NIGERIA & ITS TIN FIELDS

NIGERIA AND
ITS TIN FIELDS

BY
ALBERT F. CALVERT
AUTHOR OF “WESTERN AUSTRALIA AND ITS GOLDFIELDS”
“THE MINERAL RESOURCES OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA”
“THE EXPLORATION OF AUSTRALIA,” “THE
POLITICAL VALUE OF OUR COLONIES”
ETC. ETC.

LONDON: EDWARD STANFORD
12, 13, & 14, LONG ACRE, W.C.
1910

Printed by Ballantyne, Hanson & Co.
At the Ballantyne Press, Edinburgh

PREFACE

The present conspicuous position which Northern Nigeria holds in the public eye is of very recent attainment, and its development has been, comparatively speaking, the work of a moment. The discovery of tin in paying quantities within its boundaries is the secret of its sudden leap to an eminence from which it compels interest, and attracts to itself more than ordinary curiosity and attention. It is with Northern Nigeria as it was with New South Wales and California, with the Malay Peninsula and Rhodesia. Their potentialities were admitted long before the existence of their mineral wealth was made known, but it was not until their minerals were discovered that they loomed into absorbing prominence.

The importance of Northern Nigeria as a British possession was demonstrated by the Niger Company; her possibilities as an exporter of cotton, rubber, and other vegetable products were early admitted; but it needed the revelation of her enormous alluvial tin deposits in the Province of Bauchi to attract to the development of her resources the capital and enterprise which alone can ensure the growth of a country’s commerce.

But this sudden and surprising discovery also served to expose the widespread ignorance which prevailed in connection with our newest Protectorate, while it generated a desire for information concerning it. This little volume is put forward to satisfy this new-felt want, and it has, I think, the merit of being the first issued with that object. It has been compiled in haste, but care has been taken to verify the facts, and, as far as possible, the data has been derived from official sources.

I believe that no apology will be required for the illustrations, but for the use of the photographs from which they were produced I tender my grateful and sincere thanks to his Excellency Sir Walter Egerton, K.C.M.G., Governor and High Commissioner of Southern Nigeria; Sir William Wallace, K.C.M.G., late Acting Governor of Northern Nigeria; Mr. H. W. Laws, Engineer to the Niger Company; Mr. C. G. Lush, Consulting Engineer to the principal Nigerian Tin Companies; Mr. S. R. Bastard, Chairman and Director of several of the most important Nigerian tin mining companies; the Editor of the Engineer, Mr. R. Ernest Hope; Messrs. John Holt & Co., Ltd.; Mr. G. W. Christian; Messrs. E. H. Stein & Co., Ltd., and other prominent traders in Northern Nigeria.

A. F. CALVERT.

“Royston,” Eton Avenue,
London.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

NIGERIA & ITS TIN FIELDS

EARLY DAYS IN NIGERIA

In 1879, when Sir George Taubman Goldie organised the amalgamation of the rival trading firms of the Lower Niger and formed the United Africa Company, only a few far-sighted people could have had any idea of the possibilities of future commercial greatness that were possessed by this utterly unattractive and uncivilised region. “The Niger,” as Colonel Mockler-Ferryman tells us, “was absolutely tabooed; its name was mentioned only in whispers, and the British public regarded it as an unlucky, pestilential spot, out of which no good could ever come.” It must be remembered, in explanation of this pessimistic attitude, that all attempts to explore Nigeria and open up commerce on the river had failed more or less completely; a great number of lives had been sacrificed in successive expeditions, and no practical good had been accomplished. McGregor Laird, some quarter of a century earlier, had founded the African Shipping Company, with monthly sailings to the West African ports and, with the grudging co-operation of the Government, had contracted to keep a steamer on the Niger. But Laird died in 1857, when his spirited enterprise appeared to be on the point of yielding tangible results, and the country was still under a cloud when, twenty years later, the first organised attempt was made to develop its commercial resources.

THE PROTECTORATE PROCLAIMED

The United Africa Company’s efforts were recognised by the grant of a Royal Charter in 1886, but its mission and its potentialities failed to appeal to the general public; and even when in 1900 the Territory, with its area equal to that of Germany and the British Isles combined, was added to the Dependencies of the Empire, the new Protectorate was regarded with indifference and suspicion as a present burden and a probable source of future trouble.

That was but a decade since, yet it was only the other day that Lord Crewe declared that “there is no part of the Empire about which higher hopes may properly be entertained than the Protectorate of Northern Nigeria;” and the Colonial Report, in emphatic corroboration of this optimistic opinion, asserted that “very few countries have witnessed such great changes for the better in such a short space of time, as has been the case with this Cinderella of the British Dominions.”

It must be admitted that the Nigerias have been of late years more favoured in the matters of ocean transport and inter-communication. Since McGregor Laird started his monthly service to Lagos, the African Shipping Company has been succeeded by six shipping lines—the British and African Steam Navigation, African Steamship, Elder Dempster, Woermann, Hamburg-America, and the Hamburg-Bremen-Africa—the first three of which, to all intents and purposes, may be classed as Elder Dempster’s. Twenty-five liners and Elder Dempster’s regular services call at Lagos each month—one nearly every day of the week. Two vessels of some four thousand tons are exclusively employed in bringing Welsh coal to Lagos; and a cargo service, another Elder Dempster enterprise, now runs from inside Lagos Lagoon to Hamburg, thus avoiding the transhipping of cargo in Lagos Roads or at Forcados. Persons who only know of Elder Dempster’s famous service of ocean liners, which leave Liverpool every Wednesday and arrive at Lagos Roads sixteen days later, may be surprised to learn that they have a large and distinct inter-colonial service between Lagos and Secondi. These vessels, built of light draught to enable them to cross Lagos bar, not only afford shippers a short and rapid means of forwarding their produce, but are of immense service to the growing number of natives who travel, mostly for trade purposes, between Lagos and the smaller ports along the Gold Coast; while another Elder Dempster service runs weekly to and from Porto Novo in Dahomey and Lagos, carrying general outward cargo and bringing back produce for shipment to the United Kingdom and the Continent.

