Excerpt from The South African Mining Journal, Vol. 25: With Which Is Incorporated the South African Mines, Commerce and Industries; Part II, No. 1283, April 29, 1916 Official Figures from Annual Reports - Oyer 90 Tons in Sight - Big Milling Policy and Development - No Striking Advance on Previous Year. Tm: accompanying table gives a summary of the tonnage and values of the vast ore reserves of the Rand as obtained from the annual reports of the various companies referred to. In the majority of cases figures are brought up to the end of 1915, in a few others they represent the position which existed at the eml of financial years terminating on June. 30th or July 31st last, respectiwly. Inasmuch as tln labour supply was exceptionally ahninlant last year, it may be taken for granted that the actual position, if these had (leclarcd reserve returns at the end of December, woultl have shown a material improvement on the total recorded for the twelve months. It may be explained that the reserve statements which appear upon our list include, generally, all the ore which may be considered as developed sufficiently for valuation purposes, although a large portion comprising pillars and packs is not available for immediate use. Some are only partially developed, as indicated by a distinguishing letter. In nearly every instance the quantity and values quoted have been calculated over a stoping width, so that the tonnage is subject to a reduction on sorting out waste, and a corresponding increase in value as a result of the practically barren material which is eliminated. Inasmuch as many of the reports have only been received within the last few days, we are unable to make an analysis of them for comparative or other purposes. It may be said, how ever, that at a first glance the impression formed is that there has been little substantial addition to the ore reserves Oi the previous year. In the face of the plethora of labour this is scarcely whit would have been expected, but it must be remembered th it a large proportion of the native workers were used in hand-drilling Operations in which machines were temporarily displaced, and apparently most of them were engaged in providing additional ore for the mills. The quantity milled in 1915 was tons, compared with tons in 1914, and tons in 1913. This great increment on the tonnage milled would, in the cir cumstanccs, account for the apparcnt limitation of develop ment operations. Apart from this there have been notable diminutions in the reserves of a few companies which have had a material effect upon the general position. And which have not been balanced by individual advances of an import ant kind in the case of some other concerns. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.