The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-07-28

The South African mining field is of
more interest to the world of mining
engineering and mining machinery than
any other region on earth. The dec
laration of peace in South Africa opens
up unlimited possibilities in this field
The mining industry of the Rand as
we'll as all other branches of industry,
is relieved of the paralyzing uncer-z
tainty, economic and political, that has
for three years weighed upon it. With
Anglo-S Saxon ideas introduced into the
country, South African mining will
probably be brought to it's highest de-
velopment.
John Hays Hammond, the noted
mining and engineering expert, gives
an interesting and instructive account
of the conditions and possibilities of
the Rand, in The Engineering Maya
zine for July. This article is of es-
pecial interest to Milwaukee readers
on account of the large local interests
in mining machinery.
Mr.. Hammond says:
The Tranvaal comprises about 120,-
600 square miles and includes three
gold mining districts OF Importance
the famous Witwatersrand and the
quartz mining districts of Lydenburg
velopment of the country has taken
place within thirty years for mining
in the Transvaal was prohibited up to
1868, at which time the government,
being in dire financial straits, threw
open the gold fields to exploration and
exploitation, even going so far as to
offer bonus for the discovery of pro-
fitable mines. The resultant prospect
ing in the early seventies led to the
discovery Of quartz veins and the in
auguration of mining in several parts
of the Northern Transvaal. The Lyd-
enburg district first attracted atten-
ton in 1876, when exploration of aflu-
vial deposits began, followed later by
vein mining. The De Kaap gold fields
were discovered in 1884 and the con-
glomerate or blanket" beds of the
Witwatersrand-dest to supersede
all others in importance-in 1885. In
that year a small stamp battery was
erected to crush quartz from a vein
few miles west of Johannesburg, and
in this crushing of conglomerate
was made, but it was not until April
1887, that battery of three stamps
was erected to treat the ore of the
Witwatersrand banket. This was fol-
lowed by the erection of other batter
les and the output of gold for 1887
was $4,000 ounces. For 1898, the last
complete year before the war, it was
4,295,659 ounces, valued at 215,141,-
376, and for nine months of 1899
4,008,326 ounces. The mines employed
9,476 whites, with an average monthly
wage of 6 rs, and 88,627 native work
men, receiving on an average Of &2
IS cd each per month.
The company ceased working in Oc-
tober, 1899, by reason of the declara-
ton of war, but the late Transvaal
government continued operations upon
its own account in some Of the richest
mines up to May 1900. In May, 1901,
crushing operations were resumed by
the companies themselves, though upon
a very small scale, only $50 stamps
being run at three mines. The num-
Der was steadily increased, and by the
end of 1901, 653 stamps were running,
representing twelve mines; during the
eight months ending with that year,
412,OO6 tons of ore were milled, 238995
ounces of fine gold, valued at 6 1914
6S7, were produced, and 6 415,812 were
paid in dividends.
The mines of the Witwatersrand dis
trict may conveniently be classed in
three groups. First-those of the
Heidelberg and Klerksdorp districts,
the former about thirty miles southeast
and the latter about ninety to 100
miles southwest of johannesburg;
these collectively produced in 1898, IT,
1913 ounces of fine gold, valued at
& 319, lao, of which about five ninths
was from Klerksdorp. Second-the
Main Reef series, by far the most i'm
portant of all, producing SO per cent
of the total output. Third-the Deep
Levels; it is in these properties that
the consolidation of the claims under
single management has it's most use
full application. A Transvaal mining
claim, $50 cape feet wide and 400 cape
feet along the dip, confined to ground
contained with vertical planes drawn
through it's boundaries, is obviously