Chapter 590: Showing Concern
"Your Majesty is welcome to visit our factory!"
The director of the Harare chromium mine and the leadership personally welcomed Constantine's arrival. Due to Constantine's request, the chromium mine continued to operate and did not close down because of the king's arrival.
The thick black smoke and the coming and going of transport vehicles show that this factory located in the suburbs is busy. The workers had received notice and were working harder than usual.
In Constantine's opinion, the scale of this factory is much smaller than that of the tobacco factory, which is inconsistent with Constantine's understanding of industrial and mining enterprises.
So Constantine asked the Matabele provincial official, Glening, who was accompanying him: "Why is the tobacco factory so much larger than the chrome mine, and why is the equipment also the same?"
"Your Majesty, this is due to demand. The most valuable industry in our Matabele Province is probably the tobacco industry. This does not refer to the scale, but the net profit. The tobacco output value of the entire Matabele Province accounts for about 30% of the domestic tobacco output in East Africa. This is not a small number, and there is still growth potential. Benefiting from the unique advantages of our province, this proportion may increase to more than 60% in the future."
Greening went on to say: “Harare is the tobacco processing centre of Matabele Province and therefore plays an important role. Our city supplies almost 46 percent of East African tobacco exports.”
Constantine seemed to understand and asked, "You mean the market determines the size of the tobacco factory in Harare?"
"That's right, Your Majesty. Only when there is demand can the scale of investment be determined. Otherwise, everything will just be castles in the air. Besides, the tobacco factory is now under the jurisdiction of the industrial department. We are actually playing a more supervisory and auxiliary role."
Constantine no longer dwelled on this issue, but he felt that the scale of the chrome ore plant was still too small, so he asked: "What are the main applications of chrome ore now? Why is it on my itinerary? Is this resource important?"
Constantine would ask questions one after another. Chromium was discovered in 1797, not much older than Constantine, and its application scenarios are not accessible to ordinary people.
Grening: "This question needs to be answered by professionals. We don't know either. So Director Hearn, why don't you answer it?"
The director of the chrome mine, Hearn, stepped forward to explain: "Your Majesty, the application of chromium is indeed not very common. It is generally used to produce chemical compounds, which is a bit high-end. Generally, only professionals will come into contact with it, so it is normal that ordinary people have not heard of it. I can briefly explain it.
It was first discovered by the French chemist Vauquelin in red lead ore in Siberia, Russia. Later, he used charcoal to reduce chromic anhydride and separated metallic chromium for the first time. In the same year, chromite was discovered. Most of the chromium ore in East Africa exists in the form of chromite, and it is one of the advantageous resources of the city of Harare.
For example, the chromium ore that our factory uses to refine mainly comes from a small mine in the southwest of the city. It is only a drop in the bucket compared to the chromite reserves in the entire Harare city, but it is enough for our production needs and use.
Of course, the most widely used industrial application is as a tanning agent for fur production or to increase the hardness of alloys. I have only heard about this aspect, and it seems that the specific research is being done by the Mbeya Metal Research Institute. "
Constantine was very satisfied with this explanation, because when he heard about the fur industry, he probably knew that this thing was very important.
Fur is now an important material in all fields, because there are not many substitutes, especially in cold regions such as Russia or Northern Europe.
The situation in East Africa is much better because it is located in the tropics, but the fur industry in East Africa is also large. Especially in the colonial era, fur exports were one of the important sources of income for East Africa. Like ivory and other East African products, it contributed to the early development of East Africa.
Now, after several cleansings in East Africa, the number of wild animals has decreased a lot, but the animal husbandry in East Africa has also developed accordingly, so the fur business is getting bigger and bigger. Of course, the main highlight is still the word fur, and the leather industry in East Africa is developing very well.
Constantine: "I just answered the first question, so why is it on my schedule?"
Greening could answer this question, but this was something that Hearn, the director of the chrome mine, did not understand: "Your Majesty, the industry you inspected was arranged according to the key projects and enterprises in our province. Although the chrome mine is not large in scale, its level is in the first echelon. The most important thing is that this factory was specially mentioned by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
Ernst has certainly paid attention to it. After all, East Africa's chromium ore resources are advantageous resources, so it is reasonable to plan ahead. However, Ernst also has concerns, that is, the "chrome plating" technology has not yet appeared, or the electricity price in East Africa is not cheap, so there is no need to develop it in advance.
In addition, chromium ore smelting is a highly polluting industry, so after comprehensively considering various factors, Ernst does not plan to vigorously develop related industries.
Anyway, chromite is mainly distributed in East Africa and will not be eliminated in the future, so as long as we continue to make breakthroughs in research, improve utilization efficiency, improve production technology, and solve pollution treatment problems, it will not be too late to make plans.
Hearn also said: "The use of chromium in the industrial field is not widespread at present, but with the advancement of the times and knowledge of physics and chemistry, it may play a big role in the future. The city of Harare is just a temporary foothold for this industry and provides reference data. We do have relevant needs."
"Okay! Let's go to the factory for a tour first, and you will have an idea about these professional issues." Constantine said.
Constantine then began to focus on communicating with the grassroots workers in the factory to understand their living and working conditions.
Although Constantine had been to a tobacco factory before, the work intensity there was not high, so Constantine did not pay much attention to this aspect.
"How much do you earn a month?"
"Forty-five Rhineland Shields, but I received an overtime bonus last month, so the total is forty-seven Rhineland Shields."
“Is this money enough to live on?”
"Of course, Your Majesty. There are currently five people in my family, including me and my wife, and we have three children. One is just six years old, one is four years old, and the other is just born. We don't eat much, so we have a lot left over every month."
"Six years old, so he should be ready for school soon!"
"Yes, Your Majesty, according to the law, education is compulsory at the age of seven."
"So what do you think of compulsory education?"
"I'm quite satisfied. The government has been promoting this idea for a long time! Knowledge is power. I didn't receive many years of education, but I think this statement makes a lot of sense. At least doing some calculations, writing letters, or reading newspapers are still very useful. Besides, the school also provides meals, which further reduces our burden."
"Well, reading is definitely good. Just like in East Africa, many things need to be taught by knowledgeable people. For example, the plant design, materials, and mechanical equipment of your factory are all the crystallization of knowledge. The future development of industry will also require more intellectuals to participate in national construction."
Constantine talked with the factory workers about all sorts of things, asking about their well-being and acting like a model of a benevolent monarch. Reporters from the official newspapers were also writing furiously, and once the material was recorded, it would be disseminated through the newspapers to create an image of royal charity.
(End of this chapter)
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