These services, which cater for the ramifications of the commercial activities of West Africa, are practically unknown at home, and the organisation and development of this enormous industry was, to a great extent, the work of one man—the late Sir Alfred Lewis Jones. It has been said of him that “when the story of our times comes to be written comprehensively, he will be bracketed with Cecil John Rhodes. One obtained a large territory for the Empire; the other enhanced immeasurably countries formerly judged as of questionable value. He was a pioneer in building up their commerce, and is of still higher estimate—he was instrumental in making them more fit to live in by revolutionising the health conditions.” His varied commercial enterprises in West Africa are well known, and it is unnecessary here to enlarge upon them. They ranged from coaling and engineering companies with dry docks, to banking—which facilitated relations between the natives and the European traders—and included his cold-storage scheme, which the medical faculty admit has been one of the most powerful factors in lowering the mortality of West Africa. This object was also largely assisted by the investigations carried out at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. The school was financed by Sir Alfred Jones, who also provided the means for putting the resultant discoveries into practice. He further established a branch of the School at Grand Canary, and arranged with Elder Dempster a cheap service from the West African Coast to the Canary Islands for malaria patients, whose lives depend upon their reaching that Mecca for invalids. By such means the dead merchant prince has lowered the death-rate among Europeans and natives in West Africa to a degree unthought of fifteen years ago, and he has built in that part of the Continent a monument to his name more enduring than brass, because the foundation was made for the betterment of his fellow-men.

THE NIGER COMPANY

But if the Elder Dempster Line have accomplished great things in establishing regular communication between England and the new Dependencies, much splendid pioneer work has been done in the country by the Niger Company. During the last few years they have opened up the Bauchi tin field in Northern Nigeria, and their trading and transport facilities have made it possible for them to carry out an enormous amount of development under great difficulties. The directors have had the courage of their convictions. In forwarding their own interests they have benefited the Protectorate, and if they have profited by their enterprise they have made the country a source of profit for others.

From the proceeds of the surrender of its charter to the British Government in 1900, the company were able to make a special distribution to its shareholders amounting to 145 per cent., and the sale of certain of their mining rights in the Bauchi Province has more than repaid them for the work that they had carried on in the district since 1902, and resulted in raising their dividend payment in 1909 from ten to twenty per cent. And in addition the Niger Company possess practically a monopoly of the transport to the tin fields, the value of which cannot be overestimated.

The Niger Company’s share of the credit that is due for effecting this great improvement in the present condition and future prospects of the Protectorate may be at once admitted; but much has been accomplished since the control of the country devolved upon the British Colonial Office. In 1900 only some 30,000 square miles, out of a total of 250,000 in Northern Nigeria, were under some form of organised control. The remainder was controlled and ruled under conditions giving no guarantee of liberty or even life. To-day the whole condition of the country is entirely altered. Sixteen provinces, comprising the entire Protectorate, have been organised by the never-ceasing efforts of Residents, and the sum total of the unadministered area does not now exceed the 30,000 square miles that were under administration ten years ago.

PROGRESS OF SOUTHERN NIGERIA

At the date of the proclamation of the Nigerian Protectorates the Southern Colony was in a much more advanced state of development than its Northern neighbour, and was naturally regarded as the paramount partner. It had a sea border, a port at Lagos, which to-day is the most important town in West Africa, and it was destined to be the terminus of the first railway to be built in the new Dependencies. The markets and trading stations of the Niger Company were within its boundaries, the fertility of the soil was proved, its richness in rubber, tobacco, and coal was established, and its wealth of other vegetable products was well known. It is not at all surprising, then, that British pioneers and capitalists saw the splendid commercial future that was before Southern Nigeria, and were somewhat neglectful of the distant, isolated, and inaccessible Northern territories. Nor were they wrong, for the advance of its trade justified the most sanguine predictions, and, as will be seen by a glance at the appended tables (prepared in francs by Mr. C. A. Birtwistle, the Commercial Intelligence Officer of the Colony), its commerce to-day practically equals the total of the French Colonies of Senegal, Guinea, the Ivory Coast, and Dahomey:—

It will be noted at a glance that whilst French West African trade has increased by 65 per cent., that of Nigeria has grown by 136 per cent.

ANTICIPATIONS OF NORTHERN NIGERIA’S FUTURE

Northern Nigeria, however, was known to be rich in iron, and the existence of other minerals was suspected; its suitability as a field for the exploitation of the cotton-growing industry was realised and the British Cotton-Growing Association reported a few years ago that “in Northern Nigeria alone lies the possible salvation of Lancashire.” Moreover, the Directors of the Niger Company had always foretold the ultimate importance that would be attained by the regions north of the Niger and the Benue. The company’s trade flourished in the south, new products were being continually discovered and new factories opened, and the optimism of its shareholders was justified by the declaration of substantial dividends, but Sir George Goldie consistently predicted the boundless potentialities of the unopened North, and as far back as 1889 declared: “We can hardly impress too strongly upon our shareholders that our hopes of future prosperity rest far less on the lower regions of the Niger than upon the higher, inner, and recently explored country.”

Sir Percy Girouard and others have warned the public against confusing Northern and Southern Nigeria, and running away with the idea that there is no great difference between them. As Colonel Mockler-Ferryman says: “Commencing with what is called the Niger Delta, we have a land of swamps and impenetrable forests, intersected by a vast network of streams and creeks and inhabited by numerous pagan tribes addicted to every species of vile custom, including even cannibalism and human sacrifices.... Above the pagan land—i.e., at the confluence [of the rivers Niger and Benue] there is a marked change, not only in the type of the people but also in the nature of the country. Mohammedan influence commences to show itself, and low swampy wastes are superseded by rocky hills or far-extending grassy plains, well studded with magnificent trees.”

NATIVE TIN WASHING

The existence of alluvial tin in these Northern regions was known for some considerable time, but until a year or two ago its value as a commercial asset was not seriously considered. Rumours of such sources of wealth frequently reached the Niger Company, and quantities of small faggots of very pure metal, which occasionally found their way down to the coast, afforded evidence that the natives had been working and smelting tin for a lengthy period. It was subsequently discovered that the procedure adopted by the native Nigerian tin miners, and described by Mr. Nicolaus, is as follows:

“The washers, usually working in gangs of three or four, wade into the river, tributary creeks and gullies, generally at or near some shallow rapids, and, loosening the gravel under water with a short hoe-like implement, scoop it into large calabashes about 18 inches to 24 inches in diameter. As soon as sufficient gravel is collected (about 30 lbs.), it is washed, and the resulting rough concentrate placed in a smaller calabash, 6 inches to 8 inches in diameter, and thoroughly cleansed, nearly all the fine tinstone being lost. The resulting ‘black tin’ containing the equivalent of from 60 to 65 per cent. metal, is sun-dried, and packed in bags and skins for transport to the smelting furnaces.

