Resource Tycoon Reborn

Chapter 307 A rare opportunity

If we talk about the disintegration of the former Soviet Union, what was the biggest loss for the citizens of the former Soviet Union? In addition to the social wealth accumulated over decades being divided up by foreigners and domestic elites, it was the massive loss of scientific researchers. In Fan Mingyuan’s previous life

Here, according to media reports, after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, as the government greatly reduced the budget for scientific research institutions, a large number of scientific research institutions were in a semi-working state, and a considerable number of scientific research institutions were forced to close and change careers. The serious shortage of scientific research funds resulted in scientific research institutions having no funds to purchase.

New technical equipment, outdated experimental equipment, and shortage of experimental materials. Coupled with the soaring prices in various countries in the CIS, the wages of scientific researchers have not risen as fast as the soaring prices, resulting in these scientific researchers even having to work part-time jobs to support their families.

.Moreover, wages in other industries in society are mostly higher than those in the scientific research industry. Under such working conditions, those promising scientific researchers cannot complete their scientific projects at all.

At the same time, in order to attract talents, Western countries provided very favorable scientific research and living conditions to the former Soviet researchers in various ways, and openly competed for the former Soviet Union's high-tech talents in the fields of nuclear weapons, computers, and biotechnology. The result was that a large number of

The exodus of scientific researchers from the former Soviet Union.

It is said that in the first few years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the United States took advantage of its excellent scientific research conditions and high wages to introduce more than 30,000 Soviet scientific and technological personnel. In 1992, the second year after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the United States and Europe

The Community spent hundreds of millions of dollars poaching technical personnel for weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons, biology, chemistry, and missiles. According to later estimates by relevant Russian authorities, nearly one-third of the former Soviet aerospace experts belonged to Russia.

has flowed to the United States and the European Community.

Of course, according to rumors that have not been recognized by authoritative departments, China has also acquired many experts in weapons and military industry in this talent plunder feast, including nuclear physics experts, fighter engine aerodynamicists, etc.

As a result, China's military industrial strength has grown by leaps and bounds since entering the second millennium, and it has rapidly developed high-tech weapons and equipment such as beyond-visual-range missiles and advanced fighter engines. Regarding this, Fang Mingyuan feels that it should not be groundless. After all, China and Russia are neighboring countries.

, first-come-first-serve, attracting a group of exodus experts and scholars, which is also a normal result. It would be extremely stupid to say that nothing is gained from this brain drain that has lasted for more than ten years.

When Fan Mingyuan came to the Soviet Union this time, he actually thought about whether he could conduct an on-site survey in advance to prepare for the future recruitment of these Soviet scientific researchers after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Of course, Fan Mingyuan's goal is not to be in the weapons and military industry.

, his goals are in the fields of mechanical manufacturing, computers and biotechnology, materials science, etc. After all, the Soviet Union is a superpower and has a very strong scientific research foundation. The reason why it gives people the illusion that the speed of scientific and technological development is not as fast as that of the United States is that

To a large extent, it has the same problem as China - that is, it lies in the transformation of scientific research technology into productivity. A large number of scientific research results have been shelved and become piles of useless waste paper.

Fang Mingyuan understands that if a company wants to have long-term competitiveness, it must spare no effort in the development of scientific research technology. It is often said that the loss of one or two key talents in a certain scientific research field can lead to a decline in research in that discipline. direction slows down or stops. On the other hand, getting a few truly key experts can make scientific research investment twice the result with half the effort!

Although the city of Yakutsk is small, it has nearly 10 scientific research institutes in history, language, literature, physics and technology. The Yakutia branch of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences and more than ten affiliated research institutes are also located in the city. , Yakutsk University also occupies a very prominent position among institutions of higher learning in the Far East. Especially in some research involving the field of low temperature, the level of scientific research here is also quite high.

The sky was gloomy and full of dark clouds, and sporadic snowflakes fell from the sky from time to time and scattered on the ground. Although it was noon, the temperature had dropped to about zero degrees. Fortunately, there was no cold wind, and everyone wore good clothes. It's warmer, but it's not an inconvenience. For the arrival of Fang Mingyuan and others, the leaders of the Republic of Yakutia did not hold any welcoming ceremony. Of course, this was largely because of the fact that Mikhail Royer, who was in charge of this area, I have accompanied them all the way and will continue to accompany them.

Fang Mingyuan looked at the sky. Although the snow was not heavy and the temperature was not very low, this place was near the Arctic Circle. It might not be long before there would be heavy snowfall. After all, it was a little late for him to come to the Soviet Union. However, there was nothing that could be done about it. Without the fortune gained from oil futures, what would he do even if he knew the next changes in the Soviet political situation?

"Fang Jun, Ms. Aso, don't worry about the return trip. Although our place is small, we also have an airport. You can fly directly to Moscow or any city on the way." Mihaloyer saw Fang Mingyuan and the others looking at the sky. He showed a worried look and comforted everyone.

