5l6
SIR ERNEST OPPENHEIMER
River'.
The initial capital was -£500,000 and Anglo American Corporation
participated in the provision of the initial working capital; other
local groups who had also been offered a participation had declined.
Shareholders in Anglo American Corporation were informed, 'the venture
has considerable speculative chances and, given reasonable good
fortune, should prove to be a most important enterprise'.33
♦ XV ♦
The
development of the 'West Wits Line' by West Witwatersrand Areas and of
the Klerksdorp interests of Western Reefs was pushed forward
vigorously: in June 1934 the first mining company, Venters-post, was
floated off by West Witwatersrand and the flotation of a second
subsidiary, Libanon, was foreshadowed. Anglo American Corporation
increased its holdings in West Witwatersrand substantially during the
year (1935), partly through the exercise of its preferential rights to
subscribe for a portion of the debenture issue which was made in May
1935 and partly through purchases of shares in the market. In 1936
Western Reefs acquired 8,230 claims on a series of farms and the
prospecting and mining lease over a further 3,874 claims. Moreover,
the shareholders of Anglo American Corporation were informed at the
annual meeting held on 30 April 1937 that 'the Western Reefs company is
also interested in a number of the prospecting ventures in the Free
State, which are being conducted under the direction of this
corporation, the Anglo Transvaal Consolidated Investment Company
Limited and the Union Corporation Limited'. The full significance of
this laconic statement must be left to be described in a later section.
In 1936 also, West Witwatersrand Areas had announced the imminent
flotation of the Libanon Mine. At the annual meeting of Anglo American
Corporation held on 30 April 1937, shareholders were further told that
'a third subsidiary, which will own mining rights on the farm
Blyvooruitzicht, and will be under the management of the Central Mining
and Investment Corporation Limited, will be floated as soon as
agreement with the Mining Leases Board is realized in regard to the
terms of the lease'.
At the same annual meeting, Ernest Oppenheimer announced the formation of the West Rand Investment Trust, an event already
33 In
after years, Ernest Oppenheimer always gave the New Consolidated Gold
Fields full credit for initiating what, since 1932, has become such an
important contribution to South African gold production.