“This ‘black tin’ is usually smelted in various parcels on a royalty basis, exclusively by members of one family, who hold the process a profound secret. Only three native smelting furnaces are in use, and these are each capable of turning out about 2 cwt. of metal per diem. They are built of well-puddled clay, and are 3 feet 6 inches in diameter, and have at the back four tuyère holes conducting the blast from primitive sheepskin bellows to the hearth. The tin is reduced by means of charcoal, and runs through a channel 2 feet 6 inches long and 4 inches broad to a catch-pot, whence it is ladled by small gourds or calabashes and poured. The tin is cast in the form of thin bars of about an eighth of an inch in diameter and 12 inches long, which are produced by pouring the molten metal on semi-circular banks of clay, 18 inches high, perforated by dry Guinea corn-halms.”

THE DISCOVERY OF BAUCHI TIN

The first actual discovery of tin in the Protectorate, or the first conclusive evidence of its actual existence there, has hitherto been ‘wrop in mystery,’ but, thanks to the courtesy of Sir William Wallace, late acting Governor of Northern Nigeria, I am in a position to dispel all uncertainty on the subject. In the course of a letter I received from Sir William, dated 21st October 1910, he says:—“Up to ’84 we used to believe that the tin used by the Hausa people for tinning their brass ware was brought across the desert. I then, being busily engaged opening up the Benue River to trade, got a hint that the tin was being smelted in some of the Hausa States, and, on making inquiries, found that it was being produced in Bauchi. We did all possible to develop the trade in the tin straws, but with little success, as the pagan tribes would have no dealings with the Hausa merchants, and rightly so, as it would have only led to the subjection of the tribes to the Fulani, whom they kept at bay till our advent in 1902. Early in that year I went with the little army as Political Agent to subdue the Emir of Bauchi, and after settling that matter I was able to get messengers through to the Delimi River, close to the Naraguta, from whence they brought about a quarter of a hundredweight of the tin sands, the first ever procured or seen by Europeans. This sample I brought home, and submitted to the Directors of the Niger Company, who shortly afterwards took out a prospecting licence over 1000 square miles. Since then, thanks principally to Mr. Laws, the mining industry has slowly forged ahead, until the rush came along this year. Year in, year out, I have been urging companies and encouraging prospectors to come along until I almost despaired of success; but now, given a railway to the tin field, the industry cannot but prosper if the Government do not hamper it with too many restrictions.”

THE NIGER COMPANY’S EXPEDITION

Sir William Wallace’s tribute to the work done by Mr. Laws, the plucky and importunate mining adviser of the Niger Company, is entirely merited. The existence of paying tin was regarded with some scepticism. It has also been surmised that the officials and civil servants had too comfortable berths to risk the disappointments and discomforts of prospecting work. Moreover, the Niger Company was in a flourishing condition, and its directors were not anxious to launch into mining enterprises. But Mr. Laws and his assistants were indefatigable. In 1902 and 1903 three expeditions were despatched to locate the tin areas. The little party, under the protection of an armed escort—for at that time the natives, now so friendly, were somewhat hostile—proceeded to make a geological examination of the country east of the Niger, and eventually found tin in the Province of Bauchi, some 600 miles to the north-east of Lokoja. Further prospecting located the stanniferous area to the outlines of the Gura Mountains, a small range known as the Naraguta and Shere Hills in the Badiko district of that province.

THE FIRST GEOLOGICAL REPORTS

The geology of the area, as described by Mr. R. C. Nicolaus, is composed of granites, igneous intrusions of diabase and porphyry forming the prominent peaks of the hill range. Near the river a coarse grey gneiss forms a contact with the granite, both of which rocks are traversed by lenticles and gash veins of quartz, and several small igneous dykes cross diagonally the general strike of country, which is north-east and dips west.

Although the stream tin had so far only been prospected in the neighbourhood of the rivers, there was abundant evidence to show that the source of the tin supply came from a stockwork formation in the granite at the slopes and at the base of the foot-hills. A somewhat remarkable feature of this deposit was that a considerable quantity of metallic tin was discovered under the river banks during prospecting operations. It was found in small grains and nodules about the size of a bean, its surface very thinly coated with only a trace of iron. It was very ductile, and emitted, on crushing, the peculiar tin cry. Its mode of occurrence in the gravels, associated with coarse grains of stream tin at a depth of some 15 feet under the surface, did not at first allow its genesis being determinable, but it was unhesitatingly put down as “native tin”—a mineral up to that time of very rare occurrence.

FIRST SHIPMENT OF TIN

Mr. Laws and his engineers were so well satisfied with their work, and the results they produced were so encouraging, that the Niger Company applied in 1905 for a number of mining leases in selected areas. In spite of slight difficulties arising from a scarcity of water in the dry season, a considerable amount of development work was accomplished, and the company secured an output of one ton of black tin per diem. These results proved that the gravels could be worked profitably, while the geological structure of the country compelled experts to the conclusion that the field represented by far the most important discovery of native tin that had been made. Further examination of the district, which fully confirmed the expectations raised by the first reports, has inspired the prediction that this Northern Nigerian tin field is perhaps the richest in the world.

The Niger Company continued to treat the alluvial in the old primitive method, which consists in the main of the use of calabash and sluice boxes, by which they have, up to the present time, secured over 1000 tons of black tin. Still, the mineral resources of the colony were not, until recently, appreciated in accordance with the proved facts. Lord Scarborough year after year had told the British public, in his annual speech to the shareholders of the Niger Company, that there was treasure in Northern Nigeria in the shape of alluvial tin. He told them, in March 1907, that during the previous fifteen months roughly 240 tons of black tin, of the approximate gross value of £30,000, had been obtained from one property, the Naraguta, or an average of 16 tons a month. He told his shareholders in 1908 that the Niger Company had won £29,933 worth of tin for that year. Last year he said: “As regards tin development, we have brought home and marketed an increased quantity of ore compared with the previous year.” This year the chairman of the Niger Company declared a 2s. dividend per share as a result of the sale of a small portion of their mining lands.

OFFICIAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE NEW FIELD

The first official recognition of the importance of the Bauchi tin deposits was conveyed to the public in the Colonial Report on Northern Nigeria in 1905, and in 1906 was published the First Report on the Results of the Mineral Survey of Northern Nigeria, 1904-5. “The mineral resource of Northern Nigeria being virtually unknown” (to quote the report), “a mineral survey of the Protectorate to be carried out under the general supervision of the Director of the Imperial Institute by surveyors nominated by him, was proposed by Sir F. Lugard, the High Commissioner of Northern Nigeria, and sanctioned by the Secretary of State for the Colonies in 1904.” It was arranged that the officers of the Survey should spend about eight months of each year in Northern Nigeria in exploring the mineral deposits of selected districts.

In the general introductory summary of the first report of the surveyors, the prospects of the tin fields of Northern Nigeria are described with the customary official reserve. “Tin, in the form of cassiterite,” the report stated, “has now been found in the stream beds of other districts. It is probable that as soon as suitable transport is provided Northern Nigeria will become an important tin-producing country. Already deposits in the Bauchi Province are being worked by the Niger Company, and the metal smelted on the spot. The first consignment of tin from the Protectorate has reached this country.”

The prospect presented by this information, backed up by substantial shipments of tin, might have been expected to stimulate the curiosity of both prospectors and capitalists, and that other Richmonds would have made an appearance in the Bauchi field. But any hopes of such a result were doomed to disappointment. The Niger Company continued to win mineral, and the Mineral Survey persisted in their efforts to prove the extent of country over which the granites were tin bearing. It is possible that the remoteness and inaccessibility of the Protectorate operated unfavourably in the minds of mining adventurers, and the evil reputation which had been erroneously given to the country may have moved financiers to an excess of cautiousness. The colony made no new friends, and, as will be shown later, it was not until last year and then only by the accident of failure in another direction, that capital was diverted into the new tin field.

TINSTONE CONCENTRATES ANALYSED

Eleven specimens of tinstone concentrates from the Zagi River, south of Bauchi, from Bula, Tilde, and the river beyond Joss were forwarded to the Imperial Institute, and with only one exception were found upon analysis to contain tin in quantities of from mere traces up to 80.85 per cent, of tin oxide, equivalent to 63.5 per cent. of metallic tin in the concentrate.

The official general remarks on the specimens analysed were as follows:

“Most of the concentrates were obtained from the plateaux of Tilde, Rukuba, Joss, and Ngell. On the first three of these the principal surveyor reports that the Niger Company has prospecting camps. The finest grained tinstone is found on the Tilde plateau, the coarser material coming from Joss and Ngell. The tinstone is said to be irregularly distributed, and adjoining pits may furnish such different yields as 10 lbs., or less, and 400 lbs. per ton on gravel worked. The average yield at the Rukuba camp is 25 lbs. per ton. The present works, it is stated, are all in the near neighbourhood of the river Delimi, but it appears that the gravels are more or less rich in tin over the whole surface of the plateau. The river-beds in some cases contain valuable tinstone-bearing gravels, as is shown by the results of the analysis of the concentrate from the river-bed at Tilde, which contained 68 per cent. of tinstone. That from beyond Joss contained only 40 per cent. of tinstone, possibly owing to the difficulty of separating the ilmenite from the tinstone by washing. The concentrate from the Kende River consisted almost entirely of ilmenite. The presence of the latter mineral in the stream beds will introduce a difficulty in the concentration of the tinstone, as it is not readily distinguishable by inspection from tinstone, and collects with it in the first concentration.

“The results so far obtained show that tinstone is widely distributed in the province of Bauchi in the alluvium of both the high and low plateaux. As these tinstone districts are in process of being prospected, it is scarcely worth while to discuss the commercial value of the tin concentrates here, but it may be pointed out that several of these concentrates contain monazite, and this may be worth recovering. The amount of monazite present is usually small, and it is scarcely likely that its recovery under present circumstances would pay for the working of an electro-magnetic concentrator, which would be required to effect its separation. If, however, it becomes necessary to use such concentrators in order to separate the ilmenite, which occurs with the tinstone, then it would probably be worth while to recover the monazite as a by-product.

“The question of the origin of the tinstone occurring in this region is of great interest, and the officers of the Survey propose to devote further attention to the subject.”

The Colonial Report for 1907-8 carried us no further, as the third Survey party which arrived in the country in December 1907 were still upon their seven months expedition, and the results of their work had not been received. The report referred, however, to the fact that the Niger Company, continuing its work on its licensed area in the Bauchi Province, were exporting black tin to the amount of 500 tons per annum, and added: “The main difficulty in the development of this promising industry is its situation. With the construction of the railway through Zaria it should be possible to place the mines in close connection with it by means of a road, which should also serve the Bauchi Province.”

THE REPORTS OF EXPERTS

In one of his reports on the Bauchi tin area, Mr. Lush says:

“There is not the slightest doubt that before very long many of the deep alluvial flats that are some distance from the shallow and more easily worked tin ground will be worked. The values may turn out to be poorer than the shallow ground, but the natural facilities are better owing to the water supply being sufficient for continuous working without the expense of erection of dams. On the other hand, when you get out of the granite country, the further you are away from the source of the tin the greater are the impurities mixed with it. The numerous creeks, after passing through the schists and other rocks emptying into the main river, all tend to this, and titanic iron, tourmaline, rutile, and gem sand form a large percentage of the concentrates. However, if on boring, the deep ground turns out payable, there should be no difficulty in getting rid of the impurities and dressing the tin up to 70 per cent.”

Mr. L. H. L. Huddart, writing on this subject in his report on the South Juga property, says:

“Sources of the Tin.—The black tin is probably derived from the granite of which it is a rock constituent, and from stockworks in the granite quartz porphyry occurs very similar to the ‘elvans’ in Cornwall.

“Nature of the Wash.—In the upper end the wash is a fine whitish granite, containing no large pebbles or boulders, and is near the original source of some of the Juga tin. The surface is slightly cemented with iron oxides in which cassiterite often grows. The whole wash very easily breaks down with water. The ground further down the property is similar except that the alluvial has travelled further, and consequently has been sorted to a greater extent.

“Taken generally, the tin bearing is the product of denudation from the granite of which the bed-rock, and sides of the valley are composed. The tin occurs in the wash right up against the granite on both sides of the valley. The topaz is abundant in the wash, and with some zircon and rootile is almost the only mineral besides cassiterite occurring in the concentrates.”

In his report on the Kurdum River Tin Concession, Mr. Huddart says:

“Geology.—The base rock is a foliated gneiss and schist; the great granite massif forming the Jarawa Hills lies to the west of the property. There is a good deal of granite on the property, with some dolerite. The rocks are compact, and show considerable signs of regional metamorphism.

