PFC Chapter 359 requires more thorough preparation.
Chapter 359 requires more thorough preparation.
Zhang Guodong's words made Li Xiangyang frown. Although he was not a geological expert, based on his years of experience and the knowledge he gained after his rebirth, he still felt that such a hasty decision was too reckless.
However, after all, he was only there to guide the way and had no right to interfere with other people's decisions.
That evening, Zhang Guodong organized his team to develop a simple mining plan. They decided to send a small team with the necessary tools the next morning to conduct a small-scale trial mining operation.
Li Xiangyang and Wang Ergou were assigned to the advance team, responsible for leading the way and ensuring safety.
In the stillness of the night, Li Xiangyang sat alone outside the tent, gazing at the dark night sky and the faintly visible Cishan Mountain in the distance.
"Can't sleep?" Professor Wang's voice came from behind.
Li Xiangyang turned around and saw Professor Wang walking towards him with a cup of hot tea.
"Yes, I'm a little worried about tomorrow's mining," Li Xiangyang said honestly.
Professor Wang sat down beside him: “Me too. I did more tests and found that it not only has extremely strong magnetism and conductivity, but it also seems to change its structure with changes in the strength of the surrounding magnetic field. This is theoretically possible, but extremely rare in nature.”
Li Xiangyang frowned even more deeply: "This doesn't sound like an ordinary mineral."
"That's definitely not it," Professor Wang sighed. "From a geological perspective, strong magnetic field interference can cause instability in local rock structures. If not handled properly, it could trigger collapses or landslides. Furthermore, the long-term effects of such a strong magnetic field on the human body are unclear. It's all my fault for being too excited when I discovered it..."
The two sat in silence for a while, each lost in their own thoughts.
"Be extremely careful during tomorrow's mining operation," Professor Wang concluded. "Stop work immediately if anything unusual happens. Safety first."
Li Xiangyang nodded, his gaze once again turning to the distant Cishan Mountain.
The mining team was ready to set off early the next morning.
Besides Li Xiangyang and Wang Ergou, there were six other workers, as well as Zhang Guodong and Professor Wang.
"Remember, today is just a preliminary trial run. The purpose is to collect more samples and assess the difficulty of the mining," Zhang Guodong told everyone. "Follow my instructions in all actions."
The team returned to the site where the minerals were discovered the day before.
The entrance to the tunnel has become narrower due to yesterday's landslide, but it is still passable.
“We need to reinforce it first,” Li Xiangyang suggested, “otherwise, we might trigger a bigger landslide when we go in.”
Zhang Guodong agreed.
The two workers immediately set to work, erecting a simple support structure at the entrance of the cave and securing any loose rocks with wooden and metal supports.
“Alright, I’ll go down and check the situation first,” Li Xiangyang said, already fastening his safety rope. “Ergou, you stay up here and provide backup.”
“Wait,” Zhang Guodong said, “I’ll go with you.”
Li Xiangyang nodded, and the two of them went down into the initial small space one after the other.
“The passage to the large space below is here,” Li Xiangyang pointed to a narrow passage, “but yesterday’s tremors may have altered the terrain.”
He cautiously peeked into the passage and shone his flashlight inside, discovering that the passage had become even narrower and that some rubble had accumulated inside.
“It needs some cleaning,” Li Xiangyang said, “but the passage itself seems to be stable.”
They called in workers and began carefully clearing the rubble from the passage.
With the rubble cleared, the passage became more accessible, but it was still much narrower than yesterday.
“Alright, we can get through now,” Li Xiangyang said, “but we have to be careful, go through them one by one.”
Li Xiangyang took the lead, bending down and crawling into the passage, with Zhang Guodong following closely behind.
Navigating the narrow passage required some skill; they had to move sideways while watching out for loose rocks overhead and underfoot.
Finally, they arrived at the large space they had discovered the day before.
Under the flashlight, the blue-green minerals shimmered with a mysterious light once more, making the entire space resemble a dream world.
But soon, Li Xiangyang noticed some changes.
“Look there,” he pointed to the flat area in the center of the space, “yesterday there was only a thin layer of mineral powder, now it has formed larger crystals.”
Now, a circular area about one meter in diameter has formed there, densely covered with blue-green crystals, forming a more obvious hexagonal structure.
They carefully approached the crystalline area and observed the crystals.
The crystals are still regular hexagonal in shape, but they are more three-dimensional than what we saw yesterday, forming a honeycomb-like structure.
“It’s indeed rare,” Zhang Guodong muttered to himself, “but that also proves the special nature of this mineral.”
Just then, Professor Wang also squeezed in. Seeing the scene before him, he raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"The crystallization rate is much faster than expected, and the chemical activity of this mineral may be higher than we thought."
Li Xiangyang nodded thoughtfully: "Will this affect mining?"
Professor Wang pursed his lips, not answering immediately, but instead walked towards the crystallized area and carefully squatted down to observe it.
“If the crystallization process continues,” he finally began, “the mining difficulty will increase. Moreover, this rapid crystallization could alter the rock structure, increasing the risk of landslides.”
Upon hearing this, Zhang Guodong's expression became complicated: "Then... how should we mine it?"
"Special mining techniques are required," Professor Wang said seriously. "For example, segmented mining, timely reinforcement, and possibly cooling measures to slow down the crystallization rate."
While the three were discussing, other workers entered the cave one after another. When they saw the shimmering crystals, they all showed expressions of amazement.
"It's so beautiful..." a worker murmured in admiration.
Li Xiangyang noticed a worker involuntarily reaching out, wanting to touch the shimmering crystals.
"Don't touch it!" Li Xiangyang hurriedly stopped him. "We don't yet know what effects this mineral has on the human body."
The worker was startled and quickly withdrew his hand, saying, "I'm sorry, I just..."
"It's alright, but everyone should be careful," Li Xiangyang said, looking around at everyone. "Try not to come into direct contact with these minerals without proper protection."
Professor Wang nodded in agreement: "Li Xiangyang is right. We should be extra careful in this strong magnetic field environment. Prolonged exposure to a strong magnetic field may cause dizziness, nausea, or even more serious problems."
"I suggest limiting the time each person can stay here and having them work in shifts."
"Not only people, but also tools. Ordinary metal tools may become magnetized in this environment, making them unsafe."
After listening to Professor Wang's analysis, Zhang Guodong nodded solemnly: "I understand. It seems we need more thorough preparation before we can begin mining."