195 episodes. It wouldn’t say anything.
Diamond.
He is the king of gems recognized by everyone, and is considered a symbol of immortality, perhaps because of its hardness.
Above all, a precious metal more valuable than gold.
People raved about the value and gave it a special meaning.
Even the origin of its name is derived from the Greek word ‘Adamas’, which means ‘unconquerable’.
I’m going to try to conquer it from now on.
“I’m going to buy the Argyle Diamond Mine.”
Jackie spoke up at my decision.
“Edward, rumors in academia say that Argyle’s lifespan is less than two years. But you’re buying it?”
“Have you been to Argyle together before?”
“Edward said let’s go, so we saw it from afar… Maybe?”
“Yeah, I didn’t say much back then because I thought Rao Tinto would have it until the end, but Argyle’s lifespan isn’t just two years.”
“Now is your chance.”
“That’s right, I’m still nervous right now, because if the fieldworkers mistakenly check a place that only I know, Argyle’s true worth will be revealed.”
I looked at the screen on the beam project.
Argyle Diamond Mine.
It is a huge mine that accounts for 40% of the world’s diamond production.
In a word, Argyle made Australia the world’s largest diamond producer.
“If Edward is right, that’s amazing. Argyle is also a producer of pink diamonds.”
Jackie is right.
The Argyle mine is the only place in the world where pink diamonds are produced.
Lamprot has a unique geological characteristic to produce such a color, and Argyle has only been found in the area so far.
For reference, the fancy color diamonds, which are colored rather than colorless, had much greater value than ordinary diamonds.
Also, pink is not the only color that comes from Argyle.
“Pink is pink, but diamonds of higher value are also produced, although rare.”
I laughed and told Jackie.
She asked with her eyes wide open.
“A red diamond?”
“Yes, there are veins of red diamonds at the bottom of the argyle.”
Jackie licked her lips, but couldn’t speak.
The red diamond is a pink that belongs to 0.01% of Argyle’s production, and among them, it is a very rare diamond.
In a word, it is the most expensive gem among rare precious metals.
“Edward, do you know that? The King of Brunei has placed a million dollar reservation on De Beers for 1 carat of red diamonds.”
De Beers is a global diamond distribution channel.
All that did not go through it were unofficial channels produced by smuggling or illegal mining of blood diamonds.
“Yeah? We’ve already got one customer. Ha ha ha ha.”
I think there will be hundreds of thousands of 1-carat ones.
How much is a million dollars each?
It’s too much to count.
“Jackie, I’ll fill the rest of the necklace with red diamonds.”
Jackie’s necklace featuring two hearts.
One of them was studded with Grandi Deerite found in Madagascar.
The other digit is a symbol of eternal love, a diamond.
***
Melbourne.
The city where Lao Tinto’s headquarters is located.
I came here again after the last Melbourne Cup.
To take over the Argyle mine.
“Thank you for coming, Lana.”
I thanked Lana Linderman for coming all the way to Melbourne.
She had been living in Tasmania with David Wolf and had crossed the sea when I contacted her.
“What, of course you have to come. It’s a VVIP customer’s call. Hoho.”
You must have a lot of money in your account.
From money stolen from a resource diplomacy project to the slush fund of the Malaysian prime minister.
Besides, it’s not over yet, so it’s still piling up.
“How’s Mr. Wolf?”
“Every day I complain that I’m bored, but I’m doing well. You don’t know how hard it was to leave behind the things I wanted to follow. Hugh.”
It’s a video if you don’t watch it.
“Didn’t you come with me?”
“Are you okay? As soon as you see Edward, you’ll be clamoring for a fight.”
“Hmm…”
When I have time, I go to the casino to play, but it’s still a bit annoying.
As a gambler without clairvoyance, I didn’t want to face him until I gained some skill.
I don’t know what other countermeasures David might come up with.
“Please stop Lana. I’m not going to gamble for a while.”
“Then shall I call David?”
No, I probably don’t need to call.
“It might be nearby. If it was Mr. Wolf’s personality, he would have followed him secretly.”
“……Keek-eung. Do you want to do that as well?”
Lana seems to know.
“After the meeting, we’ll be in touch and let’s go.”
“okay.”
We went straight to Lionel’s office, guided by the Rao Tinto staff.
There was another middle-aged man he had never seen other than Lionel.
“Greetings, my name is Ronald Bucky, Argyle’s field manager.”
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Bucky. This is Edward Jean.”
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Jean.”
The first impression is that of a scholar who is reminiscent of a master’s or doctoral degree.
You look like the opposite of the political and shrewd Lionel. Are you on the negotiating table?
‘Is it a role to compensate for the lack of Lionel?’
It may be.
Seeing that the position is also the site manager.
After saying hello, I introduced Lana to the two of them.
“This is Lana Linderman, the CEO of CS Bank in Switzerland. You were responsible for financing this acquisition.”
“Heh heh, it’s a Swiss bank. Mr. Jean’s skills are amazing. Nice to meet you, Miss Linderman. Lionel Thompson.”
