The evening times., 1899-11-15
THE WEALTH OF YUNNAN
Minerals That Abound in The Chi
neSe Province.
The American Consul at ChunEking
Reports That Gold. silver, Copper,
Tin. Iron, and Coal Are Plentiful
in the District-Native Rubies
Are Cut by Oriental Lapidaries.

George +. Smithers, American Consul at
Chungking. has transmitted TO the State
Department a report on the Yunnan dis
trict in China. The report follows:
The mineral wealth of Yunnan is very
great; gold, silver, copper, tin, iron, coal,
and various other minerals are abundant
throughout the most of this inaccessible
province. The Chinese Government is per-
fectly well aware of the existence of these
mineral deposits, and permission has been
granted by succeeding dynasties to extract
the wealth from the earth, and the local
Government has furnished funds from time
to time for the purpose Of assisting local
miners and metallurgists TO exercise their
calling on behalf of the State But the reg
ulations issued by the Government for the
guidance of the miners and metallurgists
have usually been of such nature as to
prevent a proper development of those in
dustries. Consequently, the work has been
done in a very primitive and wasteful man.
ner.
THE usual manner of getting ore in Yum
nan has been to follow lode from the
surface into the ground as long as possible,
without going TO the expense of sinking a
shaft or driving proitless tunnels. The
miners have usually been left to do as they
pleased underground, as the Government
officials and private capitalists have con-
sidered il beneath their dignity 10 explore
the caverns dug at their expense or under
their orders. The miners, in most in
stances, have been very badly treated, both
by official overseers and private capitalists,
and have taken their revenge on their en-
ployers by deceiving them to such an extent
as to ruin them. Their mode of operation
boe lI1- haap to
all the available capital in getting very poor
ore-in some cases no ore at all-and leav-
ing columns of the best-paying ore standing
in various parts of the underground work
ing, easily accessible whenever it was de-
sired. In this manner. the miners have
almost invariably succeeded in exhausting
the resources, as well as the patience, OF
the officials and capitalists, with the re-
suit that they have been forced to abandon
the mines as Improbable investments, and
the miners were disbanded and driven
away without pay. After enduring suffer
ing quietly for a time, the miners managed
TO repay themselves for their former trouble
by extracting in a quiet way the ore they
had left in the mines and selling it to petty
local manufacturers, or themselves coming
money sometimes of superior weight and
quality 10 the legal Government issue.
Employment of Experts.
Last year His Exceilency Tang Chung
was appointed imperial commissioner and
official superintendent of mining industries
in Yunnan, with authority TO employ for
eign experts and introduce machinery for
the working of the mines on the most ap-
proved Western methods. Commissioner
Tang was also authorized TO place himself
in official communication with several vice
roys and governors of provinces, who had
been directed by imperial decree TO supply
a sum total of coo taels for the purpose
of mining and forwarding copper from the
Yunnan mines to Pekin. This proved as
disagreeable TO the provincial authorities
as the extraction of their teeth So far,
Commissioner Tang Chung has not been
able TO obtain more than 1000 or 10000
taels from the various provincial magnates
ordered by decree to furnish 600 900 taels.
Having been authorized to adopt Western
methods Commissioner Tang went so far
as to start a joint stock company under
official patronage, but the shares fell fiat
on the market, few if any having been sold.
The public has no confidence in such
affairs, as it has been cruelty deceived
more than once.
THE prefecture of Lin-an Flu is known
to be rich in various metals. Tin is pro-
duced in large quantities in Meng-tzu.
Hsien; copper is worked in Ho-hsi Hsien;
coal and iron are also met with and have
probably been worked in some other coun-
ties of the same prefecture.
THE prefecture of Stunning Flu is cred |
tied with being rich in diamonds, but l |
have not been able to find proof of this as
sertion; rough rubies. sapphres, and en- |
eralds, as well as other stones, are known |
to be common enough in western Yunnan, |
and / have seen white sapphires there |
which were called diamonds-that is, by |
the Chinese name of Chin-kang Ch uan. |
There may, of course be real diamonds in |
this prefecture, but l prefer 10 think that |
this assertion has been made under mis- !
taken apprehension.
''Wu-ting Chih-li Chou is the name OF |
an important district almost equal to a |
good fu or prefecture, and better than some |
fus Copper iron, and salt are abundant |
in this district, and coal is probably also |
found here.
The prefecture of Li-ehiang Flu is very |
rich in minerals of various sorts Gold has /
been washed out of the bed of the great |
river known 10 foreigners as the Yangtze,
and which is locally designated as the |
Kin-sha kiang, or river OF golden sand
The gold washers are usually Tibetans or
half breeds, but many Chinese encroach on
Tibetan territory to wash for gold and are
usually rewarded for their efforts by good
finds. The gold is nuggety, the nuggets
running from the finest grains to the size !
of peas and beans 1t is nearly pure. and |
was valued in 1877 at fourteen times it's
weight in silver The same gold at that |
time was worth sixteen to seventeen times |
its weight Of silver in other parts of China.
/ have used the word "encroaching" be-
cause these parts of the prefecture of Lii |
chang were formerly parts of Tibet, and |
the gold found there to this day is general y |