COMMERCIAL CONTROL

The commercial control of the gold resources of the world is shown in [Table 68] and in [Figure 20]. In examining the table and the diagram the reader should remember that the figures and percentages are at best only estimates. Most gold mines are owned by companies whose shares are bearer’s shares; these are bought and sold in the stock markets of many financial centers. Today the control may be in the hands of one group, tomorrow in the hands of another. Because of this ever-changing ownership, it is difficult to determine the nationality of the commercial control, particularly when there is any attempt to conceal the nationality of the capital invested. Table and diagram, however, are believed to be approximately correct. The information upon which they are based was obtained from mining manuals, the reports of mining companies, the reports of consular agents in the various countries, and by personal interviews with mining engineers.

Fig. 20.—Political and commercial control of the gold production of the world.

[Table 68] may be summarized as follows:

Commercial Control of Gold Resources

CountryPercentage
of 1917
production
British Empire63.0 
United States23.0 
France 5.6 
Russia 2.1 
Japan 1.7 
China 0.84
Belgium 0.5 
Brazil 0.07
Germany 0.81
Mexico 0.21
Unclassified 1.9 

It is interesting to note that political control and commercial control are closely identical in the case of the British Empire and the United States. French control is much more important commercially than politically. In other countries, little domestic capital is available, and political control is much greater than commercial control.

Commercial control, if different from political control, joins in a test of strength with it in periods of emergency or unrest, with the result that the stronger subdues the weaker. As regards governments that are strong and stable enough, the recent war has demonstrated that the elimination of foreign capital invested in a country is easy. The United States and Great Britain, in particular, have taken over a great number of companies formerly owned by German interests. Where the government is not so strong, however, the commercial control, backed in many instances by the more vigorous home governments from which the invested capital comes, wins the day, and political events are thus determined, even to the extent of overturning the weaker government. Thus the overturning of the Boer government and the birth of British South Africa was the result of the clash between British commercial control and Boer political control.

The question of the control of gold stocks is discussed in the report of the gold committee of the Department of the Interior.[175] The control of stocks in 1916 is shown graphically in [Figure 21] and is discussed more in detail in the section following, “[Position of Leading Commercial Nations].”

[175] Report of the committee appointed by the Secretary of the Interior to study the gold situation.

The gold mines of the United States are controlled mainly by American capital. A few of the mines are predominantly British, and shares in other mining companies are undoubtedly held in London, but the total production controlled by Great Britain is small. It has been estimated that in recent years 95 per cent. of the annual output was controlled by Americans and the remainder by British.

Over half of the gold mined in Canada comes from the Province of Ontario, chiefly from the Porcupine district. In 1917 and 1918, the Hollinger mine, owned by the Hollinger Gold Mines, Ltd., was the main producer. It is one of the greatest gold mines in the world, having paid over $9,000,000 in dividends up to the end of 1918. The control of the company is held in the United States. Another mine of importance in the Porcupine district is the McIntyre, owned by the McIntyre Porcupine Mines, Ltd., also American. In the Province of British Columbia, the greatest producing camp is Rossland, operated by the Consolidated Mining & Smelting Co., controlled by United States and Canadian capital. It has been estimated that about two-thirds of the gold mines of Canada are controlled by United States capital and the remaining one-third by British capital, including Canadian.

Table 68.—Financial Control of the Gold Production of the World, 1917
(Percentages are only approximate)

