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Show WAR INTERFERES WITH PRODUCTION OF GOLD First Half of 1914 Shows Decrease in Output of $10,620,521 The world s production of go d this year Js likely to be the smallest for several years on account of the European war eays the Engineering and Mining Jour nal The production for the first half of 1914 In those countr es from which accu rate figures are obtainable is gi en as follows 1914 1913 Changes Transvaal $ 8 4"5 17 $ 36 9 602 1 442 sr Rhodes a 8 Sr 6 9a0 MS l 72 S-S Wt Afrca 4 048.36 4 2 6 577 316 Total Af ca 86 46 26o 107 084 628 10 338 363 Austra asla 4 &81 4 25 027 758 446 484 B i Ish Ind a 6 108 171 943 S45 164 S 6 Total 3127 43o 10 3138 0a6231 10 60 521 Decrease. Increase. These countries from which regular and reliable monthly returns ha e been obtained produced In 1913 about 6S per cent of the entire gold output of the world For the ha f year the r tota loss 1 as been 7 per cent, which was chiefly due to the heavy decrease n the Trans -vaal For the remaining gold producers, which furnish no period cal returns indi cations do not point to any cons derable changes except in Mexico where the out put must have been liht Allowing for this and also taking- into account the fact that no new p oducing d stricts of an mportance have been opened during the year t appears probable that the wo d s output of go d n the first half of 1913 was somewhere between ? lo 000 000 and ?220 000 000 probably at least Jlo 000 000 less than n the first half of last 5 ear Commenting upon the decrease the En gineer ng and Mining Journal says The prospect is that th s loss will hardly be made up In the second half of the year Whi e none of the great m produc ng rcioos even in Russ a are d recti affected by the war con d tions now preva ling In Europe there wi be much ind rect Influence exerted Thus in the Transvaal and Rhodes a there may be d fflcu ties n the way of securing supp ies and new rachinery used as for instance the supp y of cyaji de Other reasons may be found in a d version of men from the mm ng industry and the general d sarrangement of business |