129: Chapter 128 Peerless Emerald

The value of emeralds produced in Somalia cannot compare to those from world-renowned origins, but aside from historical reasons, it is mostly a matter of quality. However, the emerald beryl in the mica schist mine discovered by Cao Xiao was not only large in quantity but also of the absolute best quality.

Emerald is a very precious gemstone, a beryllium aluminum silicate mineral. Emeralds are generally hexagonal prismatic crystals and typically appear in various shades of green. Its several varieties have different colors: the light blue one is called Aquamarine, the deep green one is Emerald, the golden-yellow one is Heliodor, the pink one is Morganite, and so on, with honey-yellow being quite common. Because the production of golden Heliodor and pink Morganite is very low and their colors are not brilliant enough, they rarely appear as commercial gemstones and are mostly targets for collectors; products of the same grade are priced higher than Aquamarine. The most precious among beryls is the Emerald.

The Emerald is known as the King of Green Gemstones. Along with diamonds, rubies, and sapphires, it is recognized by the international jewelry industry as one of the four precious gemstones. Due to its unique green color, distinct charm, and magical legends, it is highly favored by Westerners, and in recent years, it has become increasingly popular among Chinese people. Emerald production in the world is extremely scarce; for every million beryl minerals, only one is an emerald. It is a one-in-a-million miracle among green gemstones, making the emerald the representative of green gems and a treasure among minerals. Compared to rubies and sapphires, the geological conditions for emerald growth are more complex and special; its production is lower than that of rubies and sapphires, and its price is also more expensive.

For the sake of these emeralds, Cao Xiao even had the pilot slow down the helicopter and hover at a low altitude for a while, only resuming normal flight after the collection was complete. This caused a delay of at least half an hour, but it was worth it; the amount of emerald beryl contained in this mica schist mine was truly staggering. As is well known, many emeralds are by-products of mining feldspar and mica, and no large deposits of emeralds have been discovered to date. Furthermore, because they are formed in rock layers often subjected to stress and compression, emerald crystals are almost always fractured and contain many inclusions; intact crystals are extremely rare, making it difficult to find a flawless gemstone.

Looking at the massive emerald pegmatite column in his space, Cao Xiao even began to doubt if the information he had read about emeralds was fake. This pegmatite column was a vivid and enchanting emerald green throughout, with not a single crack or impurity inside. Even the surface of the column had few longitudinal striations. It was nine meters long, with a sub-circular diameter of 1.3 meters, and weighed 38 tons. Its specific gravity reached 3, slightly larger than ordinary emeralds, and its hardness was also relatively higher. Although beryls weighing over two hundred tons have been produced in the world, and pegmatites weighing dozens of tons are not uncommon, such a flawless and massive emerald pegmatite had never appeared before, let alone one of the rarest, top-tier emerald quality. It was simply a miracle of nature's creation; it was likely that nothing larger or more perfect could be found on Earth. Whether now or in the future, it was unparalleled and peerless under heaven.

The world's largest known emerald ore is 1.2 meters long, weighs over 380 kilograms, and contains approximately 180,000 carats of emerald gemstones, with its value hyped to nearly 400 million us dollars. The world's largest single emerald gemstone weighs 57,500 carats, about 11.5 kilograms, and is valued at one million us dollars; this is only because its quality is average—if the quality were top-notch, it would sell for an astronomical price. Most emeralds are small grains, generally under 1 carat; large, high-quality emeralds are especially rare. If an emerald is of excellent quality and reaches over 1 carat or even 2 carats, it becomes very precious, and the price will be staggeringly high. Furthermore, flawless emeralds that weigh over a hundred carats after cutting are few and far between; every single one is considered a world-class treasure.

Emerald prices are mainly determined by the quality of the gemstone. The price of a one-carat natural emerald ranges from dozens of us dollars to tens of thousands of us dollars. Influencing factors generally include color, weight, transparency, clarity, cut, origin, and whether it has been oil-treated. A one-carat faceted emerald of excellent overall quality—with rich color, being eye-clean or flawless, and having fine crystals—would cost over 1,000 to 1,500 us dollars per carat if it originated from Colombia, Zambia, or Brazil. However, if it comes from famous mining areas like Muzo or Chivor in Colombia, or Panjshir in Afghanistan, the price at least doubles. If it is of the same quality and is unoiled, the price increases several-fold; for the same quality, the larger the weight, the more the price rises exponentially. A one-carat emerald of medium overall quality is priced between 300 and 1,500 us dollars per carat. A one-carat emerald of average overall quality is priced between dozens and 300 us dollars per carat.