CountryProduction
1917
(in dollars)		1917 Production controlled financially by—Remarks
United
States		United
Kingdom		FranceBelgiumJapanChinaRussiaBrazilTotal
Allies		GermanyMexicoUnclassified
North America:
United States$83,750,700$79,563,165$4,187,535..................$83,750,700.........95 per cent. by United States capital; 5 per cent. by British.
Canada15,200,00010,000,0005,200,000..................15,200,000.........66 per cent. by United States capital; 33 per cent. by British.
Mexico9,000,0002,700,0003,600,000$900,000...............7,200,000$900,000$900,000...Capital control: British 40 per cent.; United States 30 per cent.;French 10 per cent.; German 10 per cent. and Mexican 10 per cent.
Central America3,122,000750,000750,000..................1,500,000......$1,622,00050 per cent. by natives; 25 per cent. each by United States and Great Britain.
South America:
Argentina4,600.................................4,600
Bolivia115,000.................................115,000
Chile200,000200,000.....................200,000.........
Brazil2,958,000...2,662,200...............$295,8002,958,000.........90 per cent. by British capital.
Colombia6,200,000620,0003,000,000900,000$620,000............5,140,000......1,060,000Capital control: 50 per cent. British; 15 per cent. French; 10 per cent. Belgian;10 per cent. United States; and 15 per cent. local.
Guiana:
British600,000...600,000..................600,000.........
Dutch400,000...125,000125,000...............250,000......150,000
French1,500,000......1,500,000...............1,500,000.........
Peru1,300,0001,300,000.....................1,300,000.........
Other S. America1,357,000.................................1,357,000
Europe:
Austria-Hungary[176]2,179,000...........................[176]2,179,000......
France700,000......700,000...............700,000.........
Germany[176]135,600...........................[176]135,600......
Great Britain5,000...5,000..................5,000.........
Italy2,000.................................2,000
Russia and Siberia18,000,000...9,000,000............$9,000,000...18,000,000.........Large part of Russian production probably controlled by German capital. Situation uncertain.
Serbia[176]328,000.................................[176]328,000
Sweden10,000.................................10,000
Turkey[176]500.................................[176]500
Asia:
China$3,600,000...............3,600,000......3,600,000.........Probably controlled largely by Japanese and other foreign capital.
Chosen (Korea)4,444,000$2,500,000.........$1,944,000.........4,444,000.........Part of production credited to Japan controlled by British.
Dutch East Indies2,818,000...$2,100,000..................2,100,000......718,000
Federated Malay States342,300...342,300..................342,300.........
French Indo-China50,000......$50,000...............50,000.........
Japan and Formosa5,595,200............5,595,200.........5,595,200.........
India and British Indies10,756,800...10,756,800..................10,756,800.........
Australasia35,945,500...35,945,500..................35,945,500.........Before war considerable capital controlled by Germans. Small blocks now owned by Dutch and Belgians.
Africa:
Belgian Congo2,000,000500,000......1,500,000............2,000,000.........25 per cent. by American capital.
Egypt and Sudan150,000...150,000..................150,000.........
German East Africa[176]253,200........................ [176]253,200......
Madagascar1,000,000......1,000,000...............1,000,000.........
Rhodesia14,988,600...14,988,600..................14,988,600.........
Transvaal186,254,256...167,629,25618,625,000...............186,254,256.........Before war controlled in large part by German interests. At present: British, 90 per cent.; French, 10 per cent.
West Africa (British)7,435,488...7,435,488..................7,435,488.........Probably all controlled by British capital.
Undistributed2,785,656.................................2,785,656
Total (1917)$422,590,100$98,133,165$268,477,679$23,800,000$2,120,000$7,539,200$3,600,000$9,000,000$295,800$412,965,844$3,467,800$900,000$8,152,756
Total (including 1913 figures)$425,486,400
Per cent. of world production10023635.60.51.70.842.10.0796.810.810.211.9

[176] Production in 1913. Later figures not available.

The gold mines of Mexico are owned by British, American and French capital in the order named. The principal mining companies of the El Oro district, the leading gold district of the republic, are El Oro Mining & Railway Co., Ltd., Esperanza, Ltd., and the Dos Estrellas Mining Co. British capital controls El Oro Mining & Railway Co., Ltd., and 51 per cent. of the shares of Esperanza, Ltd., the remaining 49 per cent. being controlled by Americans. The French have been acquiring control of mining properties in El Oro district in recent years. They now own Dos Estrellas Mining Co., and the Mexico Mines of El Oro, Ltd. Both companies were previously controlled in London. The Dolores mine, in the western part of the State of Chihuahua, one of the famous gold mines of Mexico, is owned by the Mines Company of America, an American corporation.

Fig. 21.—Stocks of gold in banks, public treasuries and in circulation in principal countries of the world in 1916.

In the State of Durango, the gold mines, most of which also produce silver, are owned by the American Smelting & Refining Co. (American), the Bacis Gold & Silver Mines Co. (British), and the Inde Gold Mining Co. (American). Most of the gold-silver mines of the State of Guanajuato have been developed by American capital. The State of Sinaloa is becoming a gold-producing region; the Palmarito mines of the Mocorito district and the Minas de Tajo at Rosario are owned by American interests. Gold is found in the copper ores of Sonora. Most of the mines of the district are controlled by Americans.

The mines of Chihuahua, Hidalgo, and Zacatecas are primarily silver mines but their ores carry some gold. In Chihuahua, American capital is probably predominant, with British ranking second. During recent years, German interests, through the American Metal Co. and its subsidiaries, have been acquiring control of properties in Chihuahua and in other parts of Mexico. German capital is also invested in Zacatecas, the main company being controlled by A. Goerz & Co., Ltd. The mines of the State of Hidalgo, the leading silver-producing district of Mexico, are owned by American, British and Mexican capital.

