American TV series

Chapter 361 The Battle over Phosphate Mines

Chapter 368: The dispute over phosphate mines

Morocco, not Monaco.

One is in Africa and one is in Europe.

Of course, the impression is that all Africans are black, but North Africa is actually all white...

Morocco is 90% white.

As soon as Sean returned to Newark, he asked someone to bring over information about Morocco, Algeria, and Western Sahara, and went through it, paying attention to a few key points.

Morocco, in 1986, had a GDP of 19.462 billion U.S. dollars and a per capita GDP of 840 U.S. dollars. It is mainly white, YSL is Sunni, and its main resource is phosphate. Its reserves are 110 billion tons, accounting for 75% of the world's reserves, ranking first in the world. Other mineral resources

There are iron, lead, zinc, cobalt, manganese, barium, copper, salt, magnetite, anthracite, oil shale, etc., of which oil shale reserves exceed 100 billion tons and contain 6 billion tons of crude oil.

The resources are extremely rich, but poverty is constantly at war.

Algeria, with a GDP of US$63.692 billion in 1986 and a per capita US$2,756, is also dominated by whites and YSL Sunnis. Its oil reserves are about 1.7 billion tons, accounting for 1% of the world's total reserves, ranking 15th in the world, and its recoverable natural gas reserves.

4.58 trillion cubic meters, accounting for 2.37% of the world's total reserves, ranking 10th in the world. Iron ore reserves are 3 billion to 5 billion tons, lead and zinc ore reserves are estimated at 150 million tons, uranium ore 50,000 tons, phosphate 20

billion tons, 73 tons of gold.

It is extremely rich in resources, rich, and constantly fighting wars.

Western Sahara is more interesting here. It is a disputed area with unknown sovereignty. It was a former Spanish colony. Spain withdrew its troops in 1975. In 1979, Mauritania announced that it would give up its territorial sovereignty over Western Sahara. Since then, Morocco has always claimed sovereignty over Western Sahara, while Western Sahara

The Sahrawi People's Front does not think so. The two sides have been exchanging fire, and Morocco currently has an absolute advantage (Chuanbao once announced that it recognized Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara, but before that, the United States' attitude was unclear).

The phosphate minerals ADM focuses on are extremely rich in reserves, accounting for about 20% of the world's reserves. Bukhara alone has reserves of 1.7 billion tons and has a modern phosphate mining field. After the war in 1976, phosphate production fell into

Paused, production resumed in 1979.

Conflicts continued between the two countries and one region, with the Moroccans rejecting Algeria to the west and invading Western Sahara to the south.

"It's a werewolf!" This is Sean's evaluation of Morocco.

This is true for regions that are not easy to fight but have faith and are very determined. Especially YSL, which has always been the hardest nut to crack.

In addition, the forces are complicated. The Spanish ruled here and the French ruled here. Now, although the colonists have retreated, their influence is still there and will continue to be.

First, the Strait of Gibraltar, which is the only outlet from the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean, is only 14 kilometers wide. Regardless of whether Morocco has the idea of ​​claiming it as its own, the strategic location is too important.

Second, the reserves of phosphate minerals are too large and abundant. They are agricultural necessities that no big country can turn a blind eye to.

Of course, this is what Sean saw from the relatively simple information at hand. He has never paid attention to this place and doesn't know much about it.

After looking at it, Sean gave up. The information was incomplete, the attitude of the four major grain dealers in approaching him was unclear, and the requirements were unknown. Let's wait.

…

Sean didn't expect ADM to be so urgent. They arrived in Newark the next day.

The person who came was not the president or vice president of ADM, but a director, Belloc Tunney, who was very enthusiastic and fiery the moment they met.

Sean arranged for the place to talk about things to be at the Peace Hotel. Sean likes to talk about things over the wine table.

Drinking and flattering, Belloc Tunney started boasting about the umbrella when he first appeared in HK, and the British did not dare to fart no matter what the pressure, to showing the glory of the Americans in a battle with Ah San, from Yang Wei in the Malacca Strait, to

Bombing YL with the power of destruction, from Lin Meng’s blitzkrieg to smashing HSBC with 1.3 billion.

Blow, blow to death!

In Belloc Tunney's words, Sean was already a hero, an American national hero, and the greatest man of the 20th century.

It makes Sean feel embarrassed to be so thick-skinned.

However, some information revealed by Belloc Tunney while bragging also let Sean know that ADM established a branch in Hong Kong in 1983 to enter Southeast Asia. In 1986, it began various acquisitions in the Netherlands and Germany to enter the European market.

While blowing, Sean suddenly discovered a problem. He seemed to have made a mistake!

The British "Guardian" once described it in a report: "As long as you are alive, you cannot escape the world's four giants."

