In February, there was such an incident in history: during the period of food shortage and people's difficult life in China, Japan proposed to exchange one kilogram of pork for one kilogram of "waste ore" in China, and to exchange 80,000 tons of pork for 80,000 tons of ore discarded after refining from the Keketuohai No. 3 pit, so as to solve the food crisis in China at that time.
Such a "good deed" is obviously a surefire for Japan, but in the end, our experts resolutely rejected the proposal. We actually rejected such a "pie-in-the-sky good thing", so what is the reason behind it?
After an in-depth understanding, we can understand that the revolutionary forefathers had a long-term strategic vision in doing so.
Keketuohai No. 3 Mine, also known as the "Meritorious Mine", once made Japan pay for it at any cost. Why is this pit so valuable, and why did Japan reject Japan's proposal?
The answer lies in its valuable mineral resources - lithium, beryllium, tantalum, niobium, cesium and other rare metals, which played a vital role in China's research and development of the atomic bomb.
In 1964, China successfully tested an atomic bomb in Lop Nur, Xinjiang, becoming the fifth country to possess nuclear weapons. The realization of this great achievement is inseparable from the contribution of the Keketuohai No. 3 pit.
Here, countless scientific researchers have made silent efforts to make China straighten its back in the international community. Therefore, Keketuohai No. 3 pit is not only a pit, but also an important support for the development of China's nuclear industry.
The Keketuohai No. 3 pit is hidden in the northeastern edge of the Junggar Basin in Xinjiang, the southern foot of the eastern end of the Altai Mountains, and the secret place of the source of the Irtysh River. The 250-metre-long, 240-metre-wide, and 200-metre-deep pit is surrounded by a spiral-shaped winding mountain path that resembles a straw hat in reverse.
Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, it has become the highest mine in our country In order to develop national defense forces, Keketuohai No. 3 pit was only called "111 Mine" from 1955 to 1967, without any public name.
Keketuohai No. 3 pit is a pegmatite vein pit, and its full name is "No. 3 vein of Keketuohai rare metal deposit in Fuyun County, Xinjiang". The variety of ores, the huge reserves, the high quality and the large scale of mining make them unique in China, and even extremely rare in the world.
Among the more than 140 useful minerals, No. 3 mine contains 86 kinds of minerals, accounting for 60% of the total, and rare metals account for more than 90%. The Keketuohai No. 3 vein contains rare and radioactive element metals such as beryllium, molybdenum, rubidium, lithium, tantalum, niobium, and cesium, which played an important role in the development of the atomic bomb and even became the starting point of a special chain.
Vein 3, this mysterious land, is rich in beryllium and lithium ore. After many times of transportation and smelting, the beryl here eventually became an important part of the atomic bomb and hydrogen bomb, providing a solid foundation for China's nuclear research and development.
In addition, the lithium ore here has also been successfully smelted into high-quality lithium hydroxide monohydrate for nuclear ** grade, which has further improved the manufacturing level of nuclear ** in China. These valuable mineral resources also supported China's successful launch of the first artificial satellite "Dongfanghong No. 1" and the feat of singing the song "Dongfanghong" in space.
In particular, the controller "cesium atomic clock" has an accuracy of only one second in 300 years, and its key part is made of high-purity metal cesium processed from cesium garnet here.
These outstanding achievements are inseparable from the support of the No. 3 vein. Let us pay tribute to this amazing land and thank it for its great contribution to the development of our country.
China's space industry has opened a new chapter and has become the fifth country in the world that can independently develop and launch artificial satellites. Among them, the tantalum and niobium high-temperature alloy produced by the Keketuohai No. 3 pit is not only used in the manufacture of aerospace equipment, but also boosts the rockets launched from Xichang and Jiuquan.
The Keketuohai No. 3 mine, like "two bombs and one satellite", has made great contributions to China's aerospace industry. In addition, the pit contains abundant mineral resources, including copper, nickel, zinc, tungsten, manganese, lead, bismuth, tin and other non-ferrous metals and ferrous iron, as well as coal, salt, alkali, limestone, mica, quartz, barite and other non-metallic minerals, and even gem mines such as hailanite, violet, garnet, hibiscus stone.
These mineral resources have brought unprecedented opportunities for local residents to get rich. The mining and processing of ore requires the construction of factories in the local area, which has attracted many entrepreneurs and builders, and enterprises such as Xinjiang Nonferrous Metals Company and Xinjiang Lithium Salt Plant have come into being.
Keketuohai] Keketuohai, a remote village that was originally little known, became China's earliest modern industrial town and mineral base because of its rich rare metal minerals.
Tens of thousands of people in Xinjiang have found employment opportunities here, solved local livelihood and economic problems, and made important contributions to the country's repayment of foreign debts and overcoming difficulties.
