816
MINERAL RESOURCES.
SOUTH AFRICA.
Griqualand West.—The twentieth annual report of the De Beers Consolidated Mines a shows
a large decrease in the number of loads of "blue" raised and washed and
in the quantity and value of diamonds obtained. The total production
of blue ground at all the mines—De Beers, Kimberley, Wesselton,
Bultfontein, and Dutoit-span—was 5,497,782 loads of 16 cubic feet, as
against 9,010,686 loads in 1907, and the total quantity washed was
4,965,323 loads in 1908 as against 6,626,291 loads in 1907. The stock
of blue on the floors was increased from 9,391,603 loads in 1907 to
9,955,123 loads in 1908. The number of carats of diamonds won from all
the mines and from the tailings and debris was 2,177,191, as compared
with 2,619,872 carats in 1907. The number of carats of diamonds won per
hundred loads remained the same as in 1907 in the De Beers and
Kimberley and Bultfontein mines and showed a slight decrease in the
Wesselton and Dutoitspan mines. The average cost of mining and
depositing the blue was lowered in the De Beers, Kimberley, and
Wesselton mines and slightly increased in the Bultfontein and
Dutoitspan. The cost of washing and winning the diamonds was materially
lowered in all the mines. The value of the diamonds produced,
calculated on the basis of diamonds sold, was £3,354,524, as compared
with £6,452,597 in 1907. Owing to the severe depression in the diamond
market, the output of diamonds was not all sold, and those disposed of
brought a slightly lower price than in 1907. The amount distributed in
dividends during 1908 was £800,000, as against £2,550,000 in 1907. The
payment of this amount in dividends was much to the company's credit,
considering the general depressed condition of the diamond market and
the fact that no diamonds were sold during the last five months of the
year. By closing the De Beers and Dutoitspan mines and reducing the
scale of the work at the others the operations were reduced step by
step to about 35 per cent of what they were during 1907. This
accomplished the purpose of maintaining the price of diamonds,
especially those of better grade, though the increased output of the
Premier mine made this difficult. Attention is called to the fact that
about 30 per cent by weight of the parcels of diamonds sold by the
company contains 70 per cent of the values.
A new diamond field was proclaimed at Harrisdale, 14 miles from Kimberley, on July 16,1908,b and
the best prospectswere hastily taken up. This diamond deposit consists
of alluvial gravel wash, running from 4 inches to 3 feet in thickness.
Water is scarce and has to be pumped from Vaal River, 7 miles off, and
then carried 5 miles by donkeys. The ground was prospected by a few men
before the field was opened, and £20,000 worth of diamonds were
reported as won in six weeks. The diamonds are of excellent quality and
average about £8 per carat.
Transvaal.—The production of diamonds in Transvaalc
during the fiscal year 1908 amounted to 2,184,490 carats, valued at
£1,879,551, an increase of 639,154 carats in quantity and a decrease of
£323,960 in value, as compared with 1907. The production came
principally from the Premier mine, though eleven other companies and
the allu-
a Twentieth Ann. Kept. De Beers Consolidated Mines for year ending June 30,1908.
& Mining World, October 17,1908.
'Ann. Rept. Gov't Min. Eng., Transvaal, lftJ7.
