BRITISH NORTH BORNEO. 329 



From this space is a cave running under the Scmuo pufih 

 series which is filled, halfway to the top with bats'' guano, which 

 cannot be less than fifty feet in depth. Its extent is unknown. 

 Samples of the guano have been sent home and were valued at 

 from £8 to £15 per ton. The annual value taken from these 

 caves is $25,000. 



Coal. 



That coal is present in many parts of the territory, has 

 been proved, and boring for workable deposits, is being actively 

 engaged in. The present supply, which is stored at the principal 

 ports of call, for the use of men-of-war and trading vessels, is 

 obtained from the Moara mines, situate at the mouth of the Brunei 

 River and which have been leased by the Sultan of Brunei to the 

 Labuan firm of Messrs. Cowie Brothers. The quality of the 

 coal has been well reported upon by engineers of Her Majesty's 

 ships and others, and it is used to a large extent by those 

 vessels visiting Borneo and Labuan, as well as by all the 

 local trading steamers. There are five seams now being worked, 

 of 26, 24, 6, 5 and 4 feet in thickness respectively. 



Minerals. 



From the reports of travellers and others, the mineral 

 wealth of Borneo has been much exaggerated, although the 

 numerous indications are sufficient to have caused them. Gold 

 indeed is found in Dutch Borneo and Sarawak, but in compa- 

 ratively small quantities. Traces of gold have also been found 

 in North Borneo, and the island of Banguey off the North coast, 

 and samples of auriferous quartz have lately been discovered in 

 the vicinity of Marudu Bay and in rivers flowing into Sanda- 

 kan Bay. Up to the present, however, the search has been 

 unsuccessful, and this is not to be wondered at, when we 

 consider how everything is hidden by a luxuriant vegetation 

 which jealously guards the treasures of the earth from the 

 eyes of the explorer. Samples of cinnabar, silver ore, anti- 

 mony and tin have been found in different parts of the territo 

 ry. Copper also was being traced by the late Mr. Frank Hatton, 

 the Company's mineralogist, who was confident of its existence 



