THE WORLD'S GOLD YIELD.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 23, 20 February 1909, Page 3

THE WORLD'S GOLD YIELD.

How much gold the world will produce this year and how iar the demand for the metal will increase are questions of vital importance. Of the,world's production Greater Britain supplies about tiU ![mt cent., the larger portion of this beiug obtained from the Transvaal. Great progress lias ibeen made of recent years in the methods of production, but greater advances are -expected. By the veduttioni of cost of working large quantities of low-grade ore are being utilised in the Trausvaal and gold extracted. iMany companies in the Transvaal aire also erecting more stamps, introducing tube mills, a,nd otherwise increasing their machinery. Une great group of mining com'pa,«ies iiit vA< to increase its capacity by a<bou't 3 ,! ; ■ nl.; others, -while they may not j-.j. -..jmi so much extra machinery, wi.l probably produce more gold. Une good authority ou Tiransvaal mining anticipates that the percentage of increase; this rear in the J'aud output will be double that of the year just ended, iter the eleven months lo the end of November last the rate u'i" increase over 11)07 in the Transvaal gold output was nearly 0 per ceut., aud the total output for the year, with De» mnber's ligures, should be about 7,0:25,000 ounces, the value being 'nearly

.vlR),000,000. 3u increase of 18 per cent, would mean an ex lira 1,21)4,000 ounces ivud an increase in value of £3,400,000. Khodesia is slowly though steadily ini leasing its output, aud West Airica is also growing as a gold-producer, and will probably be more in evidence when extra capital has beeu introduced into ihr; industry.

T'lie world's 'proUuctiou of gold in 1007 was .C 82,500,000, having grown from eii:!,.IOU.(JU(I ill 1800, when the Boer War restricted the output until 1003. With .the iniircase hi the Transvaal output fi,ml other parts of the Empire, even if tiie pruckietion of other countries does not advance, this year should see an inVrease of nearly £0,000,000 in the value of gold produced -in the world.