In a Cargill brochure, it reads: We are the flour in your bread, the wheat in your noodles, the salt in your chips... the chocolate in your desserts, the sweetener in your soft drinks... we are you

The beef, pork or chicken you eat for dinner is the cotton from your clothes and the fertilizer from your fields.

What a simple and heart-warming sentence.

From farmland to table, the four major grain merchants control the entire industrial chain and influence the daily lives of more than 7 billion people around the world.

But that was more than 30 years later!

But it's only 1987, and the four major grain merchants are still the six major grain merchants. In addition to ABCD, there are also Continental Grain and Cook Industries.

ABCD is not yet a Fortune 500 company.

Listening to Belloc Tony's bragging, Sean suddenly raised his hand and touched his chin. Does ADM have any money now?

If ADM is not as good as himself, then what's the point of listening to him bragging?

Can I, Sean, be comfortable with anyone?!

"What does ADM want Umbrella to do?" Sean suddenly asked.

Ga...

Belloc Tony was stunned on the spot, I blew so hard, why don't you seem to feel anything?

It took Belloc Tony a long time to react, and he coughed lightly and said: "Western Sahara, we have some business there, but you know, it's too chaotic there, fighting all day long, the Moroccans, the A-Sahara Front,

The security situation is extremely chaotic and we cannot carry out normal production and trade at all, so we hope to hire an umbrella company to maintain surrounding security."

"It's very expensive. The business before Umbrella was all national-level, such as Sri Lanka, Xingcheng, Bangni, and the United States government." Sean had no expression on his face and said to himself: "The lowest business deal is one year.

$100 million, so what price is ADM prepared to pay?”

Belloc Tony licked the corner of his mouth. Sean's asking price was too harsh. The annual profit of the entire ADM was only so much. "Well, there is no need to make such a big fuss. There is no need to dispatch warships. It's just the army, um, 500 people."

"I don't think it's high." Sean chuckled, "I don't even think 200 million is high!"

"How is that possible? This is so crazy. It's just a region in Western Sahara, a very small city!" Belloc Tony jumped up and waved his arms.

Sean looked at Belloc Tony without speaking for a while, then suddenly smiled and said: "Bukla, 100 kilometers southeast of Laayoune. The reserves are about 2 billion tons. Mining began in 1972, and the ore was transported to Laayoune on the Atlantic coast.

Praia, selected and shipped for export.”

"Uh, ha, ha ha ha." Belloc Tony let out a polite yet embarrassing laugh, "I knew I couldn't hide it from Mr. Sean. Yes, our target is Bukra."

"Whose hands is Bukla now?" Sean asked.

"A group of mercenaries."

"Mercenaries from that country?"

"They are from every country, a miscellaneous army."

"Where is the registration place?"

Belloc Tunney: "..."

"Paris."

“Who is Bukhara’s ore currently supplied to?”

Belloc Tunney: "..."

you know too much!

"Louis Dreyfus."

"They are French."

"What do you mean, Mr. Sean?" Belloc Tony looked solemn. He could see that Sean had other plans.

"It's not interesting. Morocco is in chaos. Someone needs to open up the situation here." Sean leaned back tactically and looked at Belloc Tunney through his nostrils. "It's not 100 years ago now. We can't play colonial tricks anymore, or

To support agents, either private companies can only step in to open up the situation."

"I think there is no one more suitable than me now, right?"

Belloc Tunney remained silent.

"The YSL people are difficult to deal with. Everyone knows this. It's troublesome. It's very troublesome. If you ask me to fight to the death with the YSL people for a little money, I won't do it. Umbrella still has a lot of benefits to gain in Southeast Asia, including oil.

Natural gas, palm oil, wheat, rubber, coconut products, minerals, I can get involved in many things, and it's not that troublesome."

"So, give me a reason to get involved in the dispute in Morocco."

Belloc Tony was silent for a while, then looked up at Sean and said, "Sir, what are your requests?"

Sean spread his hands, "I have a shipping network and controlled terminals in South America, North America, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. From ore mining to transportation, I can do it myself."

"Mr. Sean, don't you think it's too much to grab business like this!" Belloc Tony's face became even more ugly. He didn't expect that not only did he fail to reach a cooperation with Sean, but he also gave Sean the idea of ​​monopoly. What the fuck?

It's so irritating.

"Business is business. It's okay if you want to control the Bukhara mining area, but you can't just rely on imagination, you have to have strength." Sean smiled and looked at Belloc Tunney, "In this way, you think about it again and more.

"

"Okay, Mr. Shawn, I'll take my leave first." Belloc Tony stood up, took a deep breath, and forced a smile.

Sean arrived at the door of the box and didn't go there again. After thinking about it, he picked up the phone and called John William Vesey Jr., chatted for a few words, and then got down to business, "I want to buy another Kunz-class missile.

