Rebirth: Super Banking System Chapter 2479 - 2317: The Largest Silver Mine

At this moment in Beijing, various departments were advancing in waves. It gradually dawned on everyone that attempting to claim this silver mine solo was a daunting task.

After all, the largest known silver mine in Huaxia previously boasted reserves just over five thousand tons. Now, with a total find of fifteen thousand tons, this deposit was triple the size—undoubtedly the crown jewel of Huaxia. Who could resist such a temptation? Naturally, everyone wanted a piece of the action.

Furthermore, since the exploration zone was relatively compact, the final reserve figures might climb even higher. Therefore, for a mine of this magnitude, the issue wasn't merely the ability to manage it, but rather the overwhelming number of envious competitors and the lack of necessary qualifications among potential suitors.

Typically, entities might handle either exploration or extraction individually. However, this was a deep-sea mineral deposit. With nearly zero existing accumulation of specialized drilling or extraction technology, rivals couldn't even draft a convincing proposal, leaving them frustrated and speechless.

Consequently, some began to pad their applications, promising a strong commitment to self-developing deep-sea drilling tech to boost their perceived chances. Yet, everyone was parroting the same line. Since everyone claimed they could do it, no single entity held an advantage. Recognizing this impasse, some state-owned enterprises pushed for a collaborative research and development plan, only to conclude it would require at least three years of effort: one year for study, the second for construction, and the third for testing. In short, immediate mining was off the table.

"Can this timeline be accelerated?" a senior executive from a state-owned enterprise asked the expert.

The expert shook his head. "Impossible. We lack the experience and must design from the foundations up. Between various trials and the actual construction, even a year wouldn't suffice. Realistically, three years is a conservative estimate; five years is entirely possible."

The room fell silent. Five years was simply too long to wait. By then, the opportunity would long be gone.

"If that's the case, why is Qingyuan Technology capable of doing it?" the executive countered with a pointed question.

The expert rolled his eyes. "Because they have the necessary personnel and capital already in place. Qingyuan Technology maintains a vast internal research staff and partners with nearly every 211 University in the nation, funding countless institutes. Their talent pool is immense. They’ve even acquired and built international research hubs that act as scaled-down innovation parks, constantly scouting for global talent. While they might not be putting their entire workforce of 200,000 onto this one platform, research is highly synergistic; breakthroughs elsewhere often accelerate specific projects. Even if only a thousand people are working directly on the drilling platform, they have a 200,000-strong network fueling that success. Leader, if you can supply me with 10,000 researchers, I can finish this in three years, too."

The executives had no retort. Ten thousand researchers? That was a fantasy, far beyond what any single unit could gather.

The executive tried another angle: "What is the total investment required?"

After a moment of reflection, the expert noted, "For both research and construction, at least 10 billion RMB."

The executive sighed. It was expensive—prohibitively so. Yet, this was standard industry practice: understate the difficulty to get a project greenlit, and once the funds are depleted, higher-ups are forced to keep pouring in money to prevent a total loss.

"10 billion," the executive muttered. Waiting three years for a return was painful when they could simply purchase a finished, deployable unit from Qingyuan Technology in just one year. Although purchasing was expensive, comparing the cost against the 100-billion-RMB value of the 15,000 tons of silver made it seem like a sound investment.

While the state-owned giants deliberated, the grand fleet out at sea finished its tests. The drills were retracted and anchors lifted. From the sky, the Floater looked like a star surrounded by auxiliary vessels—dozens of ships, some exceeding ten thousand tons, handling everything from fueling and transport to rescue and supplies. While these support ships were purchased rather than self-built, the scale was nonetheless impressive.

In the livestream, the audience remained glued to the feed. "I love this transparent approach from Tang Qing. It’s refreshing compared to other places where you only see equipment in brief, edited news segments," one user commented.

"Exactly! This requires immense confidence. Any malfunction would be catastrophic," another added. They reflected on the past success of the 'Tianpeng,' which had become a legendary firefighting asset globally. With over a hundred units sold at a billion RMB each, Qingyuan Technology had successfully transitioned from a tech enterprise into a heavy industry titan. With the massive silver discovery alongside, the public couldn't help but marvel at how far the company had come.