above the sea-level, contained a very sparse population, which lived in wretched hovels, twelve or fifteen miles apart, and sustained life by means of a few head of cattle and some sheep, which, during the boisterous and inclement winter in those regions, had to be removed to the more temperate and sheltered low veldt. Nothing in the appearance of the country would have led one to suspect that great mineral wealth was concealed there; and, indeed, the formation of the Witwatersrand is unique. Sedimentary deposits containing gold had been known to exist elsewhere, but none of these display either so great a quantity of gold per ton or so regular a distribution of the metal as have been found to exist on the Rand. Many mining engineers of repute, who were sent to report upon the formation, hesitated, in spite of satisfactory assays, to pronounce the field a paying one; but gradually, as more and more tests were made and prospecting mills were started, the immense possibilities dawned upon those who were engaged in the development. The appended statistics convey more graphically than any words the remarkable nature of the gold deposits there, * 1893 1894 1895 5,480,498 1,478,477 131,858 7,667,152 2,024,163 241,689 8,569,555 2,277,640 227,772 1896 8,603,821 2,280,892 217,054 1897 11,653,725 3,034,678 255,041 1898 16,240,630 4,295,608 259,413 4,555,021 4,847,505 210,096 1899 14,924,136 4,008,325 187,635 4,195,960 2,933,251 102,261 Transvaal State Mining Engineer's Report. Official figures are those from 1891. T returns for 1884 were 10,0967. ; 1885, 6,0107.; 1886, 34,710. The estimated unrecorded production for 1887, '88, '89 was 42,000 oz. + Chamber of Mines' Reports for respective years. The classification of dividends was only commenced in the Report for 1898. ‡ War broke out in October 1899. The figures given are those of gold actually extracted 1,610,335 1,065,203 2,497,946 1,624,006 3,289,719 2,744,630 All but an insignificant percentage of the gold extracted from the Main Reef Series has been from what are known as the South Reef and Main Reef Leader layers, the Main Reef itself having been worked, so far, in only a few mines. Interposed between sandstone layers are a great number of these banket-beds; and many of them, if the cost of production could be lowered by one or two penny-weights, could be worked at a profit. There is one small band which lies north of the Main Reef, and which has in certain sections of the Rand, particularly at Rietfontein, been worked at a profit; and a number of layers known as the Kimberley Series, which lie some five thousand feet to the south of the Main Reef Series, are also almost within the paying limit. Apart, therefore, from the increased development that may confidently be expected on the Main Reef Series itself, it is not at all improbable that other series in the locality will be successfully exploited. The beds have already been traced for a lateral distance of forty-one and a half miles, from Randfontein to Modderfontein, beyond which at either extremity other discoveries have been made, the value and nature of which have yet to be demonstrated. The beds of the Main Reef Series dip to the south at an average angle of about thirty degrees; and at a distance of about thirty miles in a south-easterly direction are found a series of reefs dipping to the north, which are by many believed to be the other side of the basin. This theory is by no means conclusively demonstrated; and, so far, upon the Southern Series the only mine which has been worked continuously at a profit has been that of the Nigel Gold Mining Company. The 'banket' formation is also found in the Klerksdorp and Potchefstroom districts, but the mines there have not been very successful. The processes of extraction have been constantly improved; and by this means properties which could not previously be worked at a profit have been brought into the up to the end of November, but the mines had not been in full swing from early in September. Taking the average of the first eight months of the year as a basis, the whole year's output would have been 5,253,072 oz. (Witwatersrand), or with the outside districts taken at one third more, 5,503,252 oz. for the whole of the Transvaal, worth at 31. 10s. an ounce 19,261,382. According to the State Mining Engineer there were in the Transvaal on December 31st, 1898, 137 gold-mines, of which 45 were dividend-payers; 52 were gold-producing and non-dividend-paying; and 40 non-producing. The nominal capital of the companies was 50,277,1897. ; and the issued capital of the dividend-payers 20,294,6757, category of paying mines. So great is the capital required for the development and equipment of these mines, and so small relatively the population, that only the best have been so far worked; but, with gradually improving methods of extraction and probably decreased costs, a great expansion of the industry may be looked for, though in the somewhat distant future; and it may be predicted with confidence that the middle of the century will not see the exhaustion of the gold in this region. The gold-mining industry in Rhodesia has been subject to many vicissitudes, owing to difficulties of communication, the Matabele war and subsequent rebellion, and the present hostilities, in spite of which, however, that country shows signs of progress. The revenue of the Mines Department for the year ending March 31st, 1900, was 79,472l. 14s. 3d., as against 40,304l. 6s. 5d. for the previous year. The total number of stamps erected to date is 289, and 245 are in course of construction; eleven mining companies, with an issued capital of 1,859,000l., have reached the producing stage; and between September 1898, when crushing began, and December 1st, 1900, 261,787 tons were crushed, which yielded 