Destroyers, 2 Keeling-class battleships, and 2 troop carriers.”

"With so many, are you going to organize another fleet? Where to put it?" John William Vesey Jr. did not object directly, but asked rhetorically.

"Africa, I am interested in the phosphate mining industry in Monaco. This is a necessary agricultural phosphate fertilizer. 90% of its reserves are in this region. It is not only of economic value, but also of high strategic value." Sean expressed his thoughts.

Said it for a while.

"Let's meet and chat." Weixi thought for a while and said.

Sean didn't ask Wei Xi to come by himself, but sent his own sky palace to pick up the person. Spending some money seemed serious. Sean was always good at doing things and always gave others enough face. By the way, he made a detour and brought the person who had just resigned.

Secretary of Defense Weinberg also took over.

Sean needs a group of people with an international perspective to help him make reference. This is really not just a matter of how much money he makes.

Simply making money, Sean focuses on Silicon Valley more quickly than anything else.

…

"The situation in Africa is different from that in Southeast Asia. Southeast Asia is an island country with very low strategic depth. The missiles on the warships can achieve full coverage and provide sufficient strategic deterrence." Weixi or Map said: "But Africa is different. If prepared

If we establish a foothold in Africa, the utilization rate of the army will far exceed that of the navy."

"In addition, Africa has been suffering from wars for many years. It seems that the civil wars will not be quelled in the next ten years. Such wars will be dominated by small-scale conflicts in the region. The probability of a large-scale regional war is small. Even if it does, the scope of the impact will be very small.

It won’t be very wide.”

"Therefore, no matter from the perspective of terrain or combat conditions, Africa is more suitable for developing the army and air force rather than the navy."

"Yes." Weinberg took over and said: "The development of Europe requires raw material production areas and low-end labor. There is no better place than Africa, so Africa will not develop, so there will be wars, and they will be uninterrupted.

, war is the best way to interrupt development."

"However, the scale of the war must be controlled. A large-scale war will completely stop production, which cannot be allowed."

"The European region will definitely keep the unrest in Africa within a controllable range, small-scale and long-term, which will make it easy to control and absorb nutrients."

The two analyzed the problem for Sean from a war perspective and an economic perspective, and Sean nodded frequently.

"In other words, I can have a foot in Morocco. In order to cope with the local situation, it is best to vigorously develop the army, tanks, armored vehicles, artillery, radar, land-based missiles, helicopters and fighter jets." Sean on the map of Morocco.

Clicked.

"There is no need for fighter jets. We mainly focus on station defense and deterring surrounding areas. The cost of land-based anti-aircraft missiles is lower." Weixi thought for a while and said: "Armored units, missile units and helicopter formations are enough."

"Then get a group of them!" Sean slapped the map of Morocco, "Expand the army!"

"What about the 2,000 people you expanded last time?" Weixi asked, he didn't care much about this matter.

"Wei Ni kept 1,000 for the town, and the other 1,000 went to Qatar. The oil guys are really rich, and they are afraid that YL will always harass them."

"How many people are there in the umbrella now?"

"More than 4,000, the annual labor expenditure alone is 150 million, plus warship maintenance, ammunition consumption, various insurances, living material consumption, and other things, the military expenditure is about 250 million a year." Sean said.

He couldn't help but grin. If he hadn't signed several regional defense agreements and asked others to help raise him, he really wouldn't be able to support him himself.

"Tsk, tsk." Weixi sighed, "This private armed force looks good and impressive, but not everyone can afford the expense."

"How many people are going to be added to the army this time?"

"Look, I don't know either." Sean's current plan is to first transfer a few hundred people from various places to Morocco to try the water, and then see how it works based on demand and the profits it can generate.

"What's your plan? Do you still want to eat it yourself?" Weinberg asked Sean after seeing the two of them finished chatting about military matters.

"Phosphate mines are very concentrated. This is a natural advantage. Of course I want to control them all. Then I will have the power to speak." Sean chuckled.

"It's almost impossible. Although Morocco doesn't have much of a presence, the government won't allow it, and the people won't allow it either," Weinberg said.

Sean shrugged, "So I came to you to discuss what to do."

"No matter what, we need a mining company, and then we need a safe terminal and customers to buy the ore."

"How about acquiring a fertilizer production company?" Sean raised his eyebrows.

Weinberg glanced at Sean, "How greedy!"

"If the profit chain is monopolized, it will definitely be resisted by many people in the entire industry chain." Without Sean asking, Weinberg himself said: "For example, for several major grain merchants, it is certain that the phosphate fertilizer market has a bright future. Most of them

There are certainly mineral deposits in Morocco, but it’s not that they don’t exist in other countries. It’s just a matter of reserves and difficulty of mining. They will definitely not look at you and grab their throats, absolutely not.”

