African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1194 Iron Ore Business Opportunities
The southern port area of ​​Dar es Salaam.

This is the industrial essence of Dar es Salaam. A large number of towering chimneys emit columns of smoke into the sky, painting the entire sky like a thick stroke of ink. Under the smoke, trucks of goods are coming in and out of the factory area, and the unloading workers are busy.

Under these factories, a well-developed pipe network system continuously discharges factory wastewater into the Indian Ocean, while the port area looks relatively tidy and clean.

"Mr. Pasteur, the industry in East Africa is truly astonishing. Although I often travel to Dar es Salaam on business, every time I come here, I am amazed by the development of Dar es Salaam," said Australian businessman Howard.

Because it was a British colony, Australia did not send official personnel to participate in the East African Expo. The main exhibitors in East Africa were Australian business organizations, and Howard was the president of the Western Australian and East African Business Association.

Western Australia is a first-level administrative region of Australia, covering about one-third of the country. It is also the most active region in Australia's trade with East Africa.

Pasteur smiled and said, "Thank you, President Howard, for your compliment. However, this is also one of the main reasons why Dar es Salaam was able to seize the opportunity. I believe Australia also made a lot of money in this round of war."

There is almost no doubt about this. As a British colony, although Australia sent troops and provided various kinds of support, in the final analysis, it was Britain that could bring huge benefits to Australia.

There is no doubt that this is also influenced by the reality of East Africa. For East Africa, a suddenly emerging Indian Ocean superpower, Australia urgently needs the British Royal Navy to ensure its own security status.

There is no doubt that the rise of East Africa is seen by the Australian government as a huge threat, and it was Japan that played this role in the past.

In this regard, Ernst can only say that the Australian government is very good at judging people. In fact, Ernst has always wanted to get involved in Australia, but has never found an opportunity.

However, the geopolitical pressure from East Africa on Australia is still clearly visible. Not to mention the Indian Ocean region, in the South Pacific and near the equator, East Africa's many colonies have in fact formed a overwhelming pressure on Australia.

Australia has always been a loyal dog of the British, so it is understandable that the Australian government is inherently resistant to and distrustful of East Africa.

Of course, on the surface, Australia really did not dare to directly reject East Africa, especially after Britain declared war on the Allies in 1914, the Australian government significantly relaxed a series of restrictions on East Africa.

After all, during this period of time, Britain was unable to extricate itself, and Australia thought it had lost its umbrella of protection, so it did not dare to cause too much trouble with East Africa.

During the South African War, Australia often followed Britain in its weird actions towards East Africa and even sent troops, but there were only a dozen people, so it did not attract much attention.

In short, before the reconciliation between East Africa and Britain, Australia's attitude towards East Africa was like that of a mad dog, which was consistent with Ernst's understanding of the Angolans in his previous life, that they just liked to stay out of other people's business.

However, as a dog, it still knows the times, and now Australia no longer has the arrogance it once had.

In the past, Australia followed Britain in launching a strong attack on the German colonies in the Pacific, but now these German colonies have become strategic strongholds in East Africa to deter Australia.

In order to further disgust the current Australian government, East Africa deliberately strengthens the economic strength of Western Australia. After all, Australia's economic and political entities are in the east of Australia.

Western Australia was the source of the most important separatist forces in Australia in the past, so economic trade between East Africa and Western Australia was very frequent, and the Western Australia and East Africa Business Association was born.

"President Howard, the current European war is a rare opportunity for most countries and regions outside the region. After all, Europe's industry and economy were too strong, which made it difficult for other parts of the world to develop. The European war gave other regions a chance to breathe." Pasteur said. Howard laughed and said, "Mr. Pasteur is right. This year, Australia's wool exports to Europe have reached a new high. This was unbelievable before."

Howard's business has been going smoothly in recent years, so his mentality is very good. In the early stage, he had the support of the East African market. Now, with the help of the European war, the entire Western Australian economy has entered a state of vigorous development.

Pasteur asked, "Mr. Howard, what do the exhibits you brought this time cover?"

Howard said: "It's mainly some Australian agricultural and mining products, such as wool, woolen fabrics, artworks, iron ore, wheat and so on."

Pasteur: "Your country's wool fabrics are still very popular in East Africa, but in our environment, the demand for the textile industry is relatively low. However, if it can be used for other purposes, it will still be very popular."

The climate in East Africa does not change drastically throughout the year, so the demand for clothing is certainly not as high as in regions with distinct four seasons, which to some extent limits the development of the textile industry in East Africa.

So it was for this reason that Pasteur persuaded Howard.

Howard said: "Of course. Our cashmere yarn and clothing are mainly supplied to Europe and the United States. We naturally have a special positioning for the East African market. The wool products we will be exhibiting this time are mainly various handicrafts."

It is certainly not that East Africa does not need wool, but that its own wool is enough to be self-sufficient. Most parts of East Africa are suitable for the development of animal husbandry, especially the southern provinces, which are the wool industry bases of East Africa.

Since Howard had his own ideas, Pasteur naturally would not say much on this issue, but he did get some interesting information from Howard just now.

"Mr. Howard, you just said that among the products you brought to the exhibition this time, there is iron ore, right?" Pasteur asked.

Howard nodded and said, "That's true. The iron ore was discovered by a hired worker on my ranch. Later, I asked someone to conduct a simple survey there and preliminarily determined that there is a large iron ore mine."

"So I brought some samples here this time to see if anyone is willing to cooperate in developing the iron ore. The main reason is that my ranch is a bit far from the coast and there is a lack of workers, so it is difficult to develop."

There are many requirements for mining. The first thing to solve is the transportation problem. After all, if the minerals cannot be transported out, there is basically no hope. Just like Bolivia in the past, the iron ore resources were extremely rich, but the transportation conditions were too poor and the location of the mining area was not good, so everyone could only sigh at the "gold mountain".

Australia at that time was a typical sparsely populated area, and mining to make money obviously required a large number of workers. The early development of the mining industry in East Africa was achieved at the cost of the lives of black slaves.

But the number of indigenous people in Australia was not large to begin with, and they have basically been exploited by the current Australians. It is certainly impossible for Australians to engage in such a dangerous business themselves. After all, there are too many opportunities in Australia today, and it is enough to get rich by simply engaging in breeding and planting.

Of course, it’s not that they are not attracted by local mineral resources, but they are reluctant or unable to make the initial investment. Mineral development obviously requires solving infrastructure problems first, and this expense is not small. After all, the problems of railways and ports must be solved.

Therefore, developing the mining industry at this time is high-risk and requires large investment, which is not worth the cost. Anyway, the land is in our hands and it doesn't matter when we develop it. Even if there is a mine, we can't just run away.

Pasteur was more interested in what Howard said. After all, East Africa is an industrial power. Although East Africa is rich in various resources, the consumption is high and many resources are not evenly distributed.

(End of this chapter)