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THE NORTHWARD EXPANSION
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The
principle actually adopted by the British South Africa Company went
further than merely entrusting large syndicates or specially created
companies with the task of exploration. These exploration organizations
were given exclusive rights of exploration for a defined
period: the conditions being the expenditure of a minimum annual sum of
money and the reservation to the British South Africa Company of
participating rights in any mining companies subsequently to be formed,
as well as the grant of royalty rights on production. In Northern
Rhodesia, with practically no white settled population before the
exploitation of the mines began, it was possible to adopt this policy
without difficulty: it was otherwise in Southern Rhodesia, where
opposition was strong. The attitude of the British South Africa Company
was explained to the shareholders on 29 February 1928 by Sir Henry
Birchenough.
The
old-fashioned 'prospector' had neither the means nor the knowledge
required for large-scale prospecting in remote areas. If financially
strong and properly equipped prospecting companies were to take over
the task, they must be given time and security against the risk of
'interlopers', for
they
would clearly not embark their money if they were liable to be followed
about by others who might simply wait for their work to show signs of
resulting in some discovery, and then, by putting down their pegs in
the neighbourhood of those put down by the prospecting companies, seek
to reap the fruits for themselves. Exclusive rights, therefore, within
the limits and subject to the conditions to which I have referred, are
an indispensable condition of large-scale company prospecting.
He
admitted, however, that the policy was not everywhere popular: the
words 'concession' and 'monopoly' carried unpleasant implications and
the
frightening
effect of these long words remains, and has certainly so far produced
sufficient public feeling in Southern Rhodesia against the system of
prospecting which we believe to be the right one as to make it very
difficult for the Government, notwithstanding that their interest in
the matter is essentially the same as ours, to acquiesce in it.8
There thus came into existence six concession companies:
8
The Southern Rhodesian Government did, later, change its mind. In 1930,
there was registered the Victoria Prospecting Company, with exclusive
prospecting rights over 9,000 square miles in Southern Rhodesia,
originally for a period of two years. Rhodesian Anglo American (and a
large number of other mining houses) took up part of the capital of
£150,000. No discoveries resulted.
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