"Everyone has been working hard all the way. I'll arrange for a few of you to stay here first and have a good rest in the afternoon. I'll accompany you two to visit Yakutsk tomorrow. How about it?" Mihaloyer has also been out for several days. I missed my family a little, so I asked tentatively. Although the Soviet Union did not have the habit of receiving guests as comprehensively as China and accompanying them throughout the process, Mikharoyer did not dare to underestimate these two people. If the wealthy man who invested 3 billion rubles in the Amur region failed to express himself in the Republic of Yakutia because of his poor hospitality, he would inevitably become an excuse for others to accuse him of poor work in the future.

"Minister Mihaloy, because of our insistence, we had to ask you to accompany us in the car for a bumpy journey and delayed your work. I am already very sorry. In the afternoon, the minister does not need to accompany us. We can walk around the city casually. Okay. Tomorrow, we hope to visit ALROSA in advance, and I wonder if Minister Mihail can arrange it."

"ALROSA?" Michal Royer hesitated for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

The hotel that Mihaloy arranged for the group was located in the city center. As he said, the doors and windows of the houses here were all thick to block the intrusion of cold air. After entering the hotel, the room temperature was still the same. It was quite warm, so you could just wear single clothes. After eating, everyone returned to their own rooms.

Fang Mingyuan took a shower first, sat in front of the window, and looked at the snowflakes outside that were getting bigger and bigger, falling on the ground, and the ground had become snow-white. The Republic of Yakutia has entered a long winter, so

The weather will last until May and June next year. Such a bitter cold place is naturally like hell for the Chinese people, but who knows that there are hidden things buried under this permafrost layer?

Mineral deposits needed for countless industrial ages.

Fang Mingyuan remembered clearly that there were not only rich diamond deposits underground in the Republic of Yakutia, but also a large amount of iron ore. In the previous life, in the first ten years of the next century, Chinese enterprises could not bear the monopoly of several large iron ore mines.

The exploitation of production companies, and the north to participate in the development of iron ore in Yakutia. There are four major iron ore mines, Tayozhnoye, Tesovsk, Tarenaszhi and Gorgitsky mines, with total reserves of up to

More than 7 billion tons, and with the conditions for open-pit mining, it can transport at least nearly 20 million tons of iron ore to the country every year. But I don’t know whether Russia has discovered these four iron mines today.

However, these four iron mines are located in Siberia, with inconvenient transportation and high mining costs. Based on the current price of iron ore in the world, there is no profit to be made even if they are developed. Therefore, Fan Mingyuan can only temporarily use them

Keep it in your heart.

Fang Mingyuan still remembered that there was a diamond mine in the Republic of Yakutia that should not have been developed by the Soviet Union. It was mined by ALROSA only after 2007. Although he had not been there personally,

But the approximate location can still be remembered. Fang Mingyuan is thinking about how to buy the mineral mining rights of that land from the Russians. Whether it is industrial diamonds or gem-quality diamonds that can be polished into diamonds, in the future

It will only become more and more rare, and the price will naturally rise all the way. Being able to control a diamond mine will be of great benefit to Fang Mingyuan's future development. It can be imagined.

However, given that ALROSA has a monopoly on Russian diamond production, there are too many links that need to be cleared up, making it very difficult.

Aso Xiangyue and Lin Lian entered the room one after another, but seeing his concentration, neither of them dared to interrupt his thoughts.

"Xiangyue, what's Mihaloy's attitude towards your request to acquire rough diamonds?" Fang Mingyuan suddenly turned around and asked, but it really shocked the two women.

While patting her towering chest, Aso Xiangyue replied: "Judging from Mihaloy's words and expressions, I think he seems to be very happy and happy for our acquisition. I once tried to say that I would like to ask Allo

He offered to take shares in Sa Company, but he refused. Although the words were tactful, the meaning was a bit non-negotiable."

This was within Fang Mingyuan's expectation. ALROSA monopolized nearly 97.8% of the diamond production in the Soviet Union and later Russia. Such a monopoly, whether it was the Soviet Union or Russia, would naturally not allow foreign countries to produce diamonds.

Capital can easily get its hands on it. Fang Mingyuan couldn't help but think of China's oil companies, which were also in a monopoly position, but were listed abroad at low prices and gave away huge profits to foreign investors.

As for why Michal Royer supported Fang Mingyuan and the others in purchasing rough diamonds, Fang Mingyuan knew it well. Because today's world diamond market can be said to have been monopolized by the world's largest diamond monopoly, De Beers United Mining Company. It has lasted for a year.

For more than a hundred years of operation, this multinational group that controls diamonds has monopolized 70% of global diamond production, reaching 80% at its highest point. Its sales organization is the world's main supplier of rough diamonds.

Due to insufficient consumption power in the domestic market, insufficient polishing capacity, and lack of sales channels in the European and American markets, ALROSA has to sell more than three-quarters of its annual output to De Beers United at low prices.

