Nevertheless,
the deterioration in the world copper position and the realization, not
only that the bargaining power of Northern Rhodesia copper interests
would gain from closer association, but also that the difficulties of
raising new capital were bound to grow with the world depression,
caused the project to be revived, but with a very significant
difference. The Bwana M'Kubwa had some very valuable rights: the N'Kana
Mine and participating rights in the N'Kana Concession, but the M'Kubwa
Mine itself was a disappointment. Discussion was centred round the
possibihty of amalgamating, not only R.C.B.C. and N'Changa, but these
two properties and Bwana M'Kubwa.
In
August 1930 Ernest Oppenheimer was in London. While there, he composed
two important documents. The first was the memorandum, already referred
to, which was intended for the use of his City banking friends; inter alia, it set out the position as regards the Northern Rhodesia interests of Anglo American Corporation and Rhodesian Anglo American:
The present position of Rhodesian Anglo American is as follows:
(1) It has approximately a 54 per cent interest in Bwana and, as Bwana has roughly
a 30 per cent interest in all Rhodesian Selection Trust properties in
the N'Kana area, Rhodesian Anglo American controls a substantial
minority interest in the Chester Beatty group. It has moreover an
understanding with the British South Africa Company that, if they ever
want to sell their interest in the N'Kana grants, they must offer it
first to Rhodesian Anglo American and this would increase Bwana's
interest to about 36 per cent or 37 per cent.
(2) Rhodesian Anglo American is the largest shareholder in the Rhodesian Congo Border Concession and its consulting engineers, and it has established the
friendliest relations with the Rio Tinto group, which, as a group, has
a somewhat larger shareholding than Rhodesian Anglo American.
(3)
The concession companies are controlled by Rhodesian Anglo American
who acts also as consulting engineers for the Rhodesia Broken Hill
Development Company Limited.
(4) Rhodesian Anglo American is the biggest individual shareholder in the British South Africa Company.
All
this required very large cash resources and called from time to time
for considerable increases in the Rhodesian Anglo American capital. Up
to now the Anglo American Corporation and friends have continued to
subscribe their proportion of the new Rhodesian Anglo American capital
so as to secure—as originally arranged—the control of the company. In
all, the Anglo American Corporation and its subsidiaries have put up
-£2,500,000. The Anglo American Corporation not only financed its own
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