New Iberia enterprise and independent observer. (New Iberia, La.) 1902-1944, 1919-11-15
PERSIA RICH IN
MINERAL WEALTH
Natural Resources of Ancient
Country Are Almost
IneStimabIe.
Difficulty OF TRANSPORT
Chief Obstacle in Way Of Develop
ment-Various Schemes Already
in Hand for Construction Of
Railway Lines.

III f1dn0 TOT NOnSITuCIl0n OF
Railway Lines.
LondOn.-The natural resources Of
Persia are almost inestimable, and up
to the present the great wealth Of this
ancient country has scarcely been
touched. The now famous Anglo-Per-
sian Oil fields are vivid example OF
what can be done when the necessary
enterprise and capital are forthcoming
The large area over which this COM
pany possesses the rights of working
contains an almost inexhaustible sup.
ply Of oil. .
There is at least one other oil deld
in Persia waiting to be exploited. A
few Baku experts have known tor
some time of the existence Of oil In
the northeastern part Of the country.
This district Is judged to be exceed
ingiy rich in oil-bearing strata and IL
situated close to the southeastern
shore of the Caspian sea. ...-,.
Beyond any doubt. says the London
Times, the plateau Of Persia Is e1'
tremely rich in mineral wealth, but
the question has been how to work 1t,
owing - the difficulty Of transport.
In the past reliance has had to b
placed on mules and camelss whose
loads cannot possibly exceed 400 or
500 pounds. This being 90, the i'm
portation Of the necessary heavy ma.
chinery has bsen altogether out Of the
question, and as a result the greater
part Of Persia's rich mineral wealth
lies dormant. .r:SE,as;
Precious netata
Seventy miles o: 20 to the north Of
Isfahan is a disused gold mine that
was originally worked by the Persians
themselves. The ore was extracted in
a crude and antiquated way and then
carried to Teheran On the backs Of
mules, q distance 81 over 200 miles.
There the gold was extracted BY some
old-fashioned process, and - the prof
its only covered the expenses tie mine
was ultimately closed down. With
modern methods and up-to-date ma
chinery on the spot such q venture
should prove a very paying concern.
Gold dust IL found In various parts
Of Persia, principally IN the river beds,
but not in any great quantity, with
perhaps one exception. It Il regularly
brought into the Kermanshah bazaar
for sale, but from exactly where has
30 far been kept q secret. Il -
Lead and silver are both to b
found in quantities that would pay for
the working.
In considering the mineral wealth
Of the country, copper undoubtedly
takes the most important place. Persia
Is full Of copper, but 50 far has not
attracted foreign capital, because of
the import and export difficulties that
have had to be contended with in the
past. In spite Of these many draw
backs, at least one mine is being
worked locally.
A little to the north Of Isfahan, In
the Nantaz mountains, Is large seam
Of copper. To mine such q rich de-
post would assuredly pay. The Ker.
man district abounds in copper, and
In the judgment Of a mining engineer
who has visited the neighborhood any
operations seriously undertaken would
easily repay the necessary capital in
vested. .,..s..s. 80
Coal and Transport
Should financiers be ready to en-
bark on such venture as the exploita-
ton Of Persian mines, the question Of
both coal and transport would have
to be seriously considered. Fortunate
y coal does exist in many parts Of
the country and Is at present being
worked In at least two localities. The
district Of Kumisheh Is especially rich
in this mineral. and quite recently It
has been discovered in the Curdish
bordering on the Bagdad-
Hamadon road. i
The difficulty of transport is rap
idly being overcome. Already there
are various schemes in hand for the
Of railways; in fact, quite
q good start has been made. The re-
cent operations in both the north and
the south of Persia have shown the
roads to be quite suitable for heavy
motor traffic, consequently the impor-
tation Of heavy machinery ought not
to prove very serious obstacle.
In normal times the Persian laborer
Il paid from IL to 16 cents Omitted
Statee) a day. A slight advance in
pay would insure the necessary labor,
If 1t should prove perma-
nent. 1t is not difficult to prophesy
hat before many years have passed
Persia will prove to be one Of the |
mining countries Of the world.