The gold mines of Central America[177] are of some importance at present, and production may increase somewhat in the future. The mines are owned for the most part by American and British capital, in the order named. Subsidiaries of the United Fruit Co., and the Tonopah Mining Co., both American, operate properties in Costa Rica and Nicaragua.

[177] “Investments in Latin America and the British West Indies,” Special Agent Series No. 169, Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, U. S. Department of Commerce, 1918.

In Colombia, the leading gold-producing country of South America, most of the large companies are British, the most important being the Pato Mines, the Nechi Mines, and the Frontino and Bolivia Mines. A Belgian company, the Platinum & Gold Concessions of Colombia, Ltd., and a French company, the San Antonio Gold Mines Co., Ltd., have recently acquired gold-mining concessions. American capital is also invested in the industry.

The two most important mining companies of Brazil, the St. John del Rey Mining Co., Ltd., and the Ouro Preto Gold Mines of Brazil, Ltd., are under British management. Some French capital is interested in the latter property. Most of the mines of French Guiana are controlled by French companies. In the remaining South American countries gold mining is of comparatively little importance. Production is controlled largely by British and American capital.

The foreign capital invested in the mines of Siberia and Russia is mainly British, though Germany is known to have been much interested in the industry. Some Russian capital, especially that furnished by the large Russian banks, was invested in Siberian mining properties. The mining laws of the old Russian Empire provided that mineral properties could be held both by foreign and Russian companies under concessions or leases granted by the crown or under leases from Russian estates. In many cases foreign capitalists formed holding companies to acquire a controlling interest in a Russian company in whose name the property was held and operated. Most of these holding companies had their main offices in London and most of the directors were British citizens. Control was apparently British. The shares of the companies were bearers’ shares, however, and were traded in extensively on the Petrograd exchange.

The most important gold-mining district of Siberia is in the Province of Irkutsk, on the Lena River. A Russian company, the Lenskoie Gold Industrial Co., has been operating the principal properties of this district since 1863. The directors of the company are Russian Jews. A British company, the Lena Goldfields, Ltd., held 70 per cent. of the shares of the Lenskoie Co., but in 1917 completed the sale of 51,000 shares of stock to a Petrograd group including the Imperial Foreign Corporation, Ltd., and the Russian and English Bank. The Lena Goldfields, Ltd., now owns less than 10 per cent. of the Lenskoie stock.

A pyrite-copper mine yielding enough gold as a by-product to make the profit is located in the government of Perm, southern district of the Ural Mountains, and is owned by the Kyshtim Mining Works, a Russian company controlled by the Kyshtim Corporation, Ltd., of London. The company holds a large concession, including forests, farms, and mineral land. The control of the Kyshtim Corporation is apparently British.

The Tanalyk Corporation is controlled by practically the same interests as those controlling the Kyshtim Corporation and was organized to acquire entire control of the South Urals Mining & Smelting Co. The property of the company, situated in the County of Orsk, Orenburg government, southern Urals, is only a prospect and has not been fully developed. It includes a total area of 28,350 acres of timber and mineral land. The ore contains copper, gold, and silver, the copper content being the most valuable. During 1917, the shares held in the Kyshtim Mining Works and the South Urals Mining & Smelting Co. were vested in the Canadian Development Corporation, Ltd., a company registered in Canada, probably for the purpose of escaping the high British income taxes. The transfer involved no change of control, as the two British holding companies, the Kyshtim Corporation and the Tanalyk Corporation, Ltd., control the Canadian company.

The Kolchan placer property, in the Okhotsk mining province of Eastern Siberia, has been leased, for a royalty based on the gross output of gold, by the Orsk Goldfields, Ltd., a British company, from the Russo-Asiatic Bank. The Orsk Goldfields, Ltd., originally controlled a gold-mining property in the Province of Orenburg, southern Urals, but abandoned the lease and option.

A great deal of gold is produced in Siberia as a by-product of copper, lead, and zinc mines. The control of these mines is much the same as the control of the above-mentioned gold properties—British with Russian shareholders, chiefly representative of Russian banks.

Japanese control is being expanded, especially in eastern Siberia. It was reported in the Japanese press, in November, 1918, that the Japanese special financial mission was planning the establishment of a Japan-Russian partnership enterprise similar to the Japan-China Industrial Association for the purpose of obtaining from the Russian authorities rights in the Siberian mining and forest areas and of exploiting the natural resources of Siberia. It was proposed that among the investors in the partnership should be included Russian capitalists, the South Manchurian Railway, the East Asia Development Co., the Japan-China Mercantile Association, and capitalists of the Entente countries.