Mining company. Therefore, Aso Xiangyue intends to purchase these rough diamonds, that is, rough diamonds, which is naturally a dream for ALROSA.

"Mingyuan, you bought so many rough diamonds, how are you going to sell them in the future?" Aso Xiangyue said with a little worry. The world diamond market is close to being monopolized by De Beers United Mining Company, even if Fang Mingyuan buys it

If these rough diamonds cannot be polished into the sparkling diamonds that people are used to seeing, their value will be greatly discounted. In other words, the polishing of diamonds will directly affect the value of the diamond. The ideal

The effect is of course to try our best to maintain the maximum weight of the diamond, minimize imperfections, and fully display the beauty of the diamond so that the diamond is dazzling. This is a highly difficult technical job.

Most of the world's diamond polishing centers are in European and American countries. In these places, De Beers Consolidated Mining Company purchases raw diamonds for polishing and processing. It may not be easy for them to polish these raw diamonds of unknown origin.

Although keeping these rough diamonds in your hands, judging from the diamond market prices in recent years, you don't have to worry about depreciation, it is not a long-term solution after all.

Fang Mingyuan naturally understands Aso Xiangyue's concerns - in the past, some small and medium-sized companies tried to sell the rough diamonds they mined, but they all suffered crazy retaliation from De Beers United Mining Company. De Beers United Mining Company only wanted to

If its sales organization is required to release a large amount of diamond reserves in a short period of time, the price in the world diamond market will plummet. These small and medium-sized companies simply cannot afford such a price war. After a few times, there will be no more companies in the world.

Dare to challenge the authority of De Beers Consolidated Mining Company in the diamond industry.

But people have to admit that De Beers Consolidated Mining Company is indispensable for the diamond industry's current status in the world.

You must know that in the long history of civilization in various countries around the world, diamonds are rarely found because they are too rare and difficult to polish, so they do not occupy a prominent position. In China, the ancients have always respected jade. In the Book of Songs era

There is a tradition of noble men and jade being the best, but by the Han Dynasty, jade had become an exclusive item for emperors and nobles. After the death of the emperor, he could be buried in jade clothes with gold threads, but few common people could own jade.

In modern times, cat's eye and jade-like gemstones have become popular again.

The ancient Western European civilization considered amber to be the king of gems. In Rome, which was around the same time as the Han Dynasty, amber also became an exclusive supply for emperors. According to experts and scholars who study history, in ancient Rome, a piece of top-quality amber could be exchanged for dozens of dollars.

A strong slave.

However, the Mesopotamian civilization has always used cat's eye and emerald as gemstones. An example of this is that in the Arabs' world-famous book "One Thousand and One Nights", people can't find any description of diamonds at all. As for ancient diamonds,

In the American and African civilizations, judging from the remaining information, they did not know much about diamonds, although many diamond mines have been discovered in these places in modern times.

In short, the frustrating and indisputable fact for those in the diamond industry is that diamonds, a modern gemstone, have little historical connotation.

It is De Beers United Mining Company, with its excellent organizational power and huge financial resources, that unites all independent diamond mines in various countries to form a large organization with extremely strong control over procurement and sales. It controls the supply and demand of diamonds in the world.

It will adjust the supply of diamonds on the world market during economic depression to maintain the price of diamonds from falling sharply; at the same time, it will relax the supply of diamonds on the world market during economic booms to meet market demand.

And suppress the excessive rise in diamond prices. As a result, the price of diamonds has probably maintained a steady growth momentum for many years, making diamonds an investment worthy of people's trust. It has a long history with jade, ruby, cat's eye, and jade.

Together, the gems have become treasures sought after by the world.

But monopoly will eventually go in the opposite direction. The disgusting tough style of De Beers Consolidated Mining Company, coupled with the discovery of many diamond deposits by various countries after World War II, has also given more and more companies the confidence to challenge De Beers.

United Mining Corporation's authoritative position.

After all, Aso Xiangyue didn't know that as time went by, diamond miners gradually began to compete with De Beers Consolidated Mining Company. ALROSA was one of them. De Beers Consolidated Mining Company's influence on the world diamond market

The power of control is weakening year by year. More and more rough diamonds have avoided the monopoly of De Beers Consolidated Mining Company and entered the world market through other channels. Fang Mingyuan is not worried about future sales problems at all.

Moreover, as a major diamond consumer in the future, China's luxury consumption boom is far from starting. Fang Mingyuan knows that in China in the future, newlyweds will attach great importance to and be enthusiastic about diamond rings. With China's huge marriageable population and

With the huge market as the backing, no matter how many rough diamonds he buys now, by then, they will only be a drop in the bucket for the Chinese market!

And Fang Mingyuan was born in this era. If he could successfully buy this batch of rough diamonds from ALROSA, even if he kept them in his hands for ten or eight years, he would not have to worry about lack of sales in the future.

Moreover, this was purchased with rubles. After Russia devalued its currency several times in the future, this expenditure can be regarded as almost nothing. How could he be willing to let go of such a rare opportunity!