There were many advantages to refining in space, especially for minerals mined from space. Transporting the unprocessed ore to the surface through the space elevator meant transporting the useless slag back. The price of untreated ore wasn’t high in itself, and including the transportation cost of the space elevator, it would be difficult to be price competitive in the international market.
Although the cost of transporting through the space elevator was low, it was still a cost.
Future Mining owned a smeltery for the process of treating ores, and there was no need to profit from selling unprocessed ore. Only processing ore into finished steel products could maximize profits.
What’s more, there was no need to worry about pollution in space. The non-toxic waste slag would be burned directly by being tossed into the atmosphere, which would be much more environmentally friendly compared to the garbage disposal stations that destroyed the molecular structure of materials at ultra-high temperatures. The toxic waste would be compacted into containers then tossed to Mercury with a rocket.
In addition, the vacuum environment would make it extremely easy to smelt alloys such as titanium alloys that were chemically active at high temperatures, far more easily than at surface conditions.Therefore, Jiang Chen provided Yang Yuan with the interface, specifications, and dimensions of Celestial City’s external space station last year, asking him to delegate Future Mining’s research department to design an ore processing unit that could be attached to Celestial City.
Yang Yuan didn’t let down his hopes and soon took Jiang Chen to Future Mining’s lab.
In the center of the laboratory warehouse, there was a machine with a volume of about four large containers. People were like ants next to an eraser. The shape of the square was very similar to the movable complex common on construction sites, but it was magnified several magnitudes higher. Of course, it wasn’t a movable complex but an attachable module of the space station.
At one end of the space station, there was a protruding interface with dimensions of six by four meters, which could be connected to the outer rail of Celestial Trade as a channel for material and energy exchange. The ore fed into the space station through the freight passage would then be processed by special smelting equipment to produce the finished ingot.
On the side of the space station module, was printed the logo of Future Heavy Industries and Future Mining, as well as a symbol with “Fe” circled.
“This ore processing unit is a prototype we requested from Future Heavy Industries. The drawings were designed by us and made through 3D printing technology by them. It can be used to smelt a variety of iron ores. The daily processing efficiency can reach up to 12,000 tons with an annual steel output of over three million tons!”
Yang Yuan was full of enthusiasm when he said that.With a highly automated design, a workshop only required four workers to complete production. Using the electric smelting technology of the next era to replace the traditional steelmaking process, the recyclable carbon-fixing technology could maximize the utilization efficiency of each kilogram of coal and could produce hundreds of kinds of high-quality carbon steel, tool steel, and high-strength Grade A steel.
Combining the core technology of Future Mining, this ore processing unit tailored for outer space steelmaking was at least 20 years ahead of the world in automated steelmaking. It was no exaggeration to describe this as the jewel of Future Mining!
“This prototype has passed performance tests in a vacuum environment. It can be put into service once it’s transported to Celestial City through the synchronous orbit!”
“At present, the titanium ore processing unit has completed the design phase, and the design drawings should be sent to Future Heavy Industries tomorrow. The prototype should be completed by the end of the month.”
After listening to Yang Yuan’s report, Jiang Chen only had one question. “How long will it take for mass production?”
Yang Yuan hesitated for a second but then gave a response.
“Before the end of the month, the iron ore processing unit production line can be completed. Future Heavy Industries can deliver ten of the units at the end of the month, and the remaining ten units in the middle of next month. With a total of 20 processing units, our annual output can reach more than 30 million tons!”
“As for the titanium ore unit, we have to wait for our drawings to be delivered and reviewed by the engineers from Future Heavy Industries before the design of the production line can start.”
…
“Mhmm, talk to you later.”
Ye Qinghua hung up the phone and leaned back in his chair. His fingers tapped rhythmically on the armrests and he contemplated in silence.
Construction started for the microgravity laboratory borne of Hua and Celestial Trade’s collaboration. The top leader highly praised his efforts, but Ye Qinghua knew the 1.5 billion Xin New Dollars project wasn’t really his work.
He had been on Coro Island for half a month. He toured around the nine Xin islands and Penglai City. He felt like he entered a new world, as the more he walked around, the more shocked he became.
People drove pure electric vehicle with zero emissions, and the submarine express connected the fractured nine islands together. People of all skin colors lived together in harmony. There was certainly disagreement, however, under the supervision of police drones, few people resorted to violence.
Yes, the police drones they turned down after careful consideration achieved almost a zero crime rate in Xin’s major cities.
For Coro and Penglai City, the old man was most impressed that drones had become part of an integral culture of this country. They were the helpers of the police force. They replaced firemen in rushing into fires. They sent packages from the logistics center to buyers’ homes within one hour.
Efficiency was everything in the city, but efficiency didn’t dictate everyone’s lives.
This country never seemed to lack imagination, and everything there was filled with the kind of imagination that only existed in science fiction. They built a city at sea, created a farmland at the bottom of the ocean, created a track connecting heaven and earth, and had a space station larger than a city…
Ye Qinghua didn’t know what they would create next, because the imagination was never limited by boundaries. He just silently took out his notebook and recorded everything about the city for reference like when he visited the UA in the 1980s.
The old man leaning against the chair sighed. He took out a slightly damaged notebook with a leather cover, then he gently rubbed the bottom of the notebook. The experience of this past half-month both comforted him and made him speechless.
A weak and poor Xin was undoubtedly more in line with the interests of Hua, but the words “weak” and “poor” were already distant to Xin. More so, the concepts of low crime rate, beautiful environment, similar cultural circle, and high-tech city promoted Xin to Europeans and American countries currently in economic and terrorism crises. Xin became the first choice for immigrants all over the world.
Just then, the door of the room was pushed open.
A man and a woman came in.
“Grandpa, were you looking for me?” The young man in a suit bowed down and greeted the old man with respect.
The woman wanted to say something, but the old man spoke first.
“Mhmm, I was worried.” Ye Qinghua nodded and smiled at the young man. “So, I wanted to ask you if you were prepared.”
Ye Ziqi smiled confidently and raised his chest.
“You can rest assured! I’ve been preparing for this for half a month. Even without a complete grasp, I am more than confident!”
Elder Ye nodded, impressed.
“This project is very important to the Ye family. Now the State has attached great importance to the strategic cooperation with Celestial Trade. If the Ye Group can set an example, it wouldn’t be too difficult for your uncle’s position to move up. By that time, there would be another provincial-level politician in the Ye family!”
After chatting with his favorite grandson, Ye Ziqi left the room respectfully.
There were only two people left in the room.
“I…” Ye Yunfei bit her teeth and suppressed the unhappiness in her mind. “He has no interest in me. I happen to be the same. We’re not suitable, I can’t help…”
After a long time, Elder Ye sighed then lovingly smiled like a grandfather who loved his granddaughter.
“I won’t force you. Marriage is your choice. If you really don’t like him, then forget it.”
Ye Yunfei was relieved as if a big stone that had been pressing upon her finally disappeared.
If she had to put down her dignity and please a man she didn’t like, it would be crueler than killing her.
“Thank you…”
“Go now.”
Ye Yunfei buried her head and left the room in quick steps.
Elder Ye leaned back in his chair, pondered for a moment, and looked at the invitation on the table.
Xin Space Resources Development Forum.
The forum was to be held in Coro Island in three days. As a representative from Hua, he naturally received an invitation. He already considered issues should be brought up in the forum and how to help Hua to obtain more benefits.
He was now somewhat uncertain about his granddaughter.
Should I really give up?
