Segab.— The Flood of Gold. 129 



for the war the increase of the world's stock of gold for 1899 

 would have exceeded that for 1898 by a still greater amount. 



For 1900 the output of gold fell to 53T1 millions, or 

 there was a falling-off of £11,500,000 compared with the 

 previous year. But for this year the contribution of the 

 Transvaal sank to the comparatively insignificant sum of a 

 quarter of a million, so that if the Transvaal had been putting 

 out gold even only at the same rate as at just before the war 

 there would again have been an increase on the previous year 

 measured by many millions. In 1901 again there was an 

 increase of several millions on 1900, although the contribution 

 of the Transvaal was even more insignificant than before. 



The Gold-supply of the Future. 



Thus as soon as gold-mining in the Transvaal has been 

 generally resumed we may expect the annual output to be 

 some £80,000,000. But the annual yield may be expected to 

 increase more and more. It must be remembered that gold is 

 now chiefly obtained by quartz-mining. The placer claim is 

 no longer the chief source of the gold-supply, and conse- 

 quently the supply is no longer subject to the vicissitudes in- 

 variably connected with alluvial-gold mining. Gold-mining 

 is now more akin to general mining ; great capital is sunk in 

 working great reefs, and many of the most profitable mines 

 have every prospect of keeping up their supply for genera- 

 tions. Thus extensions in gold-mining are generally of far 

 more permanent character than formerly, while these exten- 

 sions are evidently being made on a large scale. The great 

 annual increases sufficiently prove this ; and the fact that 

 when allowance is made for the temporary collapse in the 

 supply from the Transvaal these increases still remain enor- 

 mous, makes it appear that general extension in gold-mining is 

 still the order of the day. New fields are continually coming 

 to the fore. In West Africa an extensive field has been dis- 

 covered exactly corresponding in formation to that of the 

 Transvaal, and numerous companies have been formed to ex- 

 ploit it, though it is too early to foretell with what success. 

 The goldfield of the north-west territories of Canada is 500 

 miles long by 100 miles in its greatest width. Bhodesia 

 furnishes one of the youngest fields, but the rapid increase of 

 the output seems to promise great things, the output in 

 the years 1899, 1900, 1901 being respectively 65,000 oz., 

 91,000 oz., and 140,000 oz., although in the two latter years 

 operations were greatly impeded by the war and a consequent 

 scarcity of labour. The output of gold from India increased 

 fourfold during the period 1890 to 1901. 



And so on all over the world new fields are being dis- 

 covered, and old fields are booming again through the im- 

 9 