Since the Soviet Union once provided economic assistance to our country, we need to pay off all foreign debts by 1965. So, we decided to use the minerals we had mined, which the Soviet Union urgently needed, to pay off our debts.
According to statistics, as of 1962, the total amount of rare and non-ferrous metal mineral products from China to the Soviet Union reached 36.7 billion rubles, of which the value of the Keketuohai mine reached 31 billion rubles, which is 886%。
Eventually, by October 1965, we had successfully paid off all our debts to the former Soviet Union, and the value of the minerals contributed by the Keketuohai Mining Bureau accounted for about 40% of the total foreign debt.
Keketuohai No. 3 Vein: Raw material for scientific and technological development, rocket manufacturing and nuclear ** manufacturing. This vein played an important role in the repayment of the foreign debt of the Soviet Union. However, the mining process of this vein is not an easy task.
In 1930, local herders Ayakozbai discovered aquamarine beryl and tourmaline in granite, which led to spontaneous mining. Soon after, the geological survey of the Soviets Nekhshev discovered eight beryl sources in the region.
Despite all the difficulties, the Keketuohai No. 3 vein is still praised as a "meritorious mine" and a "hero mine".
Standing in front of the top view of the Keketuohai No. 3 pit, you will be amazed by the magical creativity of nature. The history of this pit can be traced back to 1940, when the Soviet Union explored and mined several pits in the Keketuo Sea, and all the ores that were essential for the development of nuclear ** such as beryl were transported to the Soviet Union.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Keketuohai No. 3 pit returned to our own hands, marking the beginning of our independence. However, at that time, China's mining technology was backward, so on March 27, 1950, we signed an agreement with the Soviet Union in Moscow to jointly develop the ore of Keketuohai, which was also one of the 156 large-scale projects that the Soviet Union assisted in the construction of our country at that time.
However, the Sino-Soviet joint venture lasted only five years, and all the enterprises in the mining area were handed over to China to operate alone, and then we were completely on our own. Despite this, Keketuohai has still become a "natural geological museum" in the hearts of many people, and is known as the "Jerusalem" and "geological holy pit" of geologists.
Located in Fuyun County, Xinjiang, this mysterious place was once an important mining base in China, attracting many miners to work. However, entering and exiting the mine requires heavily armed soldiers to set up checkpoints to check the passes, which has led many to misunderstand the outside world.
There are only a few sparse Soviet-style buildings around the pit, which is very rare in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang. For the mining of ore, a special air station has even been set up here, and a new route has been opened to facilitate the travel of miners.
Despite this, the miners are still living in very difficult conditions. At its peak, there were more than 47,000 workers and their families living on the south bank of the Irtysh River.
Due to the very high density of the houses, each hut is lit by only one window on the roof, and every 40 people are crammed into one room, which is very crowded. The beds are like shelves for people to rest.
The winter in Keketuohai is very cold, the minimum temperature can reach -57, and even the breath exhaled by the workers can freeze into ice. Despite the harsh environment, the miners persevered and made important contributions to the mining industry of their homeland.
At night, the Keketuohai No. 3 pit was bitterly cold, and even indoors could not withstand the bitter cold. Employees can even solve internal emergencies in a dark room, and even wake up in a dream with cold water.
Although employees with families are sometimes assigned to independent nests, when there are many people, the couple can only dig their own nests on the slopes of the hills. How can such living conditions withstand the cold?
Komgulbai, who has been working in pit 3 since he was 11 years old, recalls that at that time, his colleagues had to work 15 to 18 hours a day to complete the task.
In order to solve the housing problem, the leaders of the mine management office encouraged everyone to cut firewood, set up firewood, make bricks and burn bricks, and use arch kilns to burn bricks. Although several houses were built in this way, the surrounding vegetation was destroyed.
Night view of the No. 3 pit in Keketuohai Although the technology was backward and the equipment was rudimentary, Konggulbai and his teammates had to rely on firewood to melt the ice, snow and permafrost on the mine, and then use shovels to mine the stone.
Because of the rugged mountain road, the transport vehicles could not go up the mountain, so they had to use horse-drawn sleds and donkeys to carry the ore down the mountain by hand. The ore transported to the concentrator site can only be sifted by hand one by one.
After a few hours of drying, the new gloves wore out, and the fingers were already numb from the cold. The living conditions and working conditions of the workers are very bad, but what is even worse is that they have to go hungry every day to work.
All the food is cooked in a big pot in the cafeteria, in the morning it is paste and milk tea, at noon there are only steamed buns and yellow radish, and in the evening there is a green radish. The occasional potato is a hearty meal.
People who originally did heavy physical work could only barely maintain their physical strength by relying on mush and radish and cabbage, but in the future, they didn't even have these, let alone meat to replenish their physical strength.
The harsh environment made the miners' legs swollen, and the Keketuohai Mining Bureau had to reclaim the land on its own, grow grain and vegetables, and even go to the Irtysh River to fish to satisfy their hunger.