The thirty-eight-ton emerald he obtained, when converted to carats, is 190 million carats. Calculated at the lowest price of ten us dollars per carat for average quality, that would be 1.9 billion us dollars. Moreover, it is unoiled, with balanced color and clarity throughout, reaching the absolute top tier in overall quality. Excluding factors like cut and origin, it could sell for at least 3,000 to 5,000 us dollars per carat. Given that it is a massive whole, the price would at least double, and its unique status as the greatest of all time would at least double it again. At 10,000 us dollars per carat, that would be 1.9 trillion us dollars—not just individuals or companies, but even nations couldn't afford it.

The ancients believed that emeralds had the power to comfort the soul and forge wisdom; wearing an emerald could grant one wisdom, vitality, and a peaceful heart. Emeralds emit a natural green glow, representing life and hope, and possess strong healing powers that can help the wearer detoxify and reduce fever, protect the liver, and relieve fatigue. Therefore, Cao Xiao named this massive emerald [blessing of the goddess], symbolizing a gift from nature. Even if it was worth a fortune, he never thought of selling it when he saw this emerald. The hypnotic green light seemed to instantly purify his body, which was full of the stench of money, and his clouded soul; just looking at it was intoxicating.

Reluctantly withdrawing his gaze, he turned to the other emeralds in his space. This mica rock mine was not large, less than five square kilometers, but the emeralds contained within were quite dense. Regardless of quality, he didn't leave behind even the colorless beryl or the edge waste; everything was collected into his space. After sorting by quality, the proportion of gem-grade emeralds reached twenty percent, and the total weight was 520 tons. In other words, the total reserves reached 2.6 billion carats, of which 104 tons were gem-grade emeralds. He could hardly believe his eyes when he saw this number. The theoretical reserves of emeralds and beryl in the world's largest known emerald mining area are only 1.8 billion carats; a reserve of 2.6 billion carats could be called the undisputed number one emerald mine in the world. It might be because the compressive stress during the formation of the emeralds in this mica rock mine was not high, so most of the crystal columns remained intact without many internal cracks, which is why the gem-grade emeralds could reach such a high proportion.

Aside from the [blessing of the goddess], Cao Xiao cut out all the other sixty-six tons of gem-grade emeralds, reducing the total weight to forty-two tons. Among them, there were twenty-seven tons of average-quality emeralds, with eight tons being over one carat, twenty-four stones over one hundred carats, and the largest being 322 carats. There were twelve and a half tons of medium-quality ones, with three tons being over one carat, thirteen stones over one hundred carats, and the largest being 146 carats. The top-tier ones reached 2,863 kilograms, with 800 kilograms being over one carat, and only six stones over one hundred carats, the largest being 175 carats, while the other five were between 100 and 130 carats.

The quantity of gem-grade emeralds contained in this emerald mine was truly staggering. The global annual production of gem-grade emeralds and beryl is about 500 million carats, of which emeralds only account for about ten percent. Here, there were 400 million carats, equivalent to eight years of the entire world's total production, and the average quality was more than twice as high. Because the sizes and qualities varied, the specific value could no longer be accurately estimated. Just bringing that [blessing of the goddess] out for a public appearance would definitely cause emerald prices on the international market to plummet drastically.

He already possessed two of the world's four most precious gemstones in large quantities. As for rubies and sapphires, he would take a tour of the local mining areas when he attended the Myanmar Jadeite Public Auction; perhaps he could find a few undiscovered mines. Starting a jewelry company was now imperative. If these emeralds and the diamonds in his space were released into the Chinese domestic market, it would be a blessing for consumers, as they would no longer have to endure prices more than ten times higher than the cost.

Emerald is a beryllium aluminum silicate mineral and the main mineral raw material for extracting the rare element beryllium. Beryllium is the lightest alkaline earth metal element and has important uses in the metallurgical, military, electronic, nuclear, and aerospace industries. The content of beryllium in the Earth's crust is 0.0006%, with total reserves of only about 450,000 tons, ranking 32nd among all elements on Earth. It mainly comes from beryl, phenakite, and chrysoberyl minerals, so the price is very expensive. The market price of one gram of beryllium oxide reaches nearly 20 us dollars. A lot of beryllium could be extracted from the hundreds of tons of waste and colorless columns, enriching the raw material reserves in his space.