“Source of the Tin.—The tin has been carried down from the rich placers at the head water of the Kurdum River, and form feeders that come in above the property from the Jarawa and Fuersum country. In one or two places the natives work the river-bed, an indication in itself of high value, as it does not pay them to work any but rich gravel. The alluvial ground is a quartz gravel with sand near the top. There is very little clay, and long boulders are unlikely, and the wash is friable and easy to work. The river-bed gravel where coarse is very rich.

“Concentrates.—These contain usually minerals such as ilmenite, rootile, zircon, and some topaz and garnet. The tin is of good quality, and varies in colour from black to ruby and pale yellow. A little monazite is found, and an occasional colour of gold. There should be no difficulty in shipping concentrates that will assay 71 or 72 per cent. metallic tin. The tinstone is of a good average size for saving in the sluice boxes which can be given a good grade.”

FRESH DISCOVERIES ANNOUNCED

The Government Report on Northern Nigeria for 1908-9 contained the announcement that tin in paying quantities had been located in the Provinces of Bauchi, Nassarawa, and on the Kobba-Ilorin border, and this information has since been supplemented by the Akerri (Nigeria) Tin Company Ltd., which has taken up a tin area in an entirely fresh district, one day’s journey west of Zungeru, and one and a half day’s journey north-east of Jebba.

Meanwhile, in a White Paper on “Nigeria, September 1910,” issued in the following month of October, we get an official reference to the new tin industry:

“Mr. Parkinson states that in the Oban Hills, Southern Nigeria, there are tourmaline pegmatites, and Schmeisser has recorded that since the discovery of an apparently rich tin deposit near Banyo, there has been much prospecting for that mineral in the Cameroons. Surface tin is found in Northern Nigeria by the natives, and sold, chiefly to the Niger Company, but mines on a large scale have not as yet been worked. The geological surveyors sent out by the Imperial Institute have detected the presence of alluvial tin in many sand and river gravels. At Uwet, in Old Calabar, Mr. Parkinson reports the occurrence of tinstone during the year 1906, and of the washed samples 80 per cent. was tinstone, and the remainder was garnet, tourmaline, quartz, and columbite.”

CONFIDENCE IN THE FIELD ESTABLISHED

The Bauchi tin won by the Niger Company is of rich quality, and commands a considerably higher price than ordinary English tin; but while Lord Scarborough persistently told the public of the results of their operations, mining was not energetically proceeded with, and as has been said the new field attracted less attention than it deserved. But as prospecting work in the district became more general, it was realised from the virgin nature of the area, the cheapness and abundance of labour available in the district, and the enormous extent of the surface deposits, that the regions were extremely valuable and presented potentialities of great and continuous profits. In the face of this later information the first feeling of scepticism with which the discovery was received passed away, doubt yielded to confidence, and it was soon known that some of the most astute and influential groups in the City were interested in the exploitation of the new field.

But although the future of the Bauchi tin district was assured, it was necessary for some one to be first in the systematic development of the new field. Every report emanating from the colony confirmed the story of the richness of Nigerian tin, and a Royal Colonial Institute address had admitted that “if the professional reports were anything like approximately correct and the supply is regulated, a fabulous amount of wealth is waiting to be extracted,” but the opportunity to make fortunes out of Northern Nigeria was neglected until the Champion Gold Reefs of West Africa, Ltd., who had abandoned their gold property on the Gold Coast, boldly threw their remaining capital of £12,000 into the new field.

THE PIONEERS OF NORTHERN NIGERIAN TIN

The credit, therefore, for placing the Nigerian tin fields before the British investor is due to Messrs. Walter and Oliver Wethered, and Mr. S. R. Bastard. It was Mr. Walter Wethered, being impressed by the large quantities of metal which were being brought down by the natives and sold to the Niger Company, who formed the opinion that these fields might be suitable for working on a large scale. Having satisfied himself on this point he was able to induce Mr. Bastard, and his brother, Mr. Oliver Wethered, to join in the business, and as a result the Champion Gold Reefs of West Africa, Ltd., of which Mr. Bastard was Chairman, decided in the month of September 1909 to embark its remaining capital and all its energies in the exploitation of the new Nigerian tin field. In October the first members of their staff were sent out to the properties they had already secured, to be followed on 3rd November by Mr. C. G. Lush, the well-known tin expert, who was to advise them as to the best method of developing their properties. Everything that happened satisfied this pioneer group of the value of the field, and they formed the Tin Fields of Northern Nigeria, Ltd., which was registered on 7th October 1909, with a capital of £100,000. Mr. Bastard became chairman of this company.

The Nigerian Tin Corporation, Ltd., was registered on 14th October 1909, with a capital of £100,000. On this occasion Mr. Oliver Wethered took the chairmanship. No further company was floated during the year 1909, but on 15th January 1910 this same group issued the Naraguta (Nigeria) Tin Mines, Ltd., with a capital of £175,000. This company has already, in the few months it has been working, recovered over 300 tons of tin, and has declared its first dividend. The next venture to be floated by the Champion Gold Reefs company was the Northern Nigerian (Bauchi) Tin Mines, Ltd., registered on 2nd February 1910, with a capital of £200,000, of which Mr. Oliver Wethered became a director.

The foregoing were the first five companies registered for the sole purpose of working the alluvial tin deposits of Northern Nigeria, and they were all promoted by this pioneer group, comprising Messrs. Walter and Oliver Wethered, and Mr. S. R. Bastard. All these companies are doing excellent work, and showing good results. After February of this year others entered the field, and since March last a large number of companies and syndicates have been registered and formed, several of which are at work.

It was only to be expected that such brilliant results as these would have the effect of inducing the more conservative firms to enter into the fields of Northern Nigerian mineral enterprise, and now Messrs. Wernher, Beit, the Consolidated Gold Fields of South Africa, Fanti Consolidated, and many other leading groups of bankers and capitalists are represented in the Bauchi Province.

THE INACCESSIBILITY OF THE FIELD

But while the prospecting and actual mining work being done on the Bauchi field are establishing an ever-widening recognition of its mineral wealth, its inaccessibility and the difficulties of transport, which represent its chief drawbacks, have not yet been overcome, and it may be opportune to explain here the methods of transport employed in the two Nigerias, to describe the railway system, and to give some ideas of the difficulties of carriage with which the mine owners of Northern Nigeria have to contend.

