232: Chapter 232 The "Lightning Harvest" of a Trillion-Dollar Mineral Reserve

May 3rd, 4:07 AM. At the London Metal Exchange (LME) trading hall, the electronic screens flickered with blinding red light in the dead of night.

"Lithium futures, up 42%! My God, what is happening?" Mark Thompson, a middle-aged trader wearing gold-rimmed glasses, stood up abruptly from his chair, spilling his coffee all over the floor.

The six screens in front of him simultaneously flashed with frantic numbers: Lithium Futures Contract: +42.3%, Cobalt Futures Contract: +38.1%, Nickel Futures Contract: +25.7%.

"It's Spark Group from China!" the young trader next to him pointed to the news just popping up on the Bloomberg terminal. "They've announced battery orders worth 740 billion, equivalent to 60% of the global lithium production for the next two years!"

The entire trading hall exploded in an instant.

"Buy! Buy as much as you can!"

"Close all short positions! Quickly!"

"Contact the suppliers in Chile, now! Immediately!"

But just three minutes later, an even stranger situation emerged.

"Wait... when did these massive buy orders come in?" Mark stared intensely at the transaction details. "Between 2:00 AM and 3:00 AM, over 20 billion USD in lithium futures have already been snapped up? Who did this?"

He quickly pulled up the data, his fingers almost sparking on the keyboard. Those buy orders had entered the market dispersed through over a dozen offshore accounts, with a level of professionalism resembling a sovereign wealth fund, yet the execution speed was like a high-frequency trading algorithm.

"Pre-positioning... someone knew the news in advance." Cold sweat broke out on Mark's back. "This isn't ordinary speculation; this is a war-level resource blockade."

His phone rang; it was an urgent call from the head of the metals analysis department at Morgan Stanley: "Mark, we just finished analyzing the data. Spark Group likely started sweeping the global spot market three days ago. This wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision; it's a long-planned blitzkrieg."

"What is their target?"

"According to our model, they need to control at least 30% of global lithium, 40% of cobalt, and 25% of nickel—this requires at least 100 billion rmb, approximately 15 billion USD."

Mark slumped into his chair, watching the numbers on the screen continue to skyrocket.

This wasn't just a price fluctuation.

This was a reshaping of the power structure in the global new energy vehicle industry chain.

And Spark Group was using money and speed to tell the world who the new rule-maker was.

4:30 AM, Shenzhen, Golden Shield Security Headquarters, Operations Room.

The command wall, composed of six 4K curved screens, displayed completely different images.

The three screens on the left showed a global mineral distribution heat map: The Siberia region in Russia flickered with deep red light spots, labeled "Spodumene Mine, 18% Proven Reserves."

A cobalt mining area in the southeast of the Congo glowed with a blinding blue light, "70% of Global Cobalt Supply."

The white area of the Atacama Salt Lake in Chile pulsed, "Highest Grade Salt Lake Lithium Globally."

Kazakhstan, Australia, Argentina... over a dozen key nodes were highlighted simultaneously.

The three screens on the right were real-time monitoring:

Screen 1: Three modified Y-20 transport aircraft were taxiing on the runway, with the Golden Shield black shield emblem on the fuselage.

Screen 2: At an airport in Moscow, a convoy of six black SUVs drove into the night.

Screen 3: A satellite aerial view of Kinshasa Airport in the Congo, labeled "Group C expected to arrive at 8:00."

In the center of the operations room, Silent Chen stood as straight as a pine tree.

This former cybersecurity head was currently wearing a custom-tailored black combat uniform, with the newly designed Golden Shield global operation command emblem on his shoulder—crossed swords and a shield against a world map background.

"Final communication check for all groups."

His voice transmitted across three continents via an encrypted satellite line.

Group A (Russia): "Arrived in Moscow, the negotiation team is on the way to the Kremlin. The 12-man security detachment, all equipped with non-lethal gear, has obtained temporary permission from the Russian side."

Group B (Central Asia): "Arrived in Almaty, the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan is waiting at the airport. Negotiations are expected to start at 5:30."

Group C (Africa): "In flight, expected to land in Kinshasa at 7:50. The Presidential Palace of the Congo has confirmed the meeting time at 8:30."