Practically all of the output of India comes from the mines of the Kolar reef of Mysore. There are six large producing companies, as follows: Champion Reefs Mining Co., of India, Ltd.; Gold Fields of Mysore and General Exploration, Ltd.; Mysore Gold Mining Co., Ltd.; Nundydroog Co., Ltd.; Balaghat Gold Mining Co., Ltd.; and Ooregum Gold Mining Co. of India, Ltd. The companies are all British and are owned by closely connected interests. Other operating companies in India are the Hutti (Nizam’s) Gold Mines, Ltd., of Hyderabad, southern India; and the Northern Anantapur Gold Mines, Ltd., and Jibutil (Anantapur) Gold Mines, Ltd., Madras Presidency, all being British companies.

In Japan the state reserves to itself the right of original ownership in all ores, and grants to individuals or companies the right to work the deposits. Under the law of 1890, a foreigner was disqualified from working a mine and was not permitted to become a member of a mining establishment, so that the right of working mines was exclusively reserved for Japanese subjects. By an amendment of the mining regulations in 1900, business establishments organized by Japanese or foreigners or by both are now permitted to work mines, provided such establishments are placed under Japanese laws. A bill was recently introduced into the Japanese Parliament proposing to grant the privilege of mining and property rights to foreigners. Japanese capital has almost complete control of the gold mines of the empire.

The principal gold mines are owned by the following companies: Tanak Chobei (Formosa), Mitsubishi & Co. (Sado), Shimadzu Tadashige (Satsuma), Fujita & Co. (Rikuchu and Formosa), Kimura Kintaro (Formosa), and Ushio Gold Mine Co. (Satsuma).

The most valuable of the mineral concessions of Chosen (Korea), including gold, are in the hands of foreign companies, the majority of which are American. The Oriental Consolidated Mining Co., an American company, controls the Unsan mines in North Pyong-an Province, northwestern Korea, the most important gold-producing property of the country. The concession includes 600 square miles on the Anju River and has about 21 years to run, with the option of renewal for 15 years. The operating company pays $15,000 annually to the Korean government. Ore reserves were estimated on July 1, 1916, at 852,000 tons, valued at $4,823,000.

The Chiksan mines, in South Choonchong Province, are also managed by American capital. The Suan mines, in Whanghai Province, were originally controlled by a British company but have been leased to an American company. An Italian company owns mines in North Pyong-an Province, and a British company is operating in North Choonchong Province. A German company owned mines, not in full working order, in North Pyong-an Province, but the properties have doubtless been seized by the Japanese government. Japanese and Korean miners own and operate the smaller mines of the country, the output of which has decreased greatly during recent years.

Although the gold output of China in 1917 amounted to $3,600,000, the deposits are small and widely scattered and are owned and operated almost exclusively by the native miners. Some of the larger mines have been financed by the governments of the provinces. In some provinces the owners of mining property are not permitted to seek investments of foreign capital unless they are unable to finance the property within the province. Prospecting has been carried on in many parts of the country in recent years, but no deposits have been discovered sufficiently promising to attract foreign investors. In view of their activity in developing the other natural resources of China, it is probable that the Japanese will attempt to control the industry should any important deposits be discovered.

In the Transvaal all minerals belong to the government and not to the owners of the surface of the land. When gold, or any other mineral, is discovered, a part of the territory (less than half) is reserved for the owner of the land, another part for the discoverer of the mineral, and the remainder is open to location. At present the ownership of mineral lands is being retained by the government. The right to exploit the mineral wealth is granted on a lease to the highest bidder, the bids being based upon a percentage of profits, graded according to working costs and grade of ore. A tax of 10 per cent. on profits, allowing for amortization of capital, is levied on all gold-mining properties.

Before the war, practically all the gold mines of the Witwatersrand were controlled by British and German capital. The first American company entered the field in 1917 and some French capital has also been invested. The German position was strong, as the German companies controlled half, and perhaps more, of the capital invested in gold mines. The report of the South African Custodian of Enemy Property issued early in 1918 showed that no less than 26,000 enemy shareholders in gold, coal, and other mining concerns in the Union owned stock to the aggregate nominal value of $37,500,000. As gold is by far the most important mineral of the Transvaal, it is probable that the greater part of this German capital was invested in gold mines. The enemy firms were wound up or went into voluntary liquidation, and enemy shares in mining corporations to the face value of $24,000,000 were taken charge of by the Custodian of Enemy Property.[178]

[178] “Engineering and Mining Journal,” May 11, 1918, p. 888.

