King Of War: Starting with Arms Dealer

Joe Ga was taken aback by Lu Jun's proposal…

"A Mining Alliance" is not so easy to form, is it?

Joe Ga himself didn't have the time to coordinate everything. Just holding a title without doing the work, there's no way to manage and straighten out the interests and relationships of so many mine bosses. In the end, it would surely be a complete mess.

Being just a nominal chairman is a thankless job that requires a lot of effort.

But, if he tried too hard, it would impact his current position.

However, those bosses really gave him face; just as the affairs in Liberia were starting, before Joe Ga had said a word, they had already organized a large shipment of supplies to be sent to Liberia through SD.

That was all about relationships!

If it's within your ability and doesn't cause you trouble, you should help no matter what.

Looking at the eager Lu Jun, Joe Ga hesitated for a moment, then finally shook his head and said, "I can't handle this matter because I don't have the time.

Whenever us Chinese people set up an organization, it's all about endless meetings and bickering. The president doesn't need to have a large industry but needs to put in a lot of thought, and I definitely don't have the time for that.

However, with your family background, you could give it a shot, I can support you!"

As he spoke, Joe Ga looked at the hesitant Lu Jun and said with a smile, "I know that the situation for those bosses mining in Central Afrika is actually just so-so.

I definitely support everyone wanting to band together to make money. I may not have the time to manage things, but I can show you a way…"

The moment Lu Jun heard this, he nodded seriously and said, "Wolf Brother, speak!
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Now, Dahe Mining has a large sum of idle funds. In the past, we've always been hesitant to act, and many just want to cash out and share the profits.

As long as you, Wolf Brother, don't leave us high and dry, we still dare to invest in Central Africa."

At this moment, Joe Ga saw through Lu Jun's thoughts. The business in Burundi had made big money, and Dahe Mining couldn't let its funds sit idle.

But to convince those shareholders to give up their dividends and act according to their plan, they needed the key figure, Boss Qiao, to endorse it.

The background of Dahe Mining's establishment was actually a two-man game played by Lu Jun and Old Huang, eventually convincing a bunch of bosses invested in Central Afrika to put in the money together.

Joe Ga owed them for that because, without these people, the copper mine in Burundi would still be just a barren land.

Now Joe Ga understood that the so-called "Mining Alliance" was actually a coalition of Dahe Mining's shareholders.

Lu Jun meant to openly organize an alliance to let the shareholders' other businesses also benefit from P·B, and if the benefits were in place, it would be easy to unify their thoughts just with a word from Boss Qiao.

Armed with his family's knowledge, his first move was to try to unify the thoughts of the board of directors, rallying everyone together to convince Joe Ga became the crucial point!

He probably also knows that Boss Qiao doesn't have the time to interfere with the operations of Dahe Mining, because even if the business of Dahe Mining is good, it's still limited in scope.

This year's cable factory, which just entered the official phase in the second half of the year, achieved a revenue of 180 million yuan, but this sum is not much compared to the funds Joe Ga manages now.

However, once this money is invested in Congo, as long as security is guaranteed, the profits can be recouped tenfold or even a hundredfold.

Lu Jun wants to be the one setting the standards, leveraging P·B's deterrent power and operational model to establish the standards for Chinese civilian investment in Afrika.

This guy is on an upstanding path, and his family obviously has a significant background, but Joe Ga didn't ask and Lu Jun didn't tell…

Looking at Lu Jun's attentive appearance, Joe Ga thought about it and said, "I reckon you guys have already figured it out.

I won't interfere with your plans. I will still acquire that copper mine and then incorporate it into Dahe Mining.

I want 50% of the profits, and you guys just need to get the mine operational."

As he spoke, Joe Ga gestured to stop Lu Jun who seemed like he wanted to speak, laughing and saying, "I support you going for the chairman position!

North Kivu will be chaotic for a while, but in no more than half a year, you can directly enter there.

I can't possibly wipe out all the local warlords, but I'm confident I can make them behave.

If you have any particular place in mind, just tell me directly. As long as it's not a disputed mine, I can negotiate with the local warlords and the Congo Government. We'll all sit down together for talks.

Dahe Mining won't involve itself in these projects; dividends that should be given to shareholders will be given.

You can enter independently or in the form of an alliance. No matter how much you can achieve or how many mining resources you secure, I can just take 10% of the profits as a security fund.

Or, I can take 70% of the profits and help you coordinate relations between the Congo Government and the local warlords at the same time.

The key is that Dahe cannot be involved because P·B needs to serve as a trusted third party between you, the government, and the warlords.

Do you understand what I mean?"

Lu Jun understood perfectly!

Joe Ga made it very clear, he was responsible for establishing a basically stable investment environment.

