Zhou Enlai Lunar Mining Complex

The Zhou Enlai Lunar Mining Complex is a state of the art mining facility established by China on the surface of the Moon. It was constructed in the lucrative Palus Somnii and Mare Crisium regions, against protests from the United States of America and Nigeria, which disputed the Chinese claims to the regions. Notably, instead of economic warfare, the disputing nations desired to find a diplomatic, equitable solution (as per Robert Holden, Secretary of the Interior at the time).APR, Chinese Lunar Mine Operational The complex was notable for using an MD-118 mass driver to deliver its payloads to Earth, provided by McMoran Global Steel, and the first such device to operate both on such a scale and off the surface of the Earth. McMoran was also notable for winning the contract against Page Industries, which even attempted an unsuccessful hostile takeover to beat McMoran.APR, McMoran Slings Chinese Ore
Page would have his revenge for the slight. Due to sabotage, the mass driver did not deliver its payload to the intended target, but to the outskirts of the city of Ibadan in Nigeria. The sheer kinetic energy of the payload resulted in a blast comparable to that of a small nuclear bomb, killing over two thousand people in the initial impact, and leaving thousands more wounded, homeless, and deprived of power and water. Chinese authorities immediately put a halt to all deliveries, working with the United Nations and McMoran to identify the cause of the error.APR, Mass Driver Accident Kills Over 2,000
==References==
Category:China
Category:Moon
Category:Background locations