Catch the sea: start with a sand shovel and take over the entire beach

Almost all the methods used here are water washing, so a lot of water is used.

Fortunately, the water use permit that Joey had obtained previously will expire in three years, so he can rest assured for the time being.

Originally, Senior Brother Wang Jiasheng should have come with us this time, since he was Zhao Qin's bodyguard, but his visa had not yet been approved.

We can only follow Liu Jing and his large group and arrive there in due time.

In the early morning, everyone is busy with their own things.

Jiang Bing followed Arnold and Ruan Cheng to check the machine. Ruan Cheng was responsible for recording the parts to be purchased.

Zhao Qin brought Professor Wu and the Li family father and son to the town again and boarded the helicopter.

In the helicopter, Professor Wu was still looking at the map carefully. He flew over the area.

Old Wu took a pencil and marked on the map from time to time.

"Uncle Wu, what can we see here?" Li Gang asked curiously.

“Based on the landforms and the distribution of trees, we can find the direction of the ancient riverbed.

Gold is released due to geological activities, and this piece is almost entirely placer gold, which means it was transported and deposited along the river.

If we find an ancient riverbed, we may very likely find a gold vein.”

Li Gang was startled and pointed at the ground under his feet. "So, there is gold on every piece of land?"

"Haha, of course not. If that were the case, anyone could come and pan for gold, and there would be no such thing as losing money. It would not be Qin's turn to buy such a good piece of land."

Professor Wu pointed to an area ahead and said to Zhao Qin, "Let the helicopter descend a little further. It looks like an ancient gold mining area."

Since the discovery of gold in the Klondike in 1890, much of the land has been mined.

The first choice they were looking for was definitely a blank area that had not been mined before. Secondly, due to the limited gold mining equipment at the time, it was impossible to find deeper soil.

So this is what Zhao Qin and others are looking for.

Gold is usually accompanied by gravel layers, which are formed by the erosion of ancient rivers, so gold veins are generally distributed in bands.

After touring the entire area, it was already noon. Several people got off the plane and took a car back to the base.

After dinner, Wu Xing sketched on the map and said to Zhao Qin, "Let Arnold come with him, bringing the washing basin. Oh, and ask Xiao Jiang if he can get an excavator first."

Zhao Qin ran to the equipment parking area and saw Jiang Bing half-stuck under a truck, while Ruan Cheng was outside handing him tools.

"Brother Bing, is there any excavator that can be used?"

Jiang Bing recognized Zhao Qin's voice, got out from under the truck, and pointed at the excavator on the right not far away. "It can be used, so drive it first."

Zhao Qin also asked Arnold to bring a washing basin and drive the excavator along.

Wu Xing stuffed the map into his briefcase and walked south. Although he was over 50 years old, his pace was not slow at all.

They first arrived at the panning area that Joey had chosen earlier.

He said to Arnold, "Dig a piece of covering layer."

Arnold operated the excavator and began to remove the overburden.

The so-called covering layer is caused by geological changes. The ancient riverbed is buried due to landslides. In this case, the soil buried on top must be removed artificially.

The depth of the burial varies. In some places, the gravel layer can be dug out within two or three meters, but in some places, more than ten meters or even dozens of meters must be removed.

In this case, we need to weigh the costs and whether it is worth mining.

It took Arnold nearly half an hour to open a gap. The covering layer here was about five meters thick. Of course, it was also because the soil was still frozen.

This is related to the increased difficulty in operating the excavator.

Wu Xing personally took a washing basin, filled it with some soil, and washed it in the pool next to him. It took about two or three minutes.

He pointed to the gold pan and said to Zhao Qin, "Look, there is gold here."

Zhao Qin looked carefully and found a few tiny yellow particles at the bottom of the basin.

"Ask Arnold. I don't think the golden ratio here is ideal."

Zhao Qin asked Arnold, and soon got the answer, "The Zhidan screening machine can run about 200 yards of soil in an hour, and can get about one ounce of gold in two hours."

Wu Xing calculated in his mind, "This output is still achievable in China, but here, the personnel cost and equipment cost are much higher than in China.

Even if the guy named Joey made some money, it was only a small profit and he couldn't afford to suffer any setbacks. If the equipment breaks down or something, he will probably be at a loss."

Zhao Qin gave a thumbs up. Joey didn't make any money and was exhausted both physically and mentally because of the unsatisfactory gold production and the frequent equipment failures and shutdowns in the past two years.

Wu Xing smiled, took a few steps up a slope, looked west for a while, and took out the map to compare.

"Aqin, let's go 300 meters west. If I'm not mistaken, there was a river bend there a long time ago. River bends are usually narrow and the water flows fast.

Therefore, the relatively flat area downstream of the river bend can well intercept gold.”

Wu Xing said this and took the lead to step forward.

Zhao Qin sighed inwardly, thinking that the money was well spent. He was even more grateful to Li Minghui. If it weren't for him, he wouldn't have found a great man like Wu Xing.

Don't underestimate these analyses; they require an understanding of geology and the accumulation of experience, both of which are indispensable.

If Old Wu wasn't here, I would have to hire a professional exploration team to dig holes everywhere. Not to mention how high the cost would be, the results of their exploration might not be as accurate as Wu Xing's analysis.

Zhao Qin followed closely behind and waved to Arnold, who followed closely behind in an excavator.

"Aqin, I marked four areas that are not far away. If the test is good, then these four areas will be enough for you to mine for at least ten months."

Wu Xing took another look at the weather and continued, "Here, on average, we can only pan for gold for five months a year, which means we can probably do it for about two years."

Zhao Qin probably understood what Old Wu meant. These four items should be easier for him to determine, and they were also worth the salary he gave them.

If we want to conduct a deeper exploration, we will probably have to use equipment because the terrain is still unclear.

"Uncle Wu, how many years do you think I can mine this area?"

Wu Xing was startled, and after a moment's silence, he said, "If the gold content is high, it will be enough for you to mine for ten years."

Zhao Xuan nodded slightly, "Uncle Wu, don't think that this is a one-time deal. If you have time every year, come and help me. I will hire you as my consultant.

I will give you 50 yuan in consulting fees every year, plus a certain percentage of commission. You only need to stay here for a month at most."

Talent is priceless. Zhao Qin is never stingy with people who are truly capable. Let alone 50 yuan a month, sometimes Old Wu may just point to a piece of land and it may be worth 500 million yuan.

Old Wu paused and looked at Zhao Qin, "Are you serious?"

"What are you saying, Uncle Wu? You are my elder, can I joke about this?"

Old Wu thought about it and nodded, "Aqin, I will come here every March to May."

"That's right. If I have time, we can go together. If I don't have time, I will arrange for someone to protect you."

Seeing that Zhao Qin valued him so much, Wu Xing seemed very happy. His steps became much lighter and he pointed to a place not far away and said,

"Why do I think this is a river bend?"

Zhao Qin scratched his head, "Why?"