Two million US dollars in savings wouldn't even cover a day's lawyer fees for the mining oligarchs in Anchorage who control hundreds of millions of dollars.
They will exploit the vague provisions of the 1971 Indigenous Claims Act to launch endless lawsuits.
Freezing the development rights of the territory crippled his cash flow, and finally forcibly acquiring it at a low price.
This is a bloody process of capital plunder.
Emily's excuse about insufficient reception capacity could only temporarily deflect Carter's probing.
But it can't last forever.
We must find an absolute legal moat.
Buzz.
A high-frequency vibration came from my pocket.
Su Wei looked away, reached into his pocket with his right hand, and pulled out his phone.
The screen lights up, and a banner notification for a new email appears on the lock screen.
From: Anchorage Mineral Testing and Metallurgical Laboratory.
The email subject line has red "Urgent" and "Top Secret" labels.
Su Wei hovered his thumb above the screen for half a second, then pressed the unlock button hard.
Open the email application.
The interface redirects, and the main text consists of only a short line.
"Mr. Su, the third-stage spectral analysis and fire assay of the three expedited rock samples you submitted have been completed. The test report is attached. Our laboratory is committed to maintaining the highest level of confidentiality regarding the test results."
The attachment is a PDF file with a digitally encrypted signature.
The file name is: AK-KOD-0042-Subsurface Rock Layer Analysis Report.
Su Wei opened the attachment.
The loading icon rotated for two seconds.
A page popped up on the screen, filled with English technical terms, line graphs, and spectral comparison charts.
The upper right corner is stamped with the laboratory's dark blue seal.
He skipped the lengthy description of the physical properties and quickly swiped his finger upwards on the screen.
Scroll directly to the bottom to access the core data summary panel.
On a white background, several lines of bold black Song typeface text stand out prominently.
Sample base classification: granitic surrounding rock.
Mineralization zone characteristics: Quartz veins containing polymetallic sulfides.
Mohs hardness test result: 7.2.
Absolute value analysis of purification results by fire assay:
Associated mineral composition: pyrite 34%, arsenopyrite 12%, chalcopyrite 5%.
Target element: Gold.
Su Wei's gaze was fixed on the last line of numbers, which stood alone.
Absolute content determination: 8.74 g/t (grams per ton).
Rating result: Ultra-high grade associated gold deposit (far exceeding the minimum standard for commercial mining).
The cabin was eerily quiet, with only the faint sound of water running in the dishwasher.
Su Wei's fingers tightened around the phone, his knuckles pressing against the aluminum alloy frame, creating a hard, oppressive feeling.
8.74 grams per ton.
Real-time international gold price data flashed through his mind.
Currently, the trading price of a troy ounce fluctuates around two thousand US dollars, and one ounce is approximately 31.1 grams.
A typical industrial-grade gold mine contains only two to three grams of gold per ton of ore, which already indicates extremely high mining value.
If it exceeds five grams, it is classified as a rich mineral.
The mineral vein at the foot of the Pillar Mountain is approaching the nine-gram mark.
Su Wei turned his head and looked out the window at the Pillar Mountain under the night sky.
That massive black mountain was no longer an ordinary, barren mountain.
This is a super money printing machine that has been sleeping deep in the permafrost for half a century, completely buried.
The length, direction, and depth of that 40-centimeter-wide dark red mineralized zone remain a mystery.
But the sheer amount of wealth hidden beneath that single cross-section at the bottom of the pit is enough to overturn an ordinary person's understanding of money.
Su Wei swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.
His breathing became erratic for a moment, but he forcibly steadied it.
Ecstasy belongs to gamblers; rational predators only consider how to safely devour their prey.
This enormous fortune is currently just a pile of stones.
It was buried under two meters of frozen soil and sealed off by a three-meter-wide mechanical restricted area.
Without legal status, it is worthless.
If you try to launder money on the black market, you not only have to deal with transaction fees as high as 40%, but you also have to be constantly on guard against desperate criminals.
Gold that cannot be exposed to the light is often stained with blood.
We must go through legal channels.
Su Wei turned and walked towards the storage room/office on the first floor.
Open the bottom drawer of the desk.
A military green waterproof document bag lay quietly inside.
He untied the tangled cotton thread and pulled out the two slightly wrinkled A4 sheets of paper.
Those are photocopies of the land purchase contract and a client confidentiality agreement that I just signed with Parsons' lawyer yesterday.
Parsons ' hoarse voice echoed in my memory.
The federal mining rights reservation record is empty.
As long as it is in the vertical space of this coordinate boundary.
Whether you unearth granite or a high-grade gold vein, it's all yours.
Su Wei folded the two documents in half again and pressed them firmly along the creases.
He then unzipped the waterproof inner pocket of the jacket and stuffed the documents inside.
The sound of the zipper snapping shut was exceptionally clear in the quiet room.
The highest legal barrier has been established.
Next, we just need to complete the remaining physical procedures.
A detailed and legally binding geological exploration report.
The state environmental protection bureau's approval for pollution-free status.
And most importantly, a legal commercial mining license issued by the Alaska Bureau of Mines.
As long as you hold these three things, this trump card becomes an absolute dead end.
Even if members of the Hunters' Guild and the Mining Corporation stood on the ore vein with their detectors, they could only watch helplessly, unable to touch it in the slightest.
A legitimate mining license is the strongest moat against the malicious takeovers by those behemoths.
The exploration manual from the 1960s that Emily bought is still in Anchorage.
However, the first step in confirming property rights cannot wait.
We must secure our place before the issue of the official guild recommendation list escalates.
Su Wei walked out of the office and returned to the kitchen island counter.
The car keys were on the table.
Beneath the rough texture of the hemp rope hung a lifelike carved bear head and two polished white wolf teeth.
Su Wei extended his right hand and gripped the car keys in his palm.
The sharp edges of the metal key pierced my skin.
He turned around and looked out the window one last time at the territory shrouded in darkness.
Release your fingers.
The car key fell back onto the wooden table with a crisp, dull thud.
"Tomorrow morning at eight o'clock, Howard and Pell Law Firm."
Chapter 230 Silence is Possession