“It’s an honor to meet you, Mr. Thompson.”
Lana also briefly greeted Ronald Bucky.
After introducing each other, Lionel took out two copies of the prepared contract and handed it to us.
“I made the draft like this.”
“You are thoroughly prepared.”
I received the contract and gave one copy to Lana.
“Hmm…”
As I read it, I followed the basic rules of the industry.
There are no special contracts, and overall it is a good contract.
But the problem is money.
‘Fuck, that’s 10 billion dollars.’
I hope it was, I hope it was sincere.
swearing comes out of nowhere
“10 billion dollars, an unexpected amount.”
Lana said as she put down the contract.
I still have to act as an idiot, so she came.
“Argyle produces about 40 million carats a year, isn’t it?”
“It varies from year to year, but on average, it will be about that.”
“I think 10 billion dollars is too much just by looking at the output, what do you think?”
Lana began to ask her calm but sharp questions.
“It’s like averaging past production data. Those statistics also include records of when the initial production was low, so in reality, 50 or 60 million carats would be generous. Isn’t it, Ronald?”
To Lionel’s call, Ronald Bucky replies with reluctant sympathy, saying, ‘Yes, yes’.
Lana nevertheless shared her thoughts without losing her smile.
“Even if that were the case, I don’t think it would exceed $3 billion by my calculations.”
“Miss Linderman doesn’t know, but the value of diamond ore depends on its quality. And as the temperature and pressure increase the deeper you dig, the better it gets, but it doesn’t get worse. So $40 per carat It should be fifty dollars.”
“Mr. Thompson, I think I was treated that well? Argyle’s production is certainly top-notch in the world, but most of them are of low quality and the size of the ore is small. We think the market price is around $20 inside us.”
Lionel coughed and looked uncomfortable.
“Kerham! That’s because it was in the upper floors. As I said, the lower you go, the better the quality will be. Besides, there are pink diamonds too. All of them are priced at a reasonable price including their future value. Isn’t that right, Ronald?”
“Yes, yes.”
Lana asked with a grin.
“How much further will the mine go down if it goes down in the yard with the remaining life span of the mine?”
“Look at this. How much time left? On what basis are you judging the lifespan of the Argyle Mine?”
“It turned out that rumors were circulating in the industry. It must have been less than two years.”
“You don’t know a mine unless you dig it yourself. It’s all a malicious rumor about Lao Tinto.”
And then Lionel stares at me.
You said that?
It’s a fact that anyone in the industry knows, but the eyes of the old man who said it was your fault.
It’s acting, but it feels dirty, really.
“Mr. Thompson, this is our position. If you substitute 40 million carats for production at $20 per carat, and two years of remaining life, I think $2 billion is an appropriate level. It’s absolutely not a bad condition for your company.”
Lionel laughed at Lana’s suggestion.
“Isn’t it a bad deal to beat 10 billion dollars into 2 billion dollars? Don’t you think the gap between them is too big?”
“I’m speaking on the basis of data, I’m not bashing you. What do you think, Mr. Bucky? You’re the site manager, so you don’t know.”
Ronald Bucky glanced at Lionel’s eyes and coughed in reply.
“Hmm, hmm. I don’t know where the data came from, but it seems to be wrong even if it’s wrong. The quality of the rough diamonds produced in Argyle is getting better and better. The amount of pink diamonds mined is also increasing. Also, the geological survey team said that the lifespan of the mine is 10 There was also talk of more than a year. Who knows better than us who mine on our own?”
“Do you have any data to support it?”
“Because it is in the internal review stage, the organized data is not yet.”
At that moment, Ronald Bucky’s gaze rested on the briefcase next to him.
I grabbed it from the side and looked right into the bag.
‘Oh, look at this.’
When I saw that, I thought that I should have a break time first.
Anyway, the gap between the two sides is too big right now, so it was difficult to draw a conclusion right away.
“Mr. Thompson, let’s talk to each other for a moment.”
At my suggestion, Lionel nodded and glanced at Lana.
It’s the eyes of a geek who told you to cut it off and take care of it.
This is universal, damn it.
As soon as I entered the conference room outside the office, I immediately scanned the inside.
It was with a wiretapping device in mind that might exist.
Lionel must be so sneaky.
‘Clean.’
I nodded my head lightly and then continued.
“Good job, Lana. First of all, the atmosphere seems to have been brought towards us.”
“The atmosphere is like that, but Lionel CEO, it doesn’t seem like he’s strong enough. He’s the type I hate the most.”
“Reckless?”
“Yes, ho ho ho.”
I giggled in sympathy with her smile.
“But it’s not like I’m being reckless. I didn’t listen to what the other person was saying.”
“So. I think special measures will be required to make them listen…”
“I took a brief break to take that action.”
Lana asked, raising her lips.
“Is there any good way?”
“Yes, there is a sure way.”
I said to Lana, highlighting Ronald’s briefcase.
Of course, as much as possible so as not to ask her as if she knew how.
It seems that making excuses has reached a point now.
“That wouldn’t say anything.”