My Gold Rush Career Begins in 1984

Chapter 242 Foolish Gold

"So, you've been here alone for the past three months?"

Zhou Jingming still found it unbelievable.

Zhang Xueqin nodded: "I've always been here. I saw how they panned for gold in the Gold Rush Valley, so I learned to make sluices out of tree bark and put them in the river. I put more than ten of them in, and I went to check on them every day. When I had free time, I would also shovel some mud and sand from the riverbank into the sluices to wash them. But, I didn't get much gold..."

"So what have you been eating these past few months? You haven't been eating wild vegetables every day, have you?"

Zhou Jingming suddenly remembered the half-sack of cornmeal in the tin shack and the oil and salt next to the iron stove: "Wait a minute... how did you get all that oil, salt, and cornmeal?"

"In the beginning, I did dig for wild vegetables every day. There were also fish in the river, which I would hit with a stick. Later, I blocked the small dam, and the fish would swim in. I could collect them by draining the water from the dam, and then I would block it again."

Also, there are many large birds in the waterweeds here, making it easy to find bird eggs. If you see a nest, you can simply cover it with your clothes and catch one or two birds every now and then...

During those days, I spent most of my time looking for food.

Then I thought, even if I find gold, it's useless if I can't leave.

Also, eating wild vegetables and fish every day made me weaker and weaker. I thought to myself that this wouldn't do, and I had to find a way out first. I had to find a way to get oil and salt to eat.

I climbed up the mountain to look around and searched for a way down. I searched for seven or eight days and finally found a way down the mountain.

That must have been an old road, but over time, many parts have been washed away by rain, and many other places are covered by weeds and trees. But it is still different from other places, and you can roughly tell the difference.

I followed that road and walked for only two days. In a valley, I saw a herder's yurt. I used the small piece of gold I had found on the riverbank to exchange for some grain, oil, salt, and meat.

I returned here with my belongings.

Once they ran out of supplies, they would spend four or five days going back and forth to the herders to exchange them for other things… and so it has continued until now.”

After listening to Zhang Xueqin's story, Zhou Jingming felt a pang of sadness.

He had to admit that, putting aside the past, the fact that she could survive and pan for gold in such a place alone was enough to show that she was a smart woman, and also very resilient and persevering.

Living in such a place would be tough for anyone, let alone a woman; she's a true expert in wilderness survival.

As for her past with Peng Yuanchao, Zhou Jingming didn't want to say much, because he knew very well that many choices were often beyond one's control.

Zhou Jingming simply commented, "He's better than that bastard Peng Yuanchao... Don't worry, big sister, Peng Yuanchao is indeed at my mine. Once we've finished our business here, we'll take you to the mine. It's too dangerous and too difficult for you to be here alone."

Zhang Xueqin nodded, finally letting down her guard considerably.

Wu Yang was more interested in the gold she had found: "Big sister, how much gold have you found in the past few months?"

"Not much, probably around thirty or forty pounds!"

When answering this question, Zhang Xueqin became wary and hesitant, but in the end she still spoke.

"Thirty or forty pounds, for one person... how is that possible?"

Wu Yang's eyes widened: "Just based on those dozen or so sluices you mentioned?"

It's important to understand that at a mining site like Haxionggou, with over a hundred people and the use of machinery, the yield is only about seventeen or eighteen kilograms per month. On average, that's only about four grams per person per day.

Zhou Jingming was also surprised and thought it was impossible.

He examined the placer gold deposits in the ditch as he went up the river. The surface grade was only average; it would be considered good if three grams of gold could be extracted from one ton of ore.

Although Zhang Xueqin set up more than a dozen simple birch bark chutes in the river, how much could be transported by the water flow alone?

Moreover, this year's rainfall has been insufficient; there have only been three moderate rains. Without strong water flow to wash away the gold, where would so much gold come from?

He suddenly remembered what Batu had mentioned about the ore. If gold was being panned from the ore, then the chances were very high.

Thinking this, he asked, "Big sister, did you also get some gold from the rocks and ore? Otherwise, you couldn't have gotten that much gold by yourself in three months using those simple chutes."

Zhang Xueqin nodded, got up and walked out of the tin shack, pointing to the gravel hillside where the iron tower was located: "After crossing the hillside, there are several mine shafts in the ditch over there, with a lot of ore piled up. Some of the materials look golden inside. I mainly smashed the ore there and extracted some gold from it."

As she brought this up, Batu chimed in, "The minerals I'm talking about are in the ravine this lady mentioned."

This piqued Zhou Jingming's interest greatly, and he immediately stood up: "Let's go, let's go take a look!"

Wu Yang and Batu immediately got up and followed, while Zhang Xueqin thought for a moment and followed three or four meters behind.

The distance wasn't particularly far. Zhou Jingming climbed over the hillside and immediately saw several mine shafts carved into the rocky slope of the ravine.

Because there was no water in the ravine, the generator was installed in the ravine where the stream flowed. The electricity generated was transmitted through cables on the iron tower to the neighboring ravine for use. The ore was also transported by rail to the ravine where the stream flowed for crushing and panning. The rails that carried the ore carts are still there, but the sleepers have long since rotted away.

