The Paducah sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1898-1906, 1902-06-06
General Revival of Business In That
Rapidly Developing Country.
The Gold and Diamond Mines the
Most Productive in the
Whole World.
GREAT HOPES ENTERTAINED

The declaration of peace in South
Africa, which Is to be followed by the
reopening Of the greatest gold pr oduc-
ing mines of the world and presum.
ably by . general revival Of business
in that greatest consuming Sc ction Of
Africa, lends especial interest to .
monograph entitled Commercial A.
RIGA in 190l," just issued by the
treasury bureau of statistics.
The commerce of Africa. according
to this publication Of the bureau of
statistics, amounts to over $500, 0o0,-
900. of which s4s9, 900, 900 represent
ed the value of the i.,ports. Neces-
sarily in so large an area with so many
tribes and peoples who keep no records
Of their transactions, a con siderable
amount Of commerce must pass with
out being recorded in any way. The
total imports at the ports where rec
ords are kept amounted in the latest
available year to sl29, 461, 900, and
the exports to s263, 907, 900. OF the
exports large share, especially those
from the south, is gold and diamonds I;
in the tropical region, ivory, rubber,
palm nuts and gums, and in the north
a fair share of the exports are products
of agriculture, cotton, coffee, cacao,
spices, dates, etc. The export figures
of recent years are less than those Of
former years, owing to the hostihties
in South Africa, which have both re-
duced production and increased local
consumption.
The total recorded imports into AZ
RIGA, aggregating in the latest avail
able year s429, 46l, 900, were distribut-
ed as follows: Into British territory,
s157, 575,o 900; French territory, s92,-
004, 900; Turkish territory, s77,7s7,-
900; Portuguese territory, $40, 1885,
900; German territory, IS, 1886, 900, and
into the Kongo Free State 81, 722, 900.
OF this importation of s429, 46l, 900,
about per cent was furnished by the
United States, the total for 1901 being
s25, 542,61s. Our total exports to
Africa have grown from So, 377, SAP in
1895 to SIS, 594, AGA in 1899, and s25, :
542,61s in 1901. This rapid increase
is largely due to the fact that orders
sent to the United States for mining
machinery and other supplies so much
in demand in South Africa are prompt
ly filed with goods of the latest pat.
tern and most acceptable character.
That the gold and diamond mines
OF South Africa have been and still
are wonderfully profitable is beyond
question. The Kimberly diamond
mines, about eco miles from Cape
Town, now supply 9S per cent of the
diamonds Of commerce. although their
existence was unknown prior to 1867,
and the mines have thus been in oper-
alton but about 80 years. 1t is esti-
mated that $3.50, 900, 900 worth of
rough diamonds, worth double that
sum after cutting, have been produced
from the Kimberly mines since their
opening in 1869, and this enormous
production would have been greatly
increased but for the fact that the
owners of the various mines there
formed an agreement to limit the out.
puts so as not to materially exceed the
worlds annual consumption.
Equally wonderful and promising
are the great "witwatersrand gold
fields of South Africa. better known
as the Johannesburg mines Gold
was discovered there in 1888, and in
1884 the value Of the gold product
was about $50, 900. 1t increased with
tartling rapidity, the product Of 1883
being about 5000, 900; that Of 1890,
e10, 900, 900; 1892, over $50. 900, 900;
1895, over $40. 900. 900. and 1897 and
1898, about $50. 900. Work In
these mines has been practically sus-
pended during the war in progress in
that section within the past two years.
The gold production of the "Rand"
since 1854 mas been over $500, 900, 900,