The evening times., 1899-12-06
GOLD MINES IN SIBERIA
Russian Officials Issue the Regnla-
tions Governing Them.
Mr. Peirce. the AmeSican Charge
d'Anaires at st. Petersburg, Writes
of the Sea of Okhotsk, the Coast OF
kamchatka, and Shantar Islands.

state department translation oi
the rescript of the Ministry of Agricul-
ture and State Domains. in regard to leas-
ing by auction of gold-mining territory in
Siberia Mr.. Peirce writes:
THE guaranty of $3.50 must be sent in
by the bidder, separately from the applica-
tion, in cash, government bonds. or the
securities of private companies guaranteed
by the Russian Government. In the case
of applications through the post, the de-
posit must be sent in a separate packet.
In the event of several bidders offering
equally good terms for one and the same
system, the choice between them will be
made by lot, in virtue Of article sol OF the
mining code.
"On the final allotment of all the sys-
TENS among the applicants, each one OF
them who has obtained lot must within
a month after receiving notification there
Of make a contract with the Minister OF
Agriculture and State Domains, which must
contain the following conditions binding
on both parties:
Section /. During term Of fifteen years
from the day of signing the contract, the
lessee is allowed the sole right OF prospect
ing and working gold in the whole system
of the river -, falling into the sea OF
Okhotsk; with the right of using the tim
ber, in accordance with article 5l4 of the
mining code, and all the reindeer fodder
and pasturages situated within the limits
of the locality bounded by -.
"Tbe use Of the reindeer fodder and
pas;urages situated in the said lot must
be open TO the reindeer of the local inhsbi
tant at all times. and TO the reindeer OF
the lessees Of other systems, during their
passage through the lot
Sec 2. Beyond the said exclusion right
prospecting and working auriferous de-
posits In the system OF the said river tsec-
tiOn ID and the said restricted right or
pasturage in the locality In question, the
lessee is allowed no other rights in regard
to carrying on in these localities any other
operation or methods OF exploitation what
ever He must not hinder the local inhabi-
tauts in their occupations OF hunting and
trapping in any of the localities stated or
in their fishing either on the River -
itself. with all its tributaries, or along the
shores of the Sea of Okhotsk. Lessees of
other systems have the right 20 use the
bays at the mouth Of the said river for un-
loading and warehousing their stores.
"Sac 3. The preliminary prospecting Of
the system allotted TO the lessee must be
completed during the three consecutive
working years following the conclusion OF
the contract. reckoning each Of them from
the lst of June of one year till the 3lst of
May of the next thus allowing not less than
three winters.
Sec 4. The lessee is obliged: ta) On the
completion Of the preliminary prospecting
tsection 81 to begin operations for getting
the gold in the locality assigned him, car
rying on the work himself. without sub
leasing it, and tb) to submit to the laws
and regulations, alike now in force and
such as may be hereafter enacted. concern
ing the conducting of mining operations.
Sec 5. The immediate inspection of the
performance by the lesse of the duties i'm
posed upon him by sections 2, 3, and 4. will
be established by the local assistant dis
trict engineer with the approval Of the
head of the Irkutsk mining board.
Sec. 6. On each pud Of slime gold OBJ
tained from the locality leased, the lessee
pays the Crown ,rpbles. as also the
cost Of refining. in accordance with the
mint code.
"As security for the fulfllment OF the ,da-
ties set down in the preceding paragraphs.
a sum of 80 900 rubles ISIS, ,150) will be re-
tanned from the deposit made by the lessee
on the day of the auction, which amount
| will be placed in the general treasury as
deposit of the mining department. In
| the event of the nonfulfllment by the les
| see Oh tDb stlpuIdtloH uoNH III SetNich
3 and remark thereto of these conditions,
/ for the completion of the preliminary p' os-
pecting OF the lot in the course of three
! years (section ~, the contract shall be
| considered to be broken, and the whole
| original deposit 10000 rubles) is forfeited
to the Crown. Should the lessee fail to
pay in at the beginning of the year the
sum indicated in the same section for
| the maintenace of the physician. police.
| and personnel of the government inspec-
tion. the Minister of Agriculture and State
Domains will have the right to retain from
the deposit, on behalf Of the Crown. the
necessary sums. while the lessee is bound
to make good the deposit to the above
mentioned full amount; failure to observe
this condition within six months from the
day when the deductions were made from
| the deposit deprives the lessee of the
right to the continuation of the lease. and
| the remainder Of the deposit is forfeited
| to the Crown. On the expiration Of fif-
| teen years. as also in the case of the les
see waving the further lease of the To-
cality allotted him. after giving due no.
| tice thereof a year in advance. the deposit
| will be returned to its owner in full,
while to the property of the lesse waiv-
| ing his lease will be applied article 10 OF
| the Mining Code.
In consequence of the information ey-
| isting as to the occurrence OF gold on the
shore of the Sea of Okhotsk the ministry
of agriculture and state domains. in ac-
cordance with the statute of the commit
| tee of the Siberian Railway which received
| the imperial sanction on May IS, 1895. Or
ganized a special expedition to investigate
! the auriferousness of the shores of the Sea
| of Okhotsk, Of the coast of Kamchatka and
of the Shantar Islands, where, In case OF
the discovery of workable gold deposits,
| their development by private enterprise
might be expected. This expedition, or
ganized and equipped by MIR. Bogdano-
| witch. NJ. E.. continued its explorations for
three years, embracing the extensive
stretch of coast about the Sea Of Okhotsk
from Nikolaievsk, on the Amur, to Ok
hotsk. and the whole western shore of the
peninsula of Kamchatka. The results of
the labors of the expedition justified the
hopes placed upon it. as the preliminary
search, combined with the detailed geo,ogi-
cal exploration OF the region traversed.
proved the presence of gold in many river
valleys between the left bank of the River
ida and the former port of Ayan. After
the discovery of the existence Of gold. sub
sequent prospecting was directed to the To-