“Mr. Cao, what’s wrong?” Duan Hong saw Cao Xiao smiling foolishly and spacing out for a long time. Worried that something was wrong with him, he couldn't help but ask.

“Uh! It’s nothing, I’m just in a good mood! A good mood! By the way, we’re almost there, right?” After snapping back to reality, Cao Xiao felt a bit embarrassed and quickly composed himself to change the subject.

“We’ll arrive in about ten minutes. We have the exact coordinates, and we’ll land directly at the Iron Fist Mercenary Group base later.” After Duan Hong finished speaking, he immediately turned his head and looked straight ahead without straying his gaze.

...

“Mr. Cao, we’ve arrived!” After the helicopter came to a steady stop, Li Quanshuo opened the cabin door and spoke to Cao Xiao, who was spacing out again.

“Hmm? We’re here!” Cao Xiao walked off the plane, still a bit dazed.

Over a thousand mercenaries stood in a neat, large formation in the square. Yan Qingcheng, Wu Feng, and others stood silently in front of the formation wearing camouflage uniforms. Duan Hong and the others escorted Cao Xiao over. In front of the formation, Cao Xiao carefully observed these mercenaries and found that their clothing was not uniform, but the general color was a similar grayish-white; it was obvious that there weren't enough uniforms, so they had been cobbled together. The weapons in their hands were also a mix from various nations, with the AK-47 being the most common, of course. AK-47s are cheap, sturdy, and durable, naturally making them the first choice for armed forces in Africa, with a huge number in circulation. There were also many Type 95s, and a bit of everything else. Most of these firearms belonged to the individual mercenaries, so they were quite miscellaneous and varied in condition.

At this moment, everyone had sweat dripping from their foreheads. Being close to the equator, the temperature was very high, and it seemed they had been standing for a long time. However, everyone remained motionless, looking straight ahead with chests out and heads held high, their bodies straight and leaning slightly forward. Cao Xiao understood that this was the result of Wu Feng and the others' training. Standing at attention was conducted according to the requirements of the Chinese military, which is excellent for tempering one's will. From this perspective, their discipline was considered qualified, and the soldiers' morale was very good; as for anything else, he couldn't tell.

“Salute!”

Suddenly, Wu Feng raised his right hand to salute Cao Xiao and shouted in a high-pitched voice.

*Swish*

“Greetings, Commander!”

All the soldiers raised their right hands in unison to salute Cao Xiao, their eyes fixed on him.

“You’ve all worked hard!”

Cao Xiao was also taken aback by this. He hadn't expected Wu Feng and the others to pull this off, but he was still very happy, a faint sense of accomplishment lingering in his heart. Standing in place, he straightened his posture, raised his hand to salute, and looked around at the soldiers.

“Victory when deployed, Iron Fist is invincible!”

The soldiers shouted the slogan firmly and powerfully, their eyes still burning with spirit as they gazed at Cao Xiao.

“Brother Wu, Sister Yan, let’s go somewhere else to talk.” Cao Xiao lowered his right hand and spoke to Wu Feng and the others.

“All units, return to your positions and continue training.” Wu Feng shouted the command, and only then did he lead Cao Xiao toward a brand-new three-story building next to the square.

...

Upon arriving at the operations command room in the basement of the building, Yan Qingcheng frowned and asked, “Mr. Cao, is the attack time being moved up?”

“It’s set for tomorrow at noon. The weapons are already prepared, in a valley three kilometers to the southwest. They are all loaded on trucks; just organize some men to go and drive the trucks over. I see you’ve trained them well. I don't require their combat power to be exceptionally high; as long as they are disciplined and organized, that's enough. You can let the soldiers familiarize themselves with the weapons and vehicles today, and you need to finalize the combat deployment today.” Cao Xiao said with certainty.

“Did that senior not come with you?” Yan Qingcheng asked with a frown, looking worried.

“He arrived long ago, but he doesn't like interacting with people, so he hasn't shown himself. Don't worry, he will appear on time tomorrow.” Regarding the appearance of the senior expert he had fabricated, he had already thought of a plan so that no one would notice anything amiss when the time came.