"Either you pay a 10% protection fee and then go negotiate with the locals yourself, or simply pay 70%, and let P·B act as a guarantor to coordinate the relations between the local warlords and the government."

The latter option could maximize the value of P·B as a 'trusted third party' and also save investors a lot of trouble.

This is the most ideal solution!

It's not that I don't want to drag Boss Joe into investing with us, but once Boss Joe actually puts in the money to invest, the Congolese will think, 'What do we need you for?'

Now, from top to bottom, the Congo Government is eagerly waiting for Boss Joe to send troops to North Kivu and then transplant the Sangha Town model there.

Sangha Town, just with its cheap iron mines, could achieve the current outcome, while North Kivu has even more profitable rare mineral deposits than gold mines.

They are just waiting for Boss Joe to integrate resources, then invest his own money like the tribal chiefs around Sangha Town, and enjoy a share of the long-term benefits that are reasonable, legal, safe, and of great value.

The copper mine that Joe Ga is preparing to acquire on behalf of Dahe Mining is because the company's main body is in Burundi, so it won't cause too much backlash.

But if Boss Joe goes in with a bunch of people from China to snatch up resources, that's a different story, because that would dilute the income of the local warlords and the government.

And now, the plans Joe Ga has proposed are actually not the best solutions, as Lu Jun has more efficient ideas.

Because what he wants is not the mine itself, but the minerals, most importantly to establish an influence that can guide the direction of some of the precious mineral resources.

This guy wanted to take a similar approach to Joe Ga, but with completely different details.

All the previous talk and pleasantries were actually just waiting for Boss Joe to make a stand.

Now that Joe Ga had made his stance clear, Lu Jun no longer kept things close to his chest.

"Brother Wolf," he said, "actually, this is what I'm thinking...

We indeed cannot break your strategic planning; the P·B brand was built up with you expending countless efforts and funds, we definitely cannot drag you down.

Brother Wolf is willing to lead us all to make money, that's you being loyal, but we can't drag you down or cause you trouble.

Moreover, we Chinese don't need to compete with those boisterous black brothers for a living."

"My idea is like this..."

Speaking, the well-prepared Lu Jun took a map from his pocket, unfolded it on the coffee table, and pointing to a route, he said, "Brother Wolf, North Kivu is very large, but the transportation is terrible, the cost of transporting raw ore out is high yet the efficiency is extremely low.

What the local warlords and the Congo Government actually want is the mining profits. Although we all mine, we could shift our thinking to the downstream industry, an area that the locals are unwilling to get involved in and don't have the capacity for.

As long as Brother Wolf can persuade all parties to agree, we can establish a modern refining center here, even an industrial park, to utilize those high-value minerals right there."

Whatever minerals are produced in North Kivu can be sent here, and we will provide the funding to purchase them at market prices.

70% profit is impossible; 49%, we can entrust that portion of the profit to you, Brother Wolf, to manage. We can even pay a bit more, but we must have control!"

Joe Ga then truly understood...

The situation in Congo is different from that in Central Africa; here, the iron smelting industry is basically devoid of any technological content.

That's not feasible in Congo, where high-value minerals exist, but there is no foundation for developing downstream industries.

Lu Jun was thinking of indirectly integrating mineral resources through a refining center.

Placing the industrial park locally in Congo, providing employment and tax revenue, and sharing profits with the locals, compared to the huge investment, a 51% profit margin is low; however, it all depends on who is involved...

If North Kivu is likened to a goldfish pond, then the global mining companies are like faucets inserted at the pond's edge, slowly guiding the gold filled with impurities out, through a lengthy pipeline into the world market.

Now P·B, with the support of the Congo Government, prepares to integrate some mining resources, which is equivalent to combining many small faucets to form one large valve.

And what Lu Jun was not thinking about is competing with the locals for the gold filled with impurities, but rather preparing to invest heavily in installing a 'filter' under the large valve, to take that 'impure gold,' refine it into higher-value 'true gold,' and sell it for a premium, earning the spread.

This eliminates the waste produced in the flow through the past 'lengthy pipeline,' and moreover, his 'secondary valve' would have some control.

A 51% share of the profits is really low, so low that few would take the risk. Lu Jun was betting that Boss Joe could stabilize the situation in North Kivu.

Just give him five years, and this guy would be able to leverage his position to become a significant power in the world of rare resources.

'Influence' is the real wealth, and this rich second generation thinks more clearly about this than most.

He started off by leveraging the brand of Dahe Mining, integrating a large group of mine bosses into an alliance, and then preparing to integrate a huge amount of capital, to take advantage of the situation and crash into North Kivu in Congo.

Convincing so many people can't just rely on Boss Joe's endorsement; he must have a solid backup plan.

If this guy's family didn't have strategically positioned high-ranking officials as relatives, Joe Ga felt he might as well throw his own eyes away.