Southern Nigeria, through which the Northern Protectorate is reached from the coast, is covered with a network of waterways, which are the natural transport roads of the entire region, and the Marine Department is continually surveying old and overgrown streams and opening up new river routes. It is possible, travelling by the Niger River from Forcados to the confluence at Lokoja, and following from that point the Benue River to Loko, to arrive within about 180 miles of Bauchi, or going by rail from Lagos to Jebba, the present northern terminus of the line, to get, as the crow flies, within 300 miles of that centre. The river route is obviously the quickest and cheapest, and is the one still in use, the natives carrying the tin in parcels of 60 lbs. weight on their heads from the field to Loko, travelling about 15 miles a day. At Loko, the metal is put into small steamers or barges, according to the season, and conveyed to the confluence, where it is transferred to Niger boats and taken to Forcados for shipment to Liverpool, the entire journey occupying thirty-five days and costing £29 10s. per ton.

COST OF TRANSPORT

When the construction of the Kano Railway from Baro on the Niger to railhead is opened, and the road connecting the railway to Bauchi is made, the journey will be appreciably shortened. The completion of the railway from Lagos in 1911 should further reduce it to about twenty-eight days, and again when motors are available on the new road, to about three weeks.

The cost per ton by the Forcados-Baro route will be:—

This will be increased when the maximum rate is charged, and will be reduced when the motor transport on the new road is available.

THE RAILWAYS OF NIGERIA

The future cost and time of transport depends upon the completion of the railway construction at present in hand, and the decision of the Government with regard to the suggested new line to connect the tin fields with some selected spot upon the Baro-Kano line of railway. The Lagos railway to Jebba in Northern Nigeria is 307 miles in length, but although the last constructed stretch of 60½ miles from Ilorin was only opened in August last, the line has already been continued for some 50 miles beyond the Niger, and the balance of 70 miles to be completed to Zungeru, the capital of Northern Nigeria, is expected to be finished early in the coming year. By this route, when the connecting line from Zungeru to the Baro-Kano railway is constructed, and the branch from the latter railway to Bauchi is built, it will be possible to carry machinery all the way from Lagos to the new field by train, and bring the metal down to the port by the same service.

But although this Lagos railway, as it is still called, taps a fertile and thickly populated country and connects the capital of the north with the coast, it became, with the commencement of the new Baro-Kano line the second, instead of the first, most important factor in the development of Northern Nigeria. Until the year 1907 the Northern Protectorate possessed in the way of railways but one light 2 feet 6 inch tramway of 22 miles in length, which connected its capital, Zungeru, with Baro, the nearest navigable point on the river.

It was in May 1907 that Sir Percy Girouard, the Governor, whose name had already become famous in connection with his splendid railway work in the Sudan and in South Africa, formulated the railway policy, and recommended the construction by the Public Works Department of the Protectorate of a 3 feet 6 inch gauge railway from Baro, on the Niger River, to Kano, a distance of a little short of 400 miles, on an estimate of £3000 per mile. In August of the same year the Imperial Government sanctioned the construction of the proposed line.

At the same time the views of the administrative Southern Protectorate were met by the extension of the Lagos line into Northern Nigeria, with a connection to be established from Zungeru with the Baro-Kano railway, making it possible to travel from Kano either all the way by rail to the coast at Lagos, or by rail to Baro, and thence by river steamers to the mouth of the Niger. It is expected that the bulk of the exports will follow the line to Baro, and thence be carried to the sea by water transport, but the Lagos line serves such a rich and well populated country, that when the Port of Lagos has been rendered accessible by the harbour improvements now in construction, the line should prove of increasing economic value, quite apart from any trade it may attract from the more easterly provinces of Northern Nigeria.

NEW LINE ADVOCATED

The Baro-Kano railway was put in hand at an extremely opportune time, and it was while the work of construction was being rapidly pushed forward that the discovery of tin in the Bauchi Province turned the thoughts of railway construction in an easterly direction, and the continuous and consistently rich finds which rewarded the efforts of prospectors in this region called daily and hourly attention to its remoteness. At first it was considered that the formation of a good road from Bauchi to strike the Baro-Kano line about Zaria would suffice for the needs of the field, but the extraordinary extent and richness of the deposits, and the phenomenal success achieved by the Naraguta (Nigeria) Tin Mines, Ltd., the Lucky Chance Mines, Ltd., and other companies at work there, emphasised the self-evident fact that nothing less than a branch railway would be sufficient to adequately develop the new industry. London capitalists expressed their willingness to find the money to finance the new line, but the question was, and still is, under the consideration of the Colonial Office, and Sir Walter Egerton, the Governor of Southern Nigeria, and Sir Hesketh Bell, the High Commissioner of Northern Nigeria, and Sir William Wallace, the late acting Governor of that colony, all strongly favour the construction of the line by the Government rather than by private enterprise.

SIR WALTER EGERTON’S OPINIONS

Sir Walter Egerton, in an interview he granted to a Press representative in June last, said: “Everybody believes the tin deposits to be very rich, and if only half the reports concerning them are true, there is more than enough to warrant the expenditure of making a branch to the tin fields of the Province of Bauchi. This would give direct access from the sea at Lagos to the tin fields. The reports show that the tin alluvial is similar to that of the Malay Peninsula, which produces more than half the tin of the world. Southern Nigeria has already lent the money required for the construction of the railway to Kano, and it is a question for the consideration of the Secretary of State whether we should not also finance the building of the line to the tin areas. I should think it would be a great advantage to Southern Nigeria to have such communication, as a large traffic might be expected. If the Secretary of State agrees, there is no reason to expect that there will be any opposition in Southern Nigeria to financing the line, for the success of the tin industry will have a wonderful effect not only on Northern, but also on Southern Nigeria, for the Protectorates, though two politically, are one geographically.”

THE GOVERNMENT AND THE PROJECTED LINE

Since this interview was published it has been persistently rumoured that the Government have decided to build the suggested line from a point near Rigachiko, on the Baro-Kano line, to a place called Toro, between 120 and 130 miles distant, in the centre of the tin district, and midway between Naraguta and Juga. The country which the line would traverse has been surveyed, and a new road, 12 feet wide throughout, and capable of conveying light motor traffic in the dry season is being constructed, and will probably be completed before the end of the present year. But the Government have not yet announced their decision, and it is doubtful, although efforts have been made to induce them to divert the funds for extending the line from Zaria to Kano for the purpose of the tin fields branch, whether they can be persuaded to do so. It is believed, as Sir Walter Egerton said, that if the Government acts on the recommendation of the Governor of Northern Nigeria, the Government of Southern Nigeria would be willing to undertake the construction of the line, and should the Colonial Office decline to sanction the scheme, representatives of several of the companies interested in the new tin field have expressed their readiness to finance the railway.

