron content of the iron ore here is not low, it should be between 35% and 55%, which is enough to meet the needs of most of Italy's steel industry.

Of course, what to do is not up to him, a little lieutenant who discovered iron ore, to decide. Another problem is that it is 500 kilometers from the Libyan coastline, and the lack of water resources here is also not conducive to large-scale mining.

But what to do, let the government solve it, for him, he found that reporting to the top is the limit of what he can do.

Karlsson also had the same idea, and of course, after seeing Lieutenant Steele's explanation at the same time, he felt that he might be able to do more.

Looking at the exposed iron ore in front of him, Karlsson immediately spoke. "Lieutenant Steele, since you've discovered this iron ore, I have an idea."

Speaking of which, Karlsson looked at Lieutenant Steele in front of him.

"Sir, please give the order."

The lieutenant, who still didn't understand, could only agree to come down first.

"Very well, I want you to stay here and continue to explore for the scale and quality of this iron ore, and if you need those equipment and manpower, I will find them for you as soon as possible."

It is clear that Karlsson intends to keep him to continue the exploration of this iron ore mine, and to send personnel to the country to lay the groundwork first.

Of course, there was a reason for him to do this, as a mid-level officer, Karlsson knew that the kingdom was currently hungry for all kinds of minerals, especially iron ore, so he had a bold idea.

"Obey the Major, and I will write down a note for the equipment I need and let you know."

Although he was left behind, Lieutenant Steele had already prepared for this, so he agreed to the major's order.

The two then stayed here for a while, and by the afternoon Karlsson had returned to Sabha.

As soon as he returned to his headquarters, Karlsson immediately began to write letters to his superiors about the discovery of iron ore in Sabha.

"Dear General Briinin, my advance party has arrived in Sabha ......"

It was only after recounting the situation of the advance party that he told about the discovery of iron ore in Sebha.

However, Karlsson paused when writing about the estimated reserves, and then he wrote an estimate of 50 million to 100 million tons of iron ore reserves in the document he reported.

That's right, this is Karlsson's bold idea.

Because if you write according to what Lieutenant Steele said, although 10 million tons seems okay, given the location and environment, it is unlikely to attract attention, even if it is written 35 million tons, it is the same.

The main reason is that it is too desolate, and the distance from the coastline is too far, which will increase the difficulty of its development. Even if this is an open-pit iron mine, it still needs to consider the cost of development and transportation.

If you want the government to pay attention to this, then its reserves must not be less, and the large iron ore of more than 100 million tons will attract enough attention. And Karlsson, who found this mine, naturally has a huge credit. Although there are risks involved, after all, a more professional exploration team came, and everything fell into place. However, as Lieutenant Steele said, the scale of this iron ore mine can only be estimated now, and even if there is a gap at that time, it can be dealt with with an estimate error.

However, compared with the benefits after success, the risk is not high, and at most I will be reprimanded, but I can also use my dedication to the country to prevaricate the past.

Having made up his mind, Karlsson finished writing the letter and called a herald to give it to him.

"Arrange a squad of troops to deliver the letter to Tripoli."

"Yes, Your Excellency."

Once the heralds had left, Karlsson would have to think about the next goal of the advance team. Their current location in Sebha is not their final destination, and they will then follow the ancient trade route through the Merzoug Desert to the south, which is more barren, but there are Zamus Wells, Mushuru Wells, etc. as a base for settlement.

Of course, this also requires a guide who is well-versed in the area, and Karlsson and his family carry such a guide.

However, considering the safety of the rear road and the problem of supplies along the way, he only planned to take more than 200 cavalry with him this time. Because according to the guide, the population is even more sparse there, and it is already a large place where a thousand people can gather.

Karlsson's report appeared on Governor Georgie's desk more than half a month later. The discovery of hundreds of millions of tons of iron ore was enough for him to attach great importance to, but he had no choice but to take a communication ship to Rome two days later.

Finally, after nearly a month of passing, he appeared in front of the Prime Minister.

For Prime Minister De Pretis, since there are hundreds of millions of tons of large iron ore, there must be a professional exploration team. As for the rest of the decision, it must be made after the professionals have explored it clearly.