Omaha daily bee., 1908-09-06

~ mountains Of copper which are
r4RH now being developed just above
SahAS here, in the heart Of Central
African They cover a territory bigger than
the state Of Ohio. and they consist Of two
great belts 200 miles long. So far more
than 100 copper mines have been discov-
cred, and the mining engineers say that
there are already more than 100000 tons
OF copper in sight. They estimate the value
OF the ore exposed at over S1,000,OOO,CO0. In
the same regions there are tin mines run
ming through a belt of more than $50 miles,
The tin is high grade, carrying the value
OF $40 to the ton, and that in sight is esti-
mated at 100000. In addition to this
there are gold mines there which are now
yielding 1000 ounces a month and the gold
carries platinum and palladium Of high
grade.
T~anganytka Concession.
These wonderful deposits are in what is
known as the Tsnganyika coneessi5n, a
tract Of country in the Congo Free State
Just across the Rhodesian border. They
belong to the king Of Belgium and a syn
dicate Of English capitalists, led by Mr..
Robert Williams, who was practically the
discoverer Of the mines and who organized
the company eight or nine years ago. Mr..
williams became interested in the mines
of northern Rhodesia and he got from
Cecil Rhodes the right to locate 1000 min
ing claims with the proviso that the Char
tered company of British South Africa was
TO be entitled to IS per cent of al the
minerals found. Mr.. Rhodes was Induced
to give the concession because he wanted
a steamboat on Lake Tanganyika to en-
able him to push his Cape to Cairo railroad
scheme, and l am told that Mr.. win ans
furnished the boat. Among the first de-
posits discovered were thoEe Of the Kin
shanshi copper mines, in Rhodesia, not far
from the Belgian border. These have al
ready been developed to the depth of 40
feet, and 1t has been decided to cre-t a
smelter there, which In about two years
will DO yielding several million dollars per
annum. In prospecting about Kinshanshi
Mr.. williams got the idea that there IN ght
be important finds over the border. H.
took his mining engineers and went OF into
the Congo Free State and there found these
enormous deposits. which prumice 10 rcvo-
lutlonize the copper markets Of the world.
Ito then went back to London and formed
his syndicate. A concession waJ gotten
from King Leopold by offering him ald
certain Belgian capitalists So per cent OF
the stock. Since then the mines have been
partially surveyed ana a railroad Is now
building which will connect them with the
Atlantic in Portuguese West Africa. TIL
capital stock is only 100000, but the pos
s~ibilities of tie company are far beyond
those Of any other of the great mining
syndicates.
Continent Rooted with Copper.
These mighty deposits form a copper roof
TO the lower part of the African con-
tinent. They lie on the height of land be-
tween the Congo and the Zambesi and In
that correspond to the enormous mineral
deposits on the height Of land OF our con-
tinent. The great ridge of North America
comes to It's top just north of Lake Su-
perior. A little farther north the ground
begirs to fall toward Hudson bay. On that
ridge are the nickel mines Of Sudbury, con-
tanning the greatest bodies of that metal
known to the world. A little further east
are the immense silver deposits of Cobalt,
the metal lying in veins on the very top
of the rocks, and so close to the surface
that you can polish 1t with your heel as you
walk over 1t. Below on both sides of Lake
Superior are the enormous deposits OF iron
belonging to our steel trust. and also the
famous Calumet and Hecla copper mines,
which were for a long time the richest
of their kind in the world.
A similar wealth of minerals exists on
this great ridge of South Africa. Northern
Rhodesia is peppered with copper and iron.
Here at Broken Hill are hills of lead and
giro, which l describe further on in this
letter, and the syndicate which owns them
has found 5000 different deposits of valu-
able minerals in this colony. The ore seems
10 grow richer ard more abundant near
the top of the ridge, and over in the
&c., n1.rasetn,s tina uyhnla country near
the border is highly mineraliEed. 1 have been
told that the natives there have been min
ing copper for generations past. They have
smelted the ore and have wrought from 1t
their hoes, spears and axes. Some OF their
implements made by the natives are shown
here. Both handles and blades are made
81 solid copper. l have a copper axe be-
tore me as / write, and a copper hoe
stands at my side.
On the Kongo watershed the copper lies
right on the top of the ground. The
mines can be worked like quarries, and
they will probably be handled with steam
shovels when the railroad from Portuguese
West Africa is finished. The ore used by the
natives comes from little holes which
have been dug In the mountains. They have
their own furnaces and do much OF their
smelling with charcoal. One of the chiefs
has u large number of men and women at
work. and is producing a number of tons
Of copper a year.
Speaking Of the copper being on the
height OF land, while l was at Khartum
In the Egyptian Sudan l learned that
there are rich mineral deposits on the
ridge which forms the watershed of tho
Congo and the Nile, and it may be that a
wealth OF copper and iron exists there.
Copper, Gold, Tin and Iron.
So far the minerals found on the Fam
besi-Congo ridge are copper, sold, tin and
iron, There are large deposits of stream
and quartz tin. At Bulawayo l was
shown tin nuggets the size OF walnuts
which came from the Congo Ere State,
and also bars Of pure tin which had been
smelted there. Al the present time only
the smallest Of furnaces can be used, as
the only motive power is men, and the
pieces Of machinery OUst be regulated
by what two men ca, carry. II will be-
impossible to do much with the mines
before the railroa as are constructed. The
most OF the gold which has 80 far been
taken out comes from placer deposits.