THE GOLD AND DIAMONDS OF SOUTH AFRICA.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1425, 6 December 1886, Page 2

THE GOLD AND DIAMONDS OF SOUTH AFRICA.

{Wellington Press.)

We do not often hear much of Sooth Africa; bat things are moving along there, nevertheless. The diamond mines at Kimberley have yielded in less than 20 years, nearly five tons’ weight of diamonds, of the gross value of £40,003 000 Tha mines support a population of 30,000, amo .g whom about £2,000 000 a year is distributed for labor, machinery and material employed in working The shareholder. receive over £1 000 000 a year in dividend.. There seems to be a great likelihood now of gold runni g diamonds close. An Immense goldfield, r.f wonderful richness, has been discovered during 'ha present year at De Kaap In the South African Republic, and th U'h the difficultie. of access and other drawbacks are cons derable, about £750,000 of British capital has already been invested in tha development of the mines. The value of gold actually exported in eight months from the first di covery of the field was £>22 000. or about 16 per cent, on the wh le capital invested ; an enormous return, considering the inevitable loss at starting and also considering that probably as much gold is retained in the country as has been exported There is no alluvial digging and no “poor men’s ground,” but al> la quar z reefing on a systematic method by water power and machinery of one sort or another. In some of the mines the results are not only very splendid but very curb ua. At one a pot, l wo 0 <rnish miners n»m d Thr tr.a. found a shining substance on the surface by mere accident, and, sinking a shaft there on spec, brought up stnff wh’ch, wbr>n cru-hed with a “doily,” yielded from ?5 to 100 oz. of gold per ton. After clearing £2O) a week by their own labor wi h this rude contrivance for a time, th- y sold the mme fur £60,000 to a company, who have since done famously with it. At B'ay’a Quarrv, two ope set 1- n c ashed 7 0 tons .of quartz and got 8i za to tQe too, or about £ 0,000 worth of gold ; and only than discovered that the tailtrge, which they had saved c attained 4 oza to the ton. This wss dee to the presence of sulphate of iron, which c>v 'S the gold with a thin coating and p vo-ta the quicksilver on he copper pistes fr > i it. There we eno m an< of dealing eff dually with this diffica ty on the field, and a quantity of tha (.re has open »ent o London for scientific treatment The De K*ap Goldfield Is not in British territory, but partly in tne South Africa > Republic and partly in the native terrln ry of f weziland. The way to it, h'twevor. is by Cape Town or Natal, and practically it Is in British hands. There are two towns on the goldfield; Barberton and Eureka, each containing over 2000 prop e, and growing rapidly ; and tbe p e can be no doubt that as things are going now thete will soon be ao Urge a British populati 1 others that the political question will settle itself In a very simple m -uner. Tip climate for nine months in the year is heabhy enough, though hot; but ir 'he months of Febtuary, March and Ap r d the lower levels are malarial and fever has to be taken into account. Altogether, however, th° Da Kaap Child field, though not a Paradise is favorably situated in ail essential respects ; and there is little doubt that it Is destined to give South Africa a great lift, and even to make itself more widely felt by imparting a fresh impulse to British trade.