"Either you choose to only engage in mining and not get involved in production, or you recruit some people to join."

"What do you mean?" Sean touched his chin. He wanted to hear the opinion of this strategic expert.

"First take control of the entire Moroccan phosphate mine, and then use this as a bargaining chip to exchange equity for other phosphate mining companies, and then penetrate into upstream and downstream industries, such as docks, warehousing, transportation, and fertilizer production, and finally achieve the goal of

The right to speak in the phosphate mines and the entire industrial chain.”

As he spoke, Weinberg looked up at Sean and said, "It's best to invest in ADM, Bunge, and Cargill. In this way, you will be invincible in the entire industry chain."

Cruel enough!

Sean grinned and gave a thumbs up, "The most I want to do is control the price of ore to threaten people. Good guy, if you want to control the entire industry chain, you are more ruthless than me!"

Weinberg smiled very reservedly, "I personally believe that the food strategy can play a very important role in the future international situation. It is very important to the United States and is a force that Congress must win over. At the same time, it can also play an important role internationally.

control effect.”

"Okay, just do what you want." Sean laughed, "It's just that ADM is going to curse."

If Weinberger shows his hands, it has nothing to do with him. He is no longer the Secretary of Defense, and ADM has no ability to check and balance Sean.

…

"We, ADM, want to establish a mining development company in partnership with Mr. Sean. What does Mr. Sean think?" Within two days, Belloc Tunney came over again.

"Company." Sean looked at Belloc Tony up and down, "So, what is ADM's core competitiveness in this company?"

Ordinary people do business together because one person lacks funds or shares risks, but at Sean's level, what matters when doing business together is core competitiveness.

"Production and sales." Belloc Tony said in a deep voice: "We at ADM consume tens of thousands of tons of chemical fertilizers every year and eat all the products."

Sean shook his head, "What does that have to do with Bukra? There is only so much phosphate mine production in the world, and I don't need to get involved in production and sales at all."

"Mr. Sean really wants to get things done!" Belloc Tony's face suddenly darkened and he gritted his teeth. It's too late to regret now. He should have known to find MPRI!

Now to lure out such a guy who eats people without spitting out their bones, MPRI will definitely not take on this task in order to avoid conflicts.

Take a look at other security companies around the world...

What the hell, considering Umbrella's record, Belloc Tony himself has no confidence in those small security companies.

"Business is business. ADM can't provide core competitiveness. What does this have to do with me?" Sean raised his hand and dug his ears.

"Mr. Sean, let's just give up that bank!" In the end, Belloc Tony could only throw this out. He really had no chips.

"Yes, of course I do, one code equals one code."

Ha, Belloc Tony was so angry that he had never seen such a shameless person!

"Mr. Sean is really cold and unscrupulous."

"How about I owe you ADM a favor?"

"You already owe one. Obviously, Mr. Sean's favor is not valuable."

Sean touched his nose sheepishly, "Favours come in different sizes, like this."

After a lot of trouble, Sean said: "I, Sean, am going to take control of the phosphate mine in Monaco, and even Jesus can't stop it!"

"But, I, Sean, am not someone who only thinks about eating alone."

"Phosphate mining involves a complete industrial chain. It is not isolated. I can establish a joint venture with ADM, a company specializing in the production of phosphate fertilizers." Sean looked up at Belloc Tony, "What you want

It is to ensure that there is no interruption in the supply of fertilizers. It is enough to have this company that specializes in making products. There is no need to get involved in the ore business."

"To be honest, there is no mining business in Africa that is not stained with blood. This business has a bad reputation. You are engaged in agriculture, so this is not suitable for you."

Belloc Tony frowned and started again. Sean's proposal was a seven-inch hit on ADM. If he didn't cooperate, he would definitely lose money. Fortunately, he fed the dog with a piece of news, and nothing happened.

We are not willing to cooperate. Damn it, mining, the profits are so huge, every shovelful is full of US dollars!

"Looking at it from your ADM perspective, I think you should agree. ADM has just been out of the United States for three years, and you should feel that even if it is backed by the United States, there are some things that the country cannot take action on, but it is a private company like me.

, I have no scruples in my actions.”

"For example, when ADM expands in Southeast Asia, the help I can provide will not be lower than that in the United States!"

This last sentence took Belloc Tunney's last breath.

"Well, Mr. Sean, as far as I'm concerned, you win, but I believe that the company will not refuse to cooperate with Umbrella in Southeast Asia."

"Look, that's right. Cooperation is greater than confrontation. As we all know, I'm easy to talk to." Sean laughed and said, "Then we can talk about cooperation issues in Southeast Asia, for example, setting up a joint venture!"

Belloc Tony looked at Sean dumbfounded, what the hell is a joint venture, Sean, you are ripping off the skin, right?