Silent Chen's gaze swept over the capital flow data on the operational map:

Total Budget: 100 billion rmb (15 billion USD)

Authorized for use: 32 billion rmb (4.8 billion USD)

Remaining disposable: 68 billion rmb (10.2 billion USD)

"Remember three principles." Silent Chen said into the microphone, his voice calm but every word sounding like it was being nailed into steel. "First, speed takes priority over price; an intent agreement must be signed within 72 hours. Second, security must follow synchronously; armed guards must be in place within 24 hours after the agreement is signed. Third, political conditions can be negotiated, but core technology is absolutely not for trade—unless approved personally by Boss Su."

He paused, then added: "Boss Su asked me to convey to everyone: This is not an ordinary commercial acquisition; this is building a moat of raw materials for China's new energy vehicle industry. What you do today will be written into history ten years from now."

Three short and powerful responses came through the communication channel:

"Group A understands."

"Group B received."

"Group C will not fail the mission."

Silent Chen cut off the communication and turned to look at the large screen behind him.

In the center of the screen was the Spark Group LOGO—a burning spark, with a line of small text below:

"Operation Mineral Shield: Energy Storage for the Future."

Time, 4:35 AM. 4 hours and 25 minutes left until the start of the automotive press conference at the Convention and Exhibition Center.

5:00 AM, Moscow, a conference room in the Kremlin.

This was not a formal diplomatic occasion, but a simply furnished conference room.

On one side of the long table sat the Russian Minister of Industry and Trade, Dmitry Ivanov, in his fifties, with graying hair but eyes as sharp as an eagle's. Behind him were the Deputy Minister of Energy, experts from the Bureau of Natural Resources, and two military representatives in suits.

On the other side was Zhang Zhenhua, CEO of Spark Mineral Company—forty-five years old, a Ph.D. in Materials Science from Tsinghua University, who had served as a senior executive at Rio Tinto in Australia for ten years. He brought a four-person negotiation team; everyone's laptops were open, and the screens displayed real-time exchange rates, mineral reserve data, and authorization documents sent from the Shenzhen headquarters.

"Mr. Zhang, let's get straight to the point." Ivanov pushed over a document. "The three spodumene mines in the Krasnoyarsk Krai of Siberia have a total proven reserve of 8.2 million tons of lithium carbonate equivalent, accounting for 18% of the global proven reserves. We value them at 8.5 billion USD."

Zhang Zhenhua didn't look at the document, but pulled up data on his tablet: "Mr. Minister, according to the geological exploration data we updated last night, the actual extractable reserves of these three mines are about 7.2 million tons, and the grade has dropped from the advertised 1.8% to 1.5%. Based on the current lithium price and mining costs, our valuation is 7.5 billion USD."

Ivanov raised an eyebrow: "Your intelligence is quite accurate. But this is still Russia's most important lithium resource."

"That is why we are willing to offer 8 billion USD," Zhang Zhenhua said calmly, "Cash payment, to be received within one week."

The conference room was silent for a few seconds. The Deputy Minister of Energy whispered something in Ivanov's ear, the latter nodded, and then looked at Zhang Zhenhua: "The price is acceptable, but we need additional conditions."

"Please go ahead."

"First, mine operations must employ no less than 50% Russian workers, and the proportion of Russian personnel in management must be no less than 30%."

"Agreed, we are willing to provide technical training and localization."

"Second, we need Spark Battery to build at least one joint venture factory in Russia, with an annual production capacity of no less than 20GWh, and the technology transfer must reach a level that allows for independent production."

Zhang Zhenhua tapped his fingers lightly on the table: "The factory can be built, but technology transfer has levels. Basic manufacturing technology can be transferred, but core electrode formulas and solid-state electrolyte technology are not on the open list."

"And what about the third item?" Zhang Zhenhua asked.

Ivanov looked at the military representative behind him. The general with one star on his shoulder straps spoke up: "We have noticed that Spark Group's Red Flag P1 pickup truck demonstrated excellent bulletproof and off-road performance during tests. We hope to obtain the relevant technology for its military modified version—especially the technology package for chassis reinforcement, explosion-proof design, and off-road control systems."

The air in the conference room instantly froze. The legal counsel behind Zhang Zhenhua was about to speak, but was stopped by him raising his hand.

"General," Zhang Zhenhua said slowly, "Converting civilian technology to military use involves international arms control agreements and China's export control regulations. I need to consult with headquarters."

"How much time do you have?" Ivanov asked.

"Ten minutes."

Zhang Zhenhua stood up and walked outside the conference room, dialing an encrypted satellite phone.