The three of them followed the railway tracks to the valley on the other side. Under Batu's guidance, Zhou Jingming soon saw the large pile of ore that filled the valley.

Like other places, this place is overgrown with weeds and shrubs, completely covering the minerals.

Zhou Jingming picked out several pieces of heavily rusted ore from among the weeds, examined them carefully, took out a geological hammer, and cracked the ore open. Sure enough, he saw a golden glittering light in the newly broken surface.

Seeing this, Wu Yang couldn't help but exclaim, "Holy crap, it really is gold! And the gold content is so high... So much ore, Brother Zhou, we're rich! If we crush and pan it all, we'll get tons of gold! That... that'll be worth so much money!"

Zhou Jingming shook his head: "Don't be too happy yet, this is not gold. Think about it, if this were gold, why wouldn't they transport it to that mountain valley to process it, instead of leaving it here? Since they can set up a mine in a place like this, don't say that nobody understands gold."

He anticipated and anticipated all possible speculations from Wu Yang and others.

Upon hearing this, Wu Yang, Batu, and Zhang Xueqin were all dumbfounded.

"What is this then?"

Unwilling to give up, Wu Yang picked out a few more pieces of ore, smashed them together, and collected some of the golden particles in his hands.

Zhou Jingming laughed: "Have you ever heard of Fool's Gold?"

All three shook their heads.

Seeing that the three of them were still unwilling to give up, Zhou Jingming patiently explained: "This is actually pyrite, a type of sulfide that is formed by various geological processes and can be found in many kinds of rocks and ores, including coal seams."

This substance, with its light brass color and strong metallic luster, appears bright and shiny, often mistaken for real gold. Therefore, it's also called "Fool's Gold," meaning to fool or deceive.

Geological details were difficult to explain to them, so Zhou Jingming simply picked out a piece from the ore, smashed it, took out his Yingjisha knife, made a few scratches on it, and handed it to Wu Yang: "Try it and see if it's hard?"

Wu Yang took the knife and made a few cuts on the ore: "It is indeed quite hard."

Zhou Jingming nodded: "That's right. You can distinguish between pyrite and native gold by scratching it with a steel needle or a knife."

If it is natural gold, it can leave bright grooves on the surface. As you know, gold has a relatively low hardness.

Pyrite is very hard, and steel needles or knives cannot scratch it.

In the past, older generations often used their teeth to bite gold to distinguish between real and fake gold. Human teeth can bite gold, but they can't break it, while teeth can't bite pyrite.

Also, the streak of native gold is yellow or reddish-yellow, but the streak of similar minerals such as pyrite and chalcopyrite, even if scratched, is blackish-green.

Furthermore, their malleability is different. A tiny piece of gold can be hammered into thin gold leaf, which will deform but not break. Pyrite, on the other hand, shatters with a single tap.

Regardless, Wu Yang had seen quite a bit of gold before. After hearing Zhou Jingming's words, he squatted down and fiddled with it for a while. He even took out a magnet from his bag and tried to attract the pyrite to see if it would be attracted. However, he found that there was no reaction and became puzzled: "Brother Zhou, didn't you say this is iron ore? Why isn't the magnet attracted to it?"

"Although pyrite contains iron, it is not a ferromagnetic product. Common pyrite crystals are cubic and have no magnetism."

Zhou Jingming thought for a moment and felt that he hadn't been precise enough, so he added: "Of course, not all pyrite is immune to magnets. There is a very rare type of pyrrhotite that is strongly paramagnetic and can be attracted by a magnet, but I have never seen this kind of thing in the field in all my years of geological work."

Wu Yang examined it for a while longer and had to admit, "It really isn't gold... What a disappointment. I really thought there was a huge pile of unprocessed gold ore dug out of the mine. If we could get a machine to crush it and wash it in the river... it would be an incredible fortune."

Zhou Jingming laughed as well: "These are just some unwanted slag."

The one who couldn't understand it the most was Zhang Xueqin: "I've been here for so long, and it turns out what I got wasn't gold. Then I've been working for nothing."

She felt like she wanted to cry but couldn't.

Zhou Jingming didn't know what to say, so he could only comfort him: "The gold you panned in the river using the sluice box must be real."

"But... how many are there!"

Zhang Xueqin shook her head, looking disappointed: "I traded all the gold I found in the river for other things. I don't dare take the gold extracted from these ores out of the area, for fear that others will notice and target me."

Wu Yang also comforted him, saying, "You should be glad you didn't take fake gold with you. Otherwise, you would probably be considered a swindler, let alone be able to exchange it for something else."

Batu, who had been mostly silent, was also filled with disappointment: "This trip was a waste of time."

Zhou Jingming shook his head slightly: "It's too early to say whether we've made a wasted trip. We'll have to go into the mine to find out the specifics."

It's important to know that pyrite is also a significant indicator for gold mining.

(End of this chapter)