Chapter 590 Asking for help
"Your Majesty is welcome to visit our factory for inspection!"
The director of Harare's chrome ore factory and his leadership personally welcomed Constantine's arrival. Because of Constantine's request, the chrome ore factory continued to operate and did not close due to the king's arrival.
The thick black smoke and the coming and going of transport vehicles showed the busyness of this factory located on the outskirts of the city. The workers had been notified before and were working harder than usual.
From Constantine's perspective, the scale of this factory was much smaller than that of a tobacco factory, which was inconsistent with Constantine's understanding of industrial and mining enterprises.
So Constantine asked Greining, the senior official of Matabele Province who was accompanying him: "Why is the tobacco factory so much larger than the chrome ore factory, and the equipment is also the same?"
"Your Majesty, this is due to demand. I am afraid that the most valuable industry in Matabele Province currently is the tobacco industry. This does not refer to scale, but net profit. The entire tobacco output value of Matabele Province occupies the largest share in East Africa. About 30%, this is not a small number, and there is still growth potential. Benefiting from the unique superior conditions of our province, this proportion may grow to more than 60% in the future."
Greining continued: "As the tobacco processing center of Matabele Province, Harare assumes an important task. Our city supplies almost 46% of East Africa's tobacco exports."
Constantine seemed to understand and asked: "You mean the market determines the size of the tobacco factory in Harare?"
"That's it, Your Majesty. The scale of investment can be determined only when there is demand. Otherwise, everything will be just a castle in the air. Moreover, the tobacco factory is now under the jurisdiction of the industrial department. We actually play more of a supervisory and supporting role."
Constantine no longer struggled with this issue, but he felt that the scale of the chrome ore plant was still too small, so he mentioned: "What are the main application areas of chrome ore now? Why does it appear on my itinerary? This resource is very important What?"
Nothing more than Constantine asking questions one after another. The element chromium was discovered in 1797, not much older than Constantine, and the application scenarios are not accessible to ordinary people.
Greining: "This question still needs to be answered by professionals, and we don't know yet, so Director Hearn, should you answer it?"
Hearn, the director of the chromium ore factory, stepped forward and explained: "Your Majesty, the application of chromium is indeed not very common. It is generally used to produce compounds, which is a bit high-end. Generally only professionals will come into contact with it, so ordinary people did not listen. I said it's normal, I can just say a few words.
It was first discovered by French chemist Vauquelin in red lead ore in Siberia, Russia. Later, he used charcoal to reduce chromic anhydride and isolated chromium in metallic form for the first time. In the same year, chromite was discovered, and our East African chromium ore is large. Part of it exists in the form of chromite and is one of Harare's superior resources.
For example, the ore used to refine chromium in our factory mainly comes from a small mine in the southwest of the city. It is only a drop in the bucket of the entire Harare city's chromite reserves, but it is enough for our production needs and use.
Of course, the most widely used in industry are tanning agents used in fur production, or to increase the hardness of alloys. I have only heard about this, and the specific research seems to be related to the Mbeya City Metal Research Institute. "
Constantine was very satisfied with this explanation, because when he heard about the fur industry, he probably knew that it was important.
Fur is now a very important material in all fields because there are not many alternatives, especially in cold regions like Russia or Northern Europe.
The situation in East Africa is much better, because East Africa is located in the tropics, but the fur industry in East Africa is not small. Especially during the colonial era, fur exports were one of the important sources of income in East Africa. Like ivory and other East African products, they were the mainstay of East Africa in the early days. contributed to development.
Nowadays, the number of wild animals in East Africa has decreased a lot after being cleaned several times in East Africa. However, the livestock industry in East Africa has also developed correspondingly, so the fur business is getting bigger and bigger. Of course, the main thing that stands out is the word leather. The development of the leather industry in East Africa very good.
Constantine: "I just answered the first question, so why does it appear on my schedule?"
Greining can answer this question, but this is something Hearn, the director of the chrome ore plant, does not understand: "Your Majesty, the industries you inspect are arranged according to the key projects and enterprises in our province. Don't look at the chrome ore plant. The scale is not large, but 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."
Of course Ernst has paid attention to it. After all, the chromium ore resources in East Africa are advantageous resources, so it is reasonable to plan in advance. However, Ernst also has concerns, that is, the "chrome plating" process 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 inherently a highly polluting industry, so after considering various factors, Ernst does not plan to vigorously develop related industries.
Anyway, chromite is mainly distributed in East Africa and will not be able to escape in the future. Therefore, as long as we continue to make breakthroughs in research, improve usage efficiency, improve production processes, and solve pollution treatment problems, it is not too late to make plans.
Hearn also said: "The use of chromium in the industrial field is not yet widespread, but with the advancement of the times and knowledge of physics, chemistry, etc., it may be able to play a big role in the future, and the city of Harare is just giving this The industry provides a temporary foothold and provides reference data, and we do have relevant needs."
"Okay! Let's visit the factory first. As long as you know these professional issues well," Constantine said.
Then Constantine began to focus on communicating with grassroots workers in the factory to understand their life and work conditions.
Although Constantine had been to a tobacco factory before, the work intensity in the tobacco factory was not very high, so Constantine did not pay too much attention to this aspect.
"How much is your monthly salary?"
"Forty-five rhine guilders, but last month I got an overtime bonus, so the total is forty-seven rhine guilders."
"Is this enough money to live on?"
"Of course, Your Majesty, my family currently has a total of five people. My wife and I, in addition to three children, one is just six years old, one is four years old, and another is just born. They don't eat much, and they have enough every month. Quite a few.”
"Six years old, he should be going to school soon!"
"Yes, Your Majesty, according to the law, compulsory education is required at the age of seven."
"What do you think of compulsory education?"
"I'm quite satisfied. Isn't the government always promoting it? Knowledge is power. I haven't read a book for a few years, but I think this sentence is very reasonable. At least it is useful to calculate accounts, write letters, or read newspapers. , and the school also provides one meal, which further reduces our burden."
"Well, it is definitely good to study. Just like us in East Africa, many things need to be taught by knowledgeable people. The factory design, materials, and mechanical equipment of your factory are all the crystallization of knowledge. When industry develops in the future, We also need more intellectuals to participate in national construction.”
Constantine travels all over the world, chatting with the workers in the factory, greeting them, and being a model of benevolence. The reporters of the official newspapers are also writing hard, and after the materials are recorded, they will be disseminated through the newspapers to shape the royal family's charity. image of.