As recently as October 22nd a meeting of representatives of the various Northern Nigerian tin companies was held at the London Offices of the Niger Company, when a general committee, to be named the Northern Nigerian Mines Association, was formed, composed of a representative of each of the companies, and a sub-committee, composed of Lord Scarborough, Mr. S. R. Bastard, Mr. O. Wethered, Mr. Godfrey, and Mr. Berry was appointed to deal with urgent business. The chief attention of this meeting was naturally paid to the question of transport, and the first business done was the passing of a resolution urging the Colonial Office to construct the railway to the Bauchi tin fields as early as possible. The Association decided on the appointment of a medical officer, and they have, furthermore, given instructions for a hospital to be built on the field at Joss. It will therefore be seen that everything possible is being done to urge upon the Government the importance of pushing forward this work, which will doubtless be taken seriously in hand before long.

VARIOUS OPINIONS

Everybody connected with the Protectorate or interested in the new tin field is agreed as to the absolute necessity of constructing the line.

Mr. J. Tomson, the chief engineer of the Anglo-Continental Mines Company, who recently returned to England after an extended tour in the Bauchi district, declared that the difficulties of transport are at present tremendous, but he is of opinion that they could best be overcome by running a railway from Minna, a point on the Baro-Kano line to Naraguta, the capital of Bauchi.

“Before I left,” said Mr. Tomson to a representative of the Morning Post, “I had an interview with Sir Hesketh Bell, the Governor, and found him most sympathetic towards the mining industry. He recognises that the railway should be built to the tin fields as quickly as possible, but of course it is a question of ways and means. If the Colonial Office came to the rescue and made a special grant for laying the line, or else allowed the united mining companies to construct it themselves, which they are quite willing to do, all would be well. But it is important that something should be done at once. If not, there is going to be a serious difficulty over the food supply, because so many mining companies have gone to the Bauchi district that the farmers are unable to cope with the demand for food. With a railway to Minna and then along the line now being laid to Zungeru, which connects up the Lagos railway and the line from Baro, the ore would reach port in a few days.”

Mr. Beresford, the Secretary of the Administration of Northern Nigeria, in an official letter written to a correspondent, discussing new means of transport in the Protectorate, says:— “A survey for a road has just been completed, and it has been found that the Rishi Pass is not a practicable line, and it is considered that Toro or Tilde, and not Liruei, should be the point of objective. It is hoped that by December next a rough road, fit for carts or light motors, may be completed to Toro via the Gusu Pass, but the Governor is strongly of opinion that nothing but a railway will suit the requirements of the tin fields, even in the near future, and he hopes that it may be possible to find funds for such a project.”

THE ROUTE DESCRIBED

When the work of seeing these pages through the press was nearing completion, a letter arrived at the London offices of the Tin Fields of Northern Nigeria, Ltd., from their engineer, Mr. Jerome J. Collins, describing the means of transport from the coast to the seat of operations in the Bauchi Province. The particulars, which are given from personal experience of the journey, are both interesting and instructive, as they are also the last word to hand on the subject, and the excerpts which follow are published by the courtesy of the directors of the company, by whom the letter was received.

Writing from Kogin Jarawa, under date September 13, Mr. Collins says:—

Niger River Transport.—Forcados to Baro.

The distance is 407 miles. The Niger Company, Ltd., and the Government run shallow draught steamers carrying passengers and cargo. The Government steamers run a weekly service in connection with the mail steamers from Liverpool. The Niger Company run steamers as inducement offers.

The time occupied is about ten days by both services, but a great deal of this time is taken up with stoppages at the various towns along the river.

The Government steamers are in a very bad state of repair, and much time is lost owing to breakdowns. In the rainy season branch steamers travel between the coast and Baro, at present carrying railway material. They have facilities for handling heavy cargo.

The season extends from July to September.

The Government and Niger Company’s boats have no facilities for handling heavy cargo, being limited to packages capable of being handled by native labour, which is tedious and expensive.

The cost of transport by Government steamers for ordinary cargo from Forcados to Baro is from 40s. to 60s., and down from Baro to Forcados is from 21s. to 33s.

Railway Transport.—Baro to Rigachiko.

The distance is 225 miles. The railway is not yet completed to Rigachiko, where the Bauchi road starts, but I understand from railway officials that the line will be through by next March, 1911. Railhead at present is at Kogin Serikin Pawa, 172 miles from Baro, but rails are laid to within fifteen miles of Rigachiko, and this part of the line will be ready as soon as the bridges are completed.

The railway is 3 feet 6 inch gauge, and has been constructed with economy always in view. Up to the present there is no ballast on the line, and consequently there are serious delays during the rainy season owing to derailment of engines and the washout of embankments. My journey from Baro to railhead occupied fifteen days; the most of this time was lost owing to breakdowns on the line.

The journey should occupy two days, and I have no doubt that by March next it will be possible to get from Baro to Rigachiko in two days.

The freight on the line at present is 8s. per ton per mile, equal to £7 10s. per ton from Baro to Rigachiko, but at present the railway company will not undertake to transport cargo unless it is accompanied, and even then they will take no responsibility.

I understand that in the next year, when the railway is open to Zaria, the freight will be reduced to 6s. per ton per mile, equal to £5 12s. 6d. per ton from Baro to Rigachiko.

Road Transport.—Rigachiko to Naraguta.

The distance is approximately 135 miles. On my journey across by this road I took eight days, which is as quick as can be expected.

The Government engineers are clearing a track twelve feet wide, and pulling out tree stumps. They are also grading down banks of creeks to one in ten.

They are expending £20 per mile on this work, and have completed fifty miles in two months.

This road track will come into the tin fields at Toro, twelve miles north-east of Naraguta, and twelve miles west of the company’s property at Federri. This track should be finished by the end of the year.

The country is flat and very easy for road building. There are four large rivers to cross, which would require bridges of over 100 feet in length, and numerous small creeks which could be bridged cheaply.

There is plenty of stone suitable for road ballast, available near the road. When the road track is through to the tin fields it will be possible to transport stores by carrier in seven days from railway.

