By
the laws of this State all minerals belong to the owners of the farms
upon which they are found. In the settlement of the boundary line
between the Free State and Griqualand West it was agreed that the
farmers who had held titles to their farms under the laws of the Free
State should retain the right to any minerals that might be found upon
them. After months of wrangling, Ward's claim was established beyond
dispute. Ward was without means to continue prospecting, and parted
with half his rights for £3,000. When the mine was discovered, De Beers Consolidated Mines bought the interest which Ward had sold, for which they paid £120,000.
Ward disputed De Beers ownership to an undivided one-half interest in
the property. The case came to trial in the Supreme Court of the Cape
Colony, the mine having been discovered in that part of the farm lying
within the Colony. Judgment was given in favor of De Beers, and that
Company became joint owner with Ward in the property, now called the
Premier Mine, named by Ward in honor of Rhodes, who was at the time
Premier of the Colony, and with whom he had conducted most of the
negotiation in relation to the purchase of the mine and the final
disposition of his interest. In the meantime Ward had obtained an
extension of his option for an additional sum of .£125,000. The
directors of De Beers mines were in no way consulted in this matter.
The time for taking up the option was drawing to a close, and as Ward
did not have the money to pay for his half, it was mutually agreed that
De Beers should pay the purchase price of £300,000, Ward becoming
responsible for the repayment of his half. After considerable
negotiation Ward agreed to cede his interest in the mine on the
following conditions : that he should take over the mine for a period
of five years, during which time he had the right to take out 5,000,000
loads, equal to 4,000,000 tons of diamond-bearing ground. Diamond-bearing and blue are not synonymous terms here, for Ward took out yellow ground
to the depth of about 60 feet. The mine was surveyed as accurately as
possible. An allowance of 8 feet in depth was made for the surface
limestone which covered the mine and
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