151,196 oz. of gold-an average of 11.56 dwts. per ton, excluding tailings. The production of the Tati Concessions is not included in these figures. Expeditions have been sent to the north of the Zambesi River under the auspices of the Tanganyika Concessions Company, the Northern Copper (B.S.A.) Company, and others; as a result of which it is claimed that both gold and copper, in quantities that are believed to be profitable, have been discovered. Too little, however, has as yet been done in the locality to venture a prediction to-day as to the future of that region. Nothing more than a sketch of the situation and production of the gold mines is possible within the limits of this paper; but sufficient is in evidence here to justify the belief that South Africa will be the greatest gold producer the world has so far known. Taking the best section of the Rand, about eleven and a half miles from Langlaagte Block B to the Glencairn, some gentlemen of repute in the mining world have made various computations as to the output of gold which may be anticipated from this section. In 1893 and 1895 the late Mr Hamilton Smith, assuming that a vertical depth of from 3000 to 3500 feet would be the maximum at which it would be profitable to work, estimated that 325,000,000l. worth of gold would be extracted. Bergrath Schmeisser in 1894 calculated that the same section would produce 349,000,000l. Still larger is the estimate of Mr Hatch and Mr Chalmers, two mining engineers of note who have had great experience on the Witwatersrand in later years, and are in possession of information gathered from the deepest shafts and boreholes. In their book, 'The Gold Mines of the Rand,' published in 1895, they give it as their opinion that no physical or mechanical difficulty will prevent profitable mining at a depth of 5000 feet vertical; but upon the assumption that 'a vertical depth of only 3500 to 4000 feet, or more exactly 8000 feet on the incline' will be worked, they say 'The total production to be expected from the main section of the Rand, i.e., from Roodepoort to Driefontein inclusive, a distance of twenty-seven miles, will amount to 592,000,000Z., or, if we include the outlying portions of the district, upwards of 700,000,000l. These figures may at first sight appear extravagant, but as they are based upon results actually obtained by the mining companies, and represent the logical deduction from the facts which have up to the present been rendered available by the developments of Witwatersrand mines, we are prepared to stand by them.' The extent of the mineral wealth in South Africa cannot be estimated with any accuracy to-day. That it is vast is certain; that it is far in excess of the most sanguine figures which one could venture to quote to-day is probable. There are large deposits of iron ore which the conditions hitherto obtaining have rendered it impossible to work, but which in conjunction with the splendid coal now known to exist in their locality will, when the consumption of that metal warrants the erection of the costly appliances needed for its production, be turned to account. The manner in which the country is governed will have great influence upon the rapidity of its development. Under the Boer administration there was a settled policy of restriction; under the British Government there will be a consistent policy of expansion; and, if commodities are reduced to the lowest prices practicable, and every assistance is given to those who wish to settle in the country, the progress of South Africa will probably astound the world. That progress must, it is clear, be due chiefly, for many years to come, to the mineral wealth of the country; but the development of the mining industry will not require, as is the case with South African agriculture, the active intervention of the State and the application of national funds. All that is wanted is due security for public peace, and the removal of all unnecessary restrictions. Given these indispensable preliminary conditions, the mining industry will take care of itself. (IV.) Means of Communication. It was shown in a previous section of this article that South Africa's greatest need is a larger white population. To meet this need, the development of her mineral wealth and other natural resources was recommended as likely to induce immigration; while the encouragement of agriculture and the speedy establishment of irrigation works were specially mentioned in the same connexion. It remains to point out that the improvement of the means of communication is another not less important essential. The country has no navigable waterways excepting the Zambesi and some of its larger affluents; all intercommunication depends therefore upon the multiplication and extension of railways and roads. South Africa's railway era has yet to come; and the settlement which faces us will be much facilitated if the different State Governments determine that it shall not be longer delayed. A great work has still to be carried out by the railway engineer in South Africa. The demands of the miner have been partially met, but the cultivator's claims for means of communication with his markets have been almost wholly neglected. The course of the lines that have been built has been determined, not by the needs of the cultivator, but by the fortuitous situation of the chief harbours and the mineral fields discovered. It was Kimberley, the great diamond centre, that first set the Cape Colony moving; and, though one line would have sufficed, local jealousies between rival ports led to two lines being constructed, one starting from Cape Town and the other from Port Elizabeth. It was only in 1886, seventeen years after the discovery of diamonds, that these two main lines, which Vol. 198.-No. 386. 2 P |