Release that Witch - Chapter 501

[Chapter 494 New Resources]

When diaspore reaches the gem level, it will refract brilliant light due to its extremely high fire color, and at the same time has a strong polychromaticity-unlike other color-changing gemstones that change from one single color to another. It can reflect a variety of colors at the same time, the most notable being the mixed red and green, so it is no wonder that it is named “five colors” by the locals.

He hadn’t thought of it when he heard Barov’s introduction before, but the moment he saw it with his own eyes, Roland immediately thought of this kind of stone.

In addition, when diaspore loses water, it will transform into corundum…and the gem grades of corundum are the famous ruby and sapphire.

The latter is more famous than the former.

But it wasn’t the gems themselves that excited him.

“Where is the residue dug out from the mine?” After a long time, the prince closed the wooden box and asked excitedly.

“You mean…the gravel dug out when the mine was opened?”

“That’s right, not just rocks, but also mud. How do you dispose of these wastes?”

“After they were transported, they were dumped at the foot of the mountain. “Denver seemed not to understand the meaning of the prince’s question, “His Royal Highness, please rest assured that we have carefully screened these ores, either the quality is too poor, or they were broken during the mining process and cannot be polished into gemstones. For the screening process, the most experienced veterans in the family are in charge, and there is no possibility of omissions.”

“You are wrong,” Roland shook his head with a smile, “Those things… are probably the real treasures.”

” What?” Denver was stunned for a moment, and the expressions of the others also looked quite surprised, as if they couldn’t connect the mud with the treasure.

But it was difficult for him to explain this matter – because in this era, even steelmaking is difficult enough, let alone the extraction of elemental aluminum.

The main component of diaspore is alumina. At the same time, it is found as an associated product of bauxite, which means that the aluminum element is enriched here, and both soil and rock can be used as raw materials for aluminum smelting.

As the most abundant metal element in the earth, the reserve of aluminum is higher than that of iron, and it is almost ubiquitous.

In other words, Lucia can also decompose a small amount of aluminum by digging out a stone from the ground. It’s just that it’s not cost-effective to use it for industrial extraction, so only the places where the aluminum element is rich can be mined.

For example, this cave in front of you.

Roland called Pei Luo aside alone, and asked in a low voice, “How has the Ke Lian family managed the gem mine for the past two hundred years? I mean… How will the previous lords pay them?

” It has been found in the leftover account books that the method of payment is very simple, that is, the Ke Lian family can select a box of secondary gems from the collected gems every year as a reward, which is basically the same as the method of weighing wheat.” Pei Luo explained, “The square box is about the length and width of a palm, and the depth is half a palm. As long as the lid can be closed, you can put as many gems as you like. Of course, the rarest gemstones must be handed over to the lord.”

“That is to say, The two family collections he gave me just now are not the best?”

“In terms of texture alone, they are indeed the best. He dare not lie to you on this point, but you also know that the bigger the gem, the more expensive it is. ”

”

“You also received his gift, right?” Roland looked at the eldest son of Honeysuckle with great interest.

“Uh…” The latter replied with some embarrassment, “Yes, Your Highness, I will hand over the gem to you when I go back.”

“Keep it, I don’t care about it,” the prince said indifferently, “I’m just curious , who will guarantee the authenticity of this remuneration? What if the family steals more during the mining process? This kind of thing can’t be found out except for turning the mansion upside down, right?”

“Every batch of ore will be transported out of the cave and screened by someone, and even if the Ke Lian family steals it, it will not be too obvious-this is a mutual check and balance relationship. They are afraid of being severely punished by the lord. The lord can’t find so many people who know the mines well.” Perot paused, “Besides, even if you replace them with your own people, who can guarantee that they won’t steal them?”

“I see,” Roland nodded. , “Then continue to follow this rule. But in addition to the multicolored stones, I also want the gravel and mud dug out. After returning, I will formulate a preliminary collection plan for you, and first implement the above requirements. ”

Your Highness, is this mud…really more precious than precious stones?”

“It depends on whose hands it is in,” the prince replied.

What is aluminum?

Its uses are countless, and its low density and corrosion resistance alone support half the sky of industrial production, and it is also an indispensable key material for aviation technology.

It is true that aluminum smelting is a troublesome job, and the power consumption of electrolysis equipment is also an astronomical figure for Neverwinter, but with Lucia, a batch can always be accumulated.

At that time, some weapons and equipment that are no less than miracles in this era will also have hope – such as large airships.

Roland originally planned to focus on the development of the two iron mines, but it seems that the plan has to be slightly adjusted now.

…

After inspecting the remaining two mines and a salt well, we returned to the castle, and it was completely dark.

After dinner, Roland couldn’t wait to take out the pen and paper, and began to plan the utilization of new resources.

The first is the steam engine.

Whether it is mine drainage, haulage or brine extraction from salt wells, UU Kanshu www.sonicmtl.com steam engine can double the efficiency.

Now that the Maple Leaf and Wild Rose families have been destroyed, he plans to recruit a group of experienced workers from the North Slope Mine, and then recruit a large number of hired workers in the Changge District, so that the two new iron mines can be put into operation first, and the ore can be hauled back to the border area for smelting.

The gemstone mine needs to wait for Lucia to go to Changge to test the aluminum content in each tunnel before arranging the next mining direction.

Another focus is on salt wells.

The situation is close to what Roland expected. In addition to using the steam engine to pump water to increase production, the remaining work that is lacking in order to obtain pure white salt is to remove impurities.

Considering the complex geological composition, he decided to take a tube of brine from each well and bring it back to the border area, and hand it over to the chief alchemist, Kemostrius, to study the specific steps of removing impurities. Production of table salt.

Of course, the salt industry, like food, should also be monopolized by the city hall.

The salt wells of Elk and Honeysuckle’s family can get technical support from Neverwinter, but the refined salt they produce must be sold to the city hall at a prescribed market price, and they are not allowed to sell it to other places for profit.

If a large amount of refined salt can be obtained at a low price, it will undoubtedly open up a new business route for Neverwinter.

Roland hoped that all this would be normalized after the Timothy regime collapsed.

(To be continued.)

[End of this Chapter]