508 Mutually Satisfactory Agreemen (1/2)

Chapter 508: Mutually Satisfactory Agreement

Translator: _Min_Editor: Caron_

”Because of the breakthrough you made in the deepwater mining field, the futures of iron, copper, gold, and molybdenum have accelerated their demise. To maintain the stability of the market, the mining giants have spent quite some effort. Of course, the key to solving the problem is on you.”

How many deposits were there in the ocean? If Future Mining made a significant breakthrough in the area, investors' expectations for deep water mining would, without a doubt, heat up. How many resources were there available in the sea? Aside from Jiang Chen who already acquired a global mining reserve map, no one knew.

And investors themselves were creatures who loved to imagine.

Luke smiled at Jiang Chen.

”If I guessed correctly, Future Mining's costs for deepwater mining projects aren't high, and the production is sizable.”

Luke's expression clearly showed he wasn't clueless. There was no purpose in covering things up, so Jiang Chen didn't try to hide the truth.

”You guessed correctly.”

Labor costs only included the salary of the employees on the sea platform; the underwater equipment was powered by the tidal generator, making the cost of maintenance almost negligible. The only equipment costs were paid in crystals. Without knowing the ratio between crystals and modern world currency, he couldn't calculate the cost of equipment.

But he was certain about one thing - the costs of deep water mining were extremely low before space mining appeared.

”The world's iron, aluminum, and copper markets are already on the brink of collapse. Without any exaggeration, if the price of iron continues its downward trend, by end of the year, 47 mining companies will face the risk of bankruptcy. In the short term, it may be beneficial to us, but it's also dangerous for us in the long term. So I want to solve the problem by taking a step back.”

”So what do you propose?” Jiang Chen was quite intrigued as he looked at the smiling Luke.

”If I remember correctly, you can influence the political decisions of the Xin government. We want you to influence the presidential office's decision and increase the mining export tax by 50% to limit domestic exports of mining resources,” Luke said in a quiet voice.

To Jiang Chen's surprise, he previously thought Luke wanted to purchase Future Mining's technology, but he didn't even mention this and only offered a proposal that didn't really affect Future Mining.

”Limit Future Mining's access to the international market to cooldown the investors? But what do I gain from this?”

”We obviously won't make you do this for free. I'm willing to provide you contracts for iron, aluminum, copper and other metals effective within five years at 80% of the current market price.”

For BHP, it was indeed a big step backward. A discount of 20% meant they were essentially providing the metals at cost and working for free for Future Group for the next five years in exchange for slowing down Future Group's low-cost ores from entering international markets.

”Use the power of capital to slow down the introduction of new technologies?” Jiang Chen's words seemed to carry more meaning than the surface suggested.

”You could interpret that as paying enough compensation in the hope of delaying the introduction of technology to the world. In a market where supply exceeds demand, introducing technology isn't beneficial to the market,” Luke said with sternness.

Luke was clear with BHP's stance on this.

For an international mining tycoon, Jiang Chen wasn't naïve enough to think they would use market competition to solve the problem. To be able to own so many mining resources in multiple nations around the world, their political investments certainly couldn't be underestimated.

The reason why Luke brought it up was because they wanted to avoid a direct conflict with Future Group. Since Future Group was no longer a small fish in the sea, its core focus was in space tech and not in resource extraction, so both sides could avoid unnecessary conflict.

On the other hand, BHP wasn't the only company affected - Rothschild-controlled Vale was the largest mining company in the world. It would be hard to say this encounter had nothing to do with Carmen.

Jiang Chen's head spun rapidly as he weighed the pros and cons of the proposal.

If possible, Jiang Chen wanted to avoid a direct conflict with the mining giants. Future Technology's business expansion required a stable environment. It was unwise to create enemies for himself.

Especially since excessive resources were only relative to the current situation. Although the theme of the proposal required both parties to take a step back, it would be hard to determine who actually gained and who actually lost…

Luke patiently waited for Jiang Chen's response.