A few days later, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Hu Wanyou sat in the office of the Ministry of Mines and Energy, quietly awaiting the next meeting.

He is a representative of CCID, and this time he was assigned by the China Association Development Office to come to South Africa for the purpose of negotiating with the South African side about gold exploration in the Evende-White River area.

He has a habitual calm smile on his face, but in reality, his heart is not as calm as he appears.

The reason is simple.

This time, the prospect of the mining area they were going to take was too uncertain.

He is a veteran fritter who has been immersed in gold mining for more than 30 years, and he first came from a dry geological exploration background, and later took over the global investment work of CCID.

It can be said that he cannot say that he knows 100% of all the gold ore veins in this world, but he can at least reach 80%.

Among them, his research on South African gold mines is far better than other gold mines.

In his opinion, is there a mine in the White River?

Absolutely.

Located in the Capvar Archean Craton, and at the same time on the extension of the main vein of Rand, no one will believe you if you say that there is no mine at all.

But how many are there?

You know, the White River area is already on the edge of the craton, and according to general experience, the gold reserves in such places are not too rich.

In other words, not rich.

Moreover, not only is it not rich, but it is especially difficult to mine, because most of the edges of the craton are rigid rock formations, which are very hard and far less easy to mine than those sandstone terrains.

If this mining area is really exchanged for a high-speed rail project worth more than 30 billion yuan, it is estimated that South African officials will laugh out loud, right?

So, who gave the country's policymakers the confidence to make such a judgment?

Hu Wanyou shook his head and didn't continue to think about it.

He looked at Li Jing, who was sitting on the side, and asked:

"Xiao Jing, are you sure this time?"

Although the two do not work in the same company, they are considered to be seniors, and they have cooperated before, and they are acquaintances, so Hu Wanyou's tone is relatively casual.

Hearing his question, Li Jing shook her head and replied:

"The only thing we know for sure is that there must be gold mines in that area."

"However, the number of reserves and the grade of the reserve can only be determined after further exploration is completed."

"It's a bit of a gamble in it, if we can discover the gold mine first, we can occupy a greater say in the subsequent mining rights negotiations-—— or we may not be able to get it directly."

"At the very least, we don't need to compete with the Bombera consortium anymore, it's just our business with the Ministry of Mines."

Hu Wanyou sighed softly and said approvingly:

"So, actually, for all of us, the situation is clear."

"And, compared to what you said, this time the situation is actually a little more serious."

"The prospecting rights and mining rights are released at the same time, and we can only leave it without regrets."

"That's right."

The two of them glanced at each other, and there was a worried look in their eyes.

It was at this moment that the door to the office opened, and the key person they had been waiting for finally arrived.

The person who came is South Africa's Minister of Mines and Energy, Carver, who will be in charge of the overall gold mining part of the "exchange", and the next negotiations between the two sides will completely determine the bargaining chips in this exchange.

At the first glance of Carver, Hu Wanyou immediately stood up and greeted him with his trademark smile.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Carver."

"Good afternoon, everything."

Carver said in Chinese, not very fluent.

Then, he pulled out the chair behind his desk and sat down, and while sorting through the papers that were still messy and scattered on the desk, he spoke:

"I've heard that you've already made a decision when it comes to the selection of exploration areas?"

Hu Wanyou nodded and replied:

"Yes, according to the instructions of the superiors, we have already determined the mining area that we want to use for exchange."

"Oh, that's good."

Carver's tone was calm, but there was a vague hint of unmistakable majesty.

"Before we begin, though, I want to give you a piece of advice."

"Don't be too greedy."

"You know, I've just finished negotiations with the Bombera consortium, and to tell you the truth, they don't want much."

"They have only applied to us for prospecting rights for parts of the West Rand area, which includes a number of smaller veins to the west of the current main Rand vein."

"According to professional estimates, the total value of the mining area is about $1.5 billion-—— which is the total price they are proposing."

"You know, they didn't plan to ask us for a penny on the construction of the Gauteng high-speed railway."

"We can borrow money from their bank, and the only thing we have to pay in 20 years is the interest expense."

Hearing his words, Hu Wanyou's eyes condensed slightly.

Although he has not been exposed to projects such as high-speed rail, he has actually done a lot of large-scale mine infrastructure projects and is familiar with the financing process.

So as soon as he heard it, he knew that the Bombera consortium used this time could be said to be the most radical way of offering.

The loan is provided in full, the loan period is super long, and the principal is not repaid for 20 years, and only the interest is repaid.

On the whole, such a quote can almost be described as a loss quote.

The only thing that can make money, apart from follow-up maintenance and expansion work, is those small gold mines.

And the gold mines they invest in South Africa also need to pay money and taxes to the South African government.

——

Win-win? No, it's South Africa that won.

Under such conditions, the other party's favorability towards the Bombera consortium can almost be said to be full.

But fortunately, this is not something that Hu Wanyou needs to think about.

He didn't hesitate, but said directly:

"In this regard, I think my colleagues from China Railway Group will talk to you."

"My job is just to throw out our choice of mines."

"Then you can tell me about it."

Carver said without looking up.

In fact, he has no hope that Huaxia will take over the Gauteng high-speed rail project.

The price of the Bombera consortium is so low, even if Huaxia follows in the end, at most it is the same as them.

But in the case of the same quotation, why should we choose Huaxia?

It is true that their technology is also advanced, but after all, they have not experienced the experience of large-scale projects, and in terms of maturity, they are certainly not as good as the Bombardier of the Bombera consortium.

It's just that since the two sides have communicated before, even if it is out of politeness, they have to listen to their offer.

Carver secretly made up his mind in his heart, and when Hu Wanyou said what they wanted, he immediately said no.

