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.