Ch. 3: Precious Gem stones in 1905

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	1328	MINERAL RESOURCES.

	success for the last nineteen years. He has for some time desired to be relieved from the cares of this position, and he will now be succeeded by his son, Mr. Alpheus F. Williams, who has been assistant manager for several years, is thoroughly familiar with the situation, and has ably conducted the working of this great mine in the several absences of his father in the United States. In regard to the output of the year, it presents no very marked differences from that of the year 1004. There is some advance in total production, due to the increasing yield of the two newer mines, the Bultfontein and the Dutoits-pan; but the old mines show a continued falling off. On the other hand, the Bultfontein and Dutoitspan have developed a sudden advance in richness, the yield per load of these two mines taken together being some 40 per cent above that of the year before. The other mine, previously known both as the Premier and the Wesselton, remains about the same in rate of production. This mine is spoken of in the present report only as the Wesselton, the name Premier being apparently discarded, and wisely so, in view of the prominence assumed by the great Premier mine near Pretoria in the Transvaal. The combined data for the De Beers and Kimberley mines are as follows: Production of De Beers and Kimberley mines in 1904 and 1905.



	It will be seen from these figures that the continued rise in value has again failed to counteract the decrease in richness, as shown by the diminished value per load. The quantity of blue ground reported as in sight in 1004 in these two mines was 9,987,908 loads; in 1903 it was 8,026,400 loads—a decrease of about one-fifth. Of the three newer mines the Wesselton furnished the maximum quantity of blue ground, 2.008,278 loads; and it yielded also one diamond of 187-1/2 carats, the largest yet found in this mine. The Bultfontein leaped from a yield of 0.20 carat per load in 1004 to an average of 0.41 iu 1905. This yield rose further during the latter half of the year, and a test from the east end of the mine area gave, in 32,122 loads, an average as high as 0.523 carat. The Dutoitspan mine more than doubled its former average yield, having risen from 0.12 to 0.26 carat per load. In quality the diamonds from this mine are far above those from any other. All three are still worked more or less as open mines.

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