Fortunately, the abundance of fish in the Irtysh, especially the big red fish, provided them with valuable supplies for survival. In the most difficult moments, the Irtysh became their lifeline.
However, it was under such conditions that the soldiers of Keketuohai No. 3 Mine still insisted on completing their tasks and created countless miracles for the military industrial force of New China. Their perseverance and selfless dedication will always deserve our admiration.
1.At this great moment, the people of Xinjiang have carried forward the spirit of Keketuohai, are not afraid of difficulties, work hard, make selfless dedication, and contribute their own strength to the construction of the country!
2.The living environment of the Keketuohai miners made us deeply feel the hardships of the Chinese people in that era. Natural disasters, the country's economy has not yet recovered, and the economic blockade of New China by Western countries has made food resources extremely scarce, and the whole country is "tightening their belts" to live.
In this context, Japan's proposal to exchange pork for ore also shows the importance of mineral resources to us. Keketuohai No. 3 pit contains rich mineral resources and huge reserves, which is as famous as the world-famous Lake Bernik mine in Canada, and is a valuable asset of the country.
The ore display of Keketuohai No. 3 pit shows the backwardness of China's smelting technology at that time, and many abandoned ores contain valuable elements, which has aroused great interest from other countries.
Japan, a country with a small area and scarce rare metal resources, is even more fond of our "waste ore". Rare metals are precious treasures in the world and play a major role in the country's scientific and technological and military development.
A country that masters a large number of rare metals is in control of its future destiny. On the surface, Japan seems to be kind enough to exchange a kilogram of pork for a kilogram of "waste ore" to help us solve the food problem, but in fact it is taking advantage of the fire to buy our rare metals at the lowest price.
In fact, one ton of ore can be exchanged for dozens or even hundreds of tons of grain and agricultural products. Japan's "wishful thinking" has been heard all over the world, but we have a unique vision, how can we be deceived by its cleverness?
The ore display in the No. 3 pit of Keketuohai contains a history full of national blood. When they heard the Japanese proposal, the people in the mining area did not hesitate to reply: "I would rather starve to death than starve to death." ”
This is because they knew that at that time, Japan had tense relations with China, and there was no diplomatic relationship even established and was in a state of antagonism. In 1931, Japan launched the "918 Incident", invaded and occupied China's northeast region, and supported Pu Yi to establish the "puppet Manchukuo" in a vain attempt to ** China.
Then, in 1937, he launched a full-scale war of aggression against China, committing all kinds of crimes, which were too numerous to mention, and exterminated humanity. After the end of World War II, Japan not only did not apologize to the Chinese people for its crimes, but distorted and revised history, denied the war of aggression against China, and visited the Yasukuni Shrine and other behaviors that deeply hurt the feelings of the Chinese people.
The people in the mining area kept in mind the hatred of the country and the family, and they would rather go hungry than let the Japanese take any advantage. Because these ores were obtained by them by enduring cold and starvation, how could the Japanese easily obtain them?
Keketuohai Geopark, retaining rare metal resources, is the right choice for the long-term development of the country. Although our current smelting technology is not mature enough, the metal elements in these "waste ores" are not completely depleted.
When our technology is strong enough, we can still refine it and reserve resources for future national development. At the same time, it is also to save mining costs for the future, because we cannot ignore the lessons of history, and Japan's rapid development after World War II is inseparable from the economic aid and political support of the United States.
If we give these resources to Japan, their development could pose a threat to China's future. Therefore, we should preserve these resources to ensure the long-term development of the country.
Keketuohai No. 3 Mine was mined again, contributing new strength to the country] In 1999, Keketuohai No. 3 Mine, which made great contributions to the construction of New China, was forced to close due to resource depletion.
The following year, the construction of Keketuohai Geopark was started, and it was subsequently rated as a national geopark and became a tourist attraction. But at that time, due to the limitations of mining technology, it was not possible to continue to mine more resources.
In recent years, Chinese scientists have used more advanced exploration techniques to find that there are still a large number of untapped resources around the pit, and the preliminary estimate of reserves will allow us to mine until 2030.
Sure enough, after re-mining the Keketuohai No. 3 pit, the mine was re-mined in June 2007. This treasure, which has been dormant for 8 years, has once again been revitalized and contributed new strength to New China.
After this re-mining, the annual production of beryllium concentrate alone has reached 800 tons.
In July 2015, the China Aerospace Association awarded Keketuohai the title of "National 'Two Bombs and One Satellite' Patriotic Education Base".
The glorious history of Keketuohai, as stated on the exhibition panel: based on mineral resources, it has made outstanding contributions to the country's repayment of the debts of the former Soviet Union and the successful development of China's atomic bomb, hydrogen bomb and artificial satellite!