The control of the gold mines of the Transvaal is centered in the following six companies: Central Mining & Investment Corporation, the Consolidated Mines Selection Co., Johannesburg Consolidated Investment Co., the Consolidated Goldfields of South Africa, the Union Corporation (formerly Ed Goerz & Co.), and the General Mining & Finance Corporation. The last two companies were absolutely German before the war. The Central Mining & Investment Corporation controls probably 50 per cent. of the output of the district. American capital is interested in the Consolidated Mines Selection Co. Another American company, the Anglo-American Corporation of South Africa, Ltd., was registered at Pretoria on September 25, 1917, with an issued capital of £1,000,000. The immediate object of the corporation is to participate in tendering for leases of certain Far East Rand gold-mining areas.[179]

[179] U. S. Commerce Reports, December 15, 1917, p. 1033.

It has been reported that French capital controls about 10 per cent. of the annual output. For many years the majority of the mining engineers in the Transvaal were Americans.

The Germans had not only acquired a considerable control through the investment of capital in mining properties, but they also exercised control through their trade in mine supplies. Orenstein-Arthur Koppel Co. had established an important trade in rails, mine trucks, and similar supplies, and continued to do business even after the beginning of the war. Soon after the sinking of the Lusitania, a mob destroyed the offices of the company in Johannesburg and burned a stock of much-needed supplies. At the outbreak of the war it was feared that there might be serious obstacles in the way of the gold-mining industry continuing a normal course, because of the possible difficulty in obtaining enough of the cyanide, mercury, and zinc used in gold extraction, much of which had been previously supplied by Germany. The necessary materials were obtained from other sources, however.

Rhodesia is controlled by the British South African Co., organized by Cecil John Rhodes, for whom the colony was named. The company is entirely British; it is the government, levies the taxes, administers the laws, and controls the mining industry. Companies and individuals are permitted to locate mining claims much the same as they are in California. The Goldfields Rhodesian Development Co., which has large Rhodesian mining interests, is an offshoot of the Consolidated Goldfields of South Africa. It is safe to say that the gold mines of Rhodesia are owned and worked entirely by British capital. A percentage tax is levied on the output of the gold mines.

In Australia, before the war, much the same conditions existed as in South Africa. The large gold-mining companies were seemingly British; their headquarters were either in Australia or in London and their directors and managers were British. It is certain, however, that a considerable amount of German capital was invested in the companies. Among the important producing companies are the Associated Gold Mines of Western Australia, Great Boulder Proprietary Mines, Ltd., Golden Horseshoe Estates Co., Ltd., Ivanhoe Gold Corporation, Ltd., all of Western Australia; the Mount Morgan Gold Mining Co., of Queensland; the Mount Boppy Gold Mining Co., and the Mount Lyell Mining & Railway Co., Ltd., of Tasmania.

Through the vigorous action of the Australian prime minister, William M. Hughes, German capital was expelled early in the war from all the industries of the commonwealth, including gold, lead, and zinc mines, smelters and refineries, and buying organizations. In January, 1916, to safeguard the financial position of the commonwealth, the prime minister issued decrees providing that no new flotations of companies or increases in the capital of existing companies would be allowed without the consent of the treasurer of the commonwealth; that companies incorporated in Australia would have three months to discontinue the holding of their shares by persons of enemy nationality or origin, whether naturalized or not; and that in the future no transfers of shares to persons of enemy nationality or origin would be permitted.[180]

[180] U. S. Commerce Reports, February 21, 1916, p. 733.

The remaining countries of the world are of little importance as gold producers; hence a discussion of the commercial control of their mines would be of little value. In most of them the mining properties are owned and operated by domestic capital, the former Empire of Austria-Hungary being one exception to this general statement. Prior to the war, British capital controlled gold mines in Transylvania.

The ownership of smelters and reduction plants has little influence upon the commercial control of the gold industry. Most of the large gold-mining companies have their own refineries at the mines, and smelter control is therefore identical with mine control. Some gold is produced as a by-product in the smelting of lead, silver, and copper, particularly in the United States, where the smelters are controlled almost entirely by American capital. Further discussion of the commercial control of smelters and refineries will be found in [Chapters XIV], [XV], and [XXX].

The control of secret processes and patents is of less importance in the commercial control of the gold-mining industry than that of any other mineral. The industry is peculiar in that the price of gold is always fixed and there is no competition for a market. Control of an improved method of extracting or refining gold might enable one company to reduce mining and refining costs and thus insure a larger profit, but giving the improved process to a second company would not necessarily reduce the profits of the company that had discovered it.