Show FIELDS an interesting letter from an american aha Is miring in that country ane fields are extensile and very rich but hae been poorly worked the M nes are far in the interior and comman cat on is slow and very empens ve motors a 1 nc press in the issue of your journal of december 1889 I 1 find a pin graph headed ahe south africia gold fields rel biting to tl is place ind the gold industry of circulated to corn ey a very erroneous impression not only as to the condi eions under w aich w e live here but alio as to tl e of tl e gold dis cohenes themselves I 1 may 1 am myself a native of america ind cime here four ears ago I 1 am well acquainted with these fields and as my experience while in alenci wis all in connection with mints and mining I 1 do not speak in ignorance of whit I 1 have to siy as to this II 11 e gold belt i e whit is known is the mini bleet series extends tor 30 or 40 miles the town of johannesburg be ing situated about alie middle of the line and the gold is deposited with singular evenness throughout in what are know n 1 ere as banket reefs but which lie deposits of con cement I 1 he val ie of these reefs vanes at different parts of tl e line but the milling results at all the mines and there are some 1400 heads of stamps at w ork tor the ft hole of last bear gave an average yield of 13 dats per ton of lock crushed As the aiming work necessary is simple ind sive averaging somewhere between six and seven dats the margin of profit is birge in criticizing criticising critic ising these fields it must not be forgotten that their very existence WAS unknown and tl air alices depre by open uninteresting four or fie beirs ago As the tion was at that time without any ex miring the incompetence of those who first took the develop ment of these reefs in ednd wis simply monstrous and tl e 1 lice still suffers from their extravagance and e ahe disadvantage of amateur mine managing w is added to by alie extreme isolation of the place lying as it did over emles from tl e nearest board and over from the nearest railway line fl us all the supplies for the mines and for the support of the immense number of people who q nackly collected here hid to be brought along tracks not desera ing tl e nime of raids by ox wagon thus making every expensive and idding ci or to the cost of mining however rail was ar us from all tl e ports of beulh e I 1 ue a fine town with stone and brick build ings two and tl ree stories in 1 ight both public and arnite churches and schools well attended and all tl e of the moat advanced civi libation liza tion men have tl air wives ind families here ind aliese ire as site from insult or interference in the pub he streets as it my american town or city at no time any of ft e lawless ne s vice and disorder tl at character chir acter ayes most A bencan towns as your paragraph para griph inferred any mai who carried a le volver here would be sub ejected to such a round of cl aal and bokis lint 1 e would soon be gl id to leave tl e on at I 1 aroe As for t ells tl e police of tl e would soon break up any thit opened tl air doors sly leonal ac with many american min ing camps is some of your will I 1 probably know has long and var lid ind I 1 gly iver th it jo 1 an never bore any trace of resemblance to tl em As somo of your readers may tike more thin a pissing interest in tl is new LI dorado 11 ive obtained ind in close you tre returns of the chamber of mines for beir 11 ase will show that the presence of gold in quantity here is actual thit tl at gold c in be profitably worked Is shown by ly dividends some of the ise OCO sterling I 1 e 82 atas paid itt ly in divided ds to share holders list aliis is surprising suri rising even to me in tico ot the fact that most companies of these felds in boom times at capitals that more than lulf ant to promoters ind brokers our output for last wis 62 and 53 ounces it r in 18 JO from sacco to SO aid in v ith new batteries on aped mines being completed all along its botts every li from to S these reefs your leaders must bear in mind ire not quartz reefs rich in one place and barren in another but beir gold regularly throughout theia 30 roiley of length H ey are i roved to 00 beet in dei tl by i cork ings and by the diamond drill ai d there is every indication tt at they continue bitely bo fin us any ki owl jg both r personal and from books of au extends tl re is i g like it in the world and tl Is v mil brei up to the irises t been agui merely scratched offer perhaps aa great is any others in tie world for tie of capital ind it Is and hag been a mitter of to me eliat Ameil cans haac not t dd a larger share in the profits which have accrued to those concerned in the advancement of it tow ever enormous of tl e banket formation are yet only on tl 0 threshold ot 11 1 I 1 waito this domett hit lengthy litter cl iely in tl e liopo tl it your remarks kiy i ot ie 11 my countrymen to suppose tint this pi ice is i bubble city tilt will burst ere it is yet formed or deter them from obtaining interests in 11 e miny good things tho folds hold out I 1 fiust you willbo able to ond room for this I 1 feir rambling effusion I 1 anny in conclusion sly tint your esti mable journal is reul re ul libie with great interest not alone by but by many deep thinking men of other countries vil 0 ire interested in mining C K boulli african re reb 6 1831 |