After all, he knew that the value of the land that the other party wanted must not be too low, otherwise it would be impossible to make up for their losses on the high-speed rail project.

However, in the next second, after Hu Wanyou spoke, he was directly stunned in place.

"We want prospecting and mining rights in the Even-White River area."

Carver finally put down the document in his hand, and then, he looked directly into Hu Wanyou's eyes, and asked with an incredulous face:

"What?"

"Again, where do you want?"

"We lost the bid!"

In the office of the Bombera consortium, the head of commercial at Bombardier spoke solemnly.

Just a few hours earlier, they had received the results of the opening of bids for the Gauteng high-speed rail project.

——

While this is not a fully regulated and standard tender, there is no doubt that the outcome is equally immutable.

And this unchangeable result is that Huaxia won the right to build the Gauteng high-speed railway, and China Railway Corporation is responsible for it.

As soon as he received the news, he immediately used all the resources at his disposal to confirm whether there was room for redemption, but the answers he got were all negative.

Subsequently, he asked someone to inquire about the bidding conditions of the Huaxia side, and wanted to make his death clear.

But when he inquired about it, he was completely stunned.

The other party not only maintained the same quotation and loan policy as its own in business, but also made a ruthless decision in terms of gold mining rights, which should have been an important condition, as long as it was an area with a very low valuation!

Even-White River area.

There are indeed gold mines in that area, both historically and in the field.

But, is it really worth that much money?

The Syland area you proposed is worth $1.5 billion, but what about the Even-White River area?

It's worth $300 million!

Making such a choice illustrates only one problem:

The Chinese people are bound to win the Gauteng high-speed rail project.

They didn't even care about losing money, the purpose was to get this ticket and gamble on the profits of the subsequent expansion plan.

Such a strategy is inevitably too aggressive.

With a heavy sigh, the head of Bombardier looked around the venue before continuing:

"At the moment, there is no room for recovery."

"The project cooperation has not been reached, our task has failed, and what we need to solve now should be how to report to the management."

"I think it's clear to everyone that in order to win this project, investors from Wall Street have invested a lot of money in us."

"But now, it's all gone."

"I hope you can give me a reasonable explanation."

Hearing his words, in the middle of the conference room, someone raised his hand and said:

"We probably don't need to explain."

The person in charge shifted his gaze to him and asked:

"Why?"

The man replied calmly:

"Because, under the quotation of the Chinese people, there is no company in the world, no investor can compete with them."

"We need to understand that we want to win this project to make a profit, not to beat them."

"Now that they've chosen a completely unprofitable solution, what's the point of competing with them?"

"It's a very simple logic, and I don't think our investors will blame us for such a ridiculous 'failure'."

Hearing his words, the person in charge was stunned.

Then, his heart suddenly brightened.

Oh, yes.

I am just a businessman, and I am not given too many so-called "strategic" considerations when carrying out the tasks of investors.

The decisions you make are correct in every way.

So, what do you have to worry about?

What should be worried is probably the China Railway Group, which is about to usher in major losses, and the Huaxia officials behind them.

Soon after, the May meeting was in the office.

Houston looked at the report in front of him with satisfaction, and his face was full of a smile of "the conspiracy succeeded".

He looked at the assistant opposite, smoking a cigar, and said:

"This time, we finally won a game against them."

"They probably thought that the Gauteng high-speed rail expansion project would recoup their losses."

"It's a pity that they don't even know, it's just a lie!"

The assistant on the other side nodded slightly, although there was no expression on his face, but deep down, he was actually as proud as Houston.

With the help of capital and public opinion, they finally hyped up the Gauteng high-speed rail project.

In the eyes of almost all investors in the world, this project is the starting point of large-scale high-speed rail projects in Africa, not to mention other countries, as long as the high-speed rail project is completed, South Africa is bound to continue to promote the construction of high-speed rail, and large-scale expansion will make the first construction party to enter the construction party make a lot of money.

This would have been a smooth, correct logic.

But the logical premise is that the project is real.

But the problem is, the project is not real!

Or rather, the real part, which is only a small part of the propaganda.

Yes, South Africa does want to build Gauteng high-speed rail.

However, the purpose of the construction of this high-speed railway is not to boost the economy of the whole country and shorten the distance between cities as advertised.

Instead, as a business card of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, it uses the most urgent way to obtain the greatest publicity results, so as to attract more capital into South Africa!

Essentially, the Gauteng high-speed rail project has the same purpose as the Los Angeles-San Francisco high-speed rail project.

The Los Angeles project at least has real social significance, but the high-speed rail has no other value than attracting more wrongdoers.

And now, the Chinese have become the first wronged leader

Thinking of this, the assistant spoke:

"The Chinese once said that a lie should be nine true and one false."

"In this operation, we have finally grasped this core."

"I have to say, in some ways, their intelligence is truly amazing."

"It's just that they may not have imagined that such wisdom will eventually harm themselves"

"That's what they deserve!"

Houston spat out the tobacco leaves in his mouth and said with a slight disdain.

During this period of time, he has been shrouded in the shadow of Huaxia for too long.

Now, he finally has a chance to raise his eyebrows, and he doesn't plan to hold back anymore.

Although it is only a small price for them, it is also necessary for everyone in this world to see their failure.

Otherwise, who can talk about your own careful layout?

So, after thinking for a moment, he spoke:

"Notify the various media outlets and let them post the news."

"Make the matter of Huaxia winning the Gauteng high-speed rail project public."

"As for keywords"

"Aid, charity."

"That's right, just these two!"

There's a power outage, write again tomorrow.

Tomorrow three chapters will be updated with 12,000 words.

(End of chapter)