Rensselaer Republican, Volume 14, Number 12, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 December 1881 — The Mines of South Africa. [ARTICLE]

The Mines of South Africa.

Manchester Courier. The gross weight of diamonds contained in packages passed through the Kimberly Post Office in 1885 was 1,440 pounds avoirdupois,the estimated value being £3,367,897. The annual value of the mines in the Kimberly division owned at the end of 1880 by the Government and the London and South African Exploration Company is estimated as follows:Kimberly,£4,ooo,(K)o; Old de Beer’s, £2.000,000; Du Toit’e Pan. £2,ooo,ooo;Bultfontein, £1,500,000. At the end of last year 22,000 black and 1,700 white men were employed at these mines. Fromlhe Kimberly and De Beer’s mines alone diamonds to the extent of 3,200,000 carats are annually raised, while the other two mines above named yielded 300,000 carats last year. At the diggings on the Vaal river, about 250 men were at work last f'ear. The other important mining ndustries of the colony are the copper mines of Namaqualand, from which last year 15,310 tons of copper were exported, valued at $306,790. From the manganese mines in the Paarl division, 206 tons were exported; while at the coal mines in the Wodehouse and Albert divisions, about 1,000 were raised. The salt-pans in Simon’s Town, Malmesbury, Piquetberg, Fraser berg, Uitenhagen and Cradock yield about 9,000 tons of salt. Mineral springs abound in the oolony, many of them being well resorted to, but accommodation for visitors,as a rule,indifferent.

• m The State Grange will hold its annual meeting at Indianapolis, comment* Pg December 12th.