50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 838 If you can take action, don't talk nonsense.
After receiving the information, Sun Zhiwei did not leave the Pinkerton office on the 29th floor of the Alexandra Building for the next three days.

Among these industries used to offset the price are nearly a hundred mines, most of which are located in Africa.

Most of them are common mineral deposits such as copper and iron, but there are still 3 gold mines, 1 gemstone mine and 1 platinum mine.

In the end, Sun Zhiwei only selected mines in a few countries with relatively stable political situations, such as Botswana, South Africa, and Tunisia.

Mining in Africa is not unusual; what is unusual is being able to keep digging and still make money.

This is actually very difficult, because most African countries are at war for 12 months of the year.

For example, there are 14 armed groups in the Central African Republic; the Democratic Republic of Congo has more than 100 armed groups; and Niger experiences a coup on average every 3-5 years.
The African countries along the northern Mediterranean coast are particularly difficult to deal with. Countries like Libya, Egypt, and Sudan have strong military governments, so once a businessman invests, he can forget about getting out.

As the saying goes, "A small temple has a lot of evil winds, and shallow water has many turtles." The poorer a country is, the more corrupt and war-torn it tends to be.

Mining in countries like this would be prohibitive for most companies due to the annual security costs alone.

Therefore, among hundreds of mineral resources, Sun Zhiwei only accepted mines in a few countries with relatively stable political situations, such as South Africa and Botswana.

Besides Africa, the information also mentions a super iron ore mine located in the Australian desert. Unfortunately, iron ore mining in Australia is not easy to enter.

Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton are local mining giants who are committed to monopolizing more iron ore producing areas in order to manipulate iron ore export prices.

That Australian super iron ore mine is a trap. If Sun Zhiwei takes it over rashly without knowing the details, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton will use their local connections to tear his investment to shreds.

Besides the mine, he paid the most attention to the 12 small islands. By comparing the maps, he figured out the locations of the 12 small islands.

Nine of them are located along the western Atlantic coasts of Central and South America.

Although the island in this place is not important in location, it is located in America's backyard, so the America Navy guards it very closely.

This resulted in a very safe local environment, so this area later became America's vacation destination, and Miami is located in this area.

The area is dotted with islands, which has attracted many wealthy people to buy small islands and build vacation villas. The nine discounted islands are such vacation islands.

Unfortunately, Sun Zhiwei already owns a small island there, but hasn't had time to develop it yet.

Excluding the nine islands in this area, the remaining three small islands are one in the Mediterranean Sea, one off the west coast of Africa, and the last one is at the southernmost tip of South America in the South Atlantic.

Sun Zhiwei has his eye on all three islands, including the one in the South Atlantic, which is the world's largest private island: Weddell Island (254 square kilometers).

This island is the third largest island in the Falkland Islands, which was contested during the Anglo-Afghan War a few years ago.

Weddell Island was called Swan Island until the late 19th century, when it was named after the 19th-century navigator James Weddell.

Its ownership has passed through the Williams family and the Hamilton family, and it is now owned by the Clifton family, making it a 100% privately owned island.

Weddell Island, located 1100 kilometers from the Great Wall Station in Antarctica, is an ideal resupply point for Antarctic scientific expeditions. If Weddell Island can be secured, it will provide the most direct assistance to my country's Antarctic scientific expeditions.

On June 23, 1961, the Antarctic Treaty, signed by the world's major countries, officially came into effect.

my country acceded to the Antarctic Treaty in 1983, gaining the right to establish a scientific research base in Antarctica. However, at the time of signing the treaty, China was only considered a "contracting party." Only after establishing a research station in Antarctica could China be considered a "consultative party."

The difference between these two names is significant. "Contracting party" means that you signed it, but that's all you did.

They can speak at large meetings, but they do not have voting rights or decision-making power.

In September 1983, when the Twelfth Consultative Conference of the Antarctic Treaty was held in Canberra, Australia, a three-person delegation from my country attended the conference as observers for the first time.

Whenever the meeting reached substantive discussions or went to a vote, the meeting chair would announce: "States Parties, please come outside the meeting room for coffee."

After the meeting inside concluded, the three representatives from our country were not even informed of the voting results. This was an unbearable humiliation.

After returning to China, these situations were reported truthfully, and the country subsequently decided that it was imperative to establish its own Antarctic research station.

However, Antarctica is the coldest continent on Earth, and building a permanent research station there is not as simple as building a house at home.

The Antarctic continent has temperatures below -40°C year-round, and in extreme cases can even reach -90°C. Ordinary cement and steel become as fragile as a loaf of bread under such frigid temperatures.

When building a station there, all issues must be considered in advance, including how to supply electricity and water, how to keep it warm, how to make it accessible, and how to respond to emergencies.

Otherwise, in such a frigid wilderness, if you encounter trouble unexpectedly, there's nowhere to call for help.

Establishing a foothold in Antarctica presents challenges beyond just human resources; it also tests the technological and architectural capabilities of the countries planning to build the stations.

After more than four months of design and material preparation in China, the scientific expedition team finally set off to build the station.

On December 31, 1984, the Great Wall Station in Antarctica was officially established on King George Island in Antarctica.

On February 20, 1985, after more than two months of construction, China’s first Antarctic research station, the Great Wall Station, was completed, filling a gap in China’s scientific endeavors.

The newly built Great Wall Station had very rudimentary facilities, with only a few buildings and enough supplies for only a small number of people to stay there for an extended period.

The world-famous Great Wall Station in Antarctica was built after several expansions, becoming a research city with dozens of buildings.

At this point in time, the Great Wall Station is still just a small research station. If Sun Zhiwei can take over Weddell Island, it will definitely be a good thing.

After confirming the target, Sun Zhiwei first pulled out the paper for Weddell Island from the list of 12 islands.

The inclusion of Weddell Isle in the payment industry list this time must have been due to some unexpected event. The Clifton family, the current owners of Weddell Isle, should theoretically not be making any moves to remove the island.

However, he didn't need to know the specifics; since the other party dared to offer it, he dared to take it.

As for the other party going back on their word, well, once the island transfer agreement is signed, it's wishful thinking on their part to back out.

Why has he been expanding the Pinkerton branch so aggressively all these years? It's so that when necessary, he can take direct action without having to talk.

(End of this chapter)