It may be mentioned here that the Niger Company up to the present have had great difficulty with the prospectors and others travelling up to the tin fields, owing, in some cases, to their not having left themselves entirely in the hands of the company. The Niger Company have practically controlled the country, and have perfected arrangements by which they can supply large numbers of natives for carrying goods from the river to the tin field, but on several occasions their organisation has been interfered with by persons offering the natives three or four times their usual pay in order to get them through quickly to the fields. This, of course, as will be seen, is a dangerous policy, for if a scale is not strictly adhered to, the time will come when the natives will start attempting to dictate their own terms.

The Niger Company are not in favour of the motor route from the head of the Baro-Kano to the fields. Their opinion is that the money would be wasted on such a road, and that the mining community should be satisfied to wait until the railway is made. Their view is that the mining companies should join together and come to an arrangement with the Niger Company for carrying all the goods along their own route from Loko to the field via Keffi and Bukeru. This road, they say, could be reserved for mining business, and they would open up another route, starting from a point near Sinkai higher up the Benue River, which could be used for ordinary commercial purposes. They point out that with the rush of goods required for the mines, they have been unable to get up a sufficient and proper supply of provisions. This question, of course, requires careful consideration, as although the Niger Company wish to be considered as offering this advice in a purely disinterested manner, it should be remembered that they are asking for contracts for the whole of the transport, which would enable them to employ thousands of natives at a very low figure.

THE BAUCHI PROVINCE

Meantime the energetic prospecting and mining work that is being done in the Province of Bauchi is establishing the fact that the new tin area is of enormous extent and value both in the nature of alluvial gravels and the more permanent form of tin lodes. Mr. Lush, the well-known mining authority, who has examined a great part of the Province, estimates that these deposits are scattered over an area of no less than 2,500 square miles, and the tin produced is considered to be some of the best ever imported into Europe, and commands a price equal, if not higher, than the Straits tin. The land is situated about 3,000 to 4,000 feet above sea-level, and the late Director of Mines in Northern Nigeria states that the climate is equal to that of Rhodesia, if not even better.

“Few people have any idea,” Mr. Tomson asserts, “of the possibilities of this country. It is quite a mistake to think it is unhealthy. Naraguta is over 3,500 feet above the sea-level, and is a healthy and fertile district. Here you are hundreds of miles away from the malarial swamps and the coast. If you walk up out of the town of Naraguta on to rising ground, as far as you can see stretch out great plains of waving grass, here and there dotted with masses of the Fulani cattle. It would make a splendid wheat-growing district, for the land requires very little cultivation, and there is no bush country. Kano, which lies nearly two hundred miles to the north, is a remarkable place. Several travellers have stated that it is the largest market in the world.”

CLIMATE AND WATER

Mr. Huddart, until recently Director of Mines, who has declared that the climate of Northern Nigeria is better than that of Rhodesia, and that the country is without a single tsetse belt, says:

“The nights are quite cold, and any man who lives well ought to have perfect health. I do not reckon it in the least like any other part of West Africa; it is more like Eastern Soudan, and it is known as the Western Soudan. With regard to water, which, as you know, is a very important question, it is quite erroneous to imagine that there is very little water here. In Northern Queensland and South-Eastern and Western Australia there is much less water than here; in fact there is no comparison between them. Mr. Lush and I—and I had the pleasure of travelling with him—were never at any trouble in getting water, we never had even to carry water, and those who have travelled know what that means.”

In Nigeria they have only two well-defined seasons, the wet and the dry season. The wet season lasts from April till the end of October, and during that time it is very difficult to do any prospecting work, although, of course, mining can be carried on in certain districts. It is during the dry season, from the end of October to April, that most of the work can be accomplished, especially from a prospector’s point of view.

LIVING AND PROVISIONS

Mr. Lush, writing on the subject of the cost of living and provisions, says “living is cheap, there being plenty of beef, mutton, fowls, milk, eggs, &c. Any kind of vegetable grows well, especially English varieties; in fact very few mining fields that I have visited can be compared to Northern Nigeria in respect of the various sorts of wholesome fresh food that can be obtained. In fact all one requires is flour and a few groceries. The country will provide the rest.”

LICENCES AND LEASES

The new mining regulations, incorporated in the “Minerals Proclamation, 1910,” have already been published in Nigeria, but they are not yet obtainable in this country, and I am privileged to be able to reproduce a copy of them as an appendix to this book. From this document it will be seen that a prospector must either take out a prospecting right, which costs £5 per annum, and entitles the holder to explore for minerals in those parts of the Protectorate not already leased or reserved by Government notice, or an exclusive licence to prospect within an area not exceeding 16 square miles for a fee of £5 per square mile. Mining leases are only granted to holders of either one of these permits, who, upon application, must show that bonâ fide prospecting operations have been carried on on the area applied for, and that they possess or command sufficient working capital to ensure the proper development and working of the mine. Leases of tin areas, which are granted for a term up to twenty-one years, with the option to renew for a further twenty-one years, are three in number, viz., lode mining leases, which may be obtained up to a maximum of thirty claims of 80,000 square feet per claim, at the rental of £4 per claim per annum; alluvial mining leases, not exceeding 800 acres in area, with a minimum width throughout of 400 yards, at a rate of 5s. per acre per annum; and stream mining leases, which shall be confined to the bed of a stream, not exceeding one mile in length, at a rental of £1 per 100 yards per annum. Penalties in the shape of fines or imprisonment are to be inflicted for prospecting without a licence or working a mine without a lease, for interfering with a prospector in the exercise of his rights, for giving false information in an application for a mining lease, or for “salting” a mine, and the Government reserve the power to cancel a prospecting right or revoke a mining lease for certain breaches of the new regulations. Over and above the fees charged for yearly rental of leases, the holder is by statute required to pay a royalty of 5 per cent. to the Niger Company on the value of all metal won, and another royalty of 5 per cent. to the Government, who collect their royalty in the form of export duty.

LABOUR

A population estimated at seven to nine millions is already on the land, and although their labour would not be very efficient so far as skilled work is concerned, there is plenty of rough work to be done, for which about 6d. per day is paid. The costs of treatment are not expected to exceed 6d. per cubic yard. When it is remembered that it is possible for one property to contain many hundreds of thousands of cubic yards of alluvial wash, and that this alluvial tinstone is worth approximately 10d. per lb. at the present time, it will be realised that with the working costs at the liberal figure of 6d. per cubic yard, there is a very considerable margin of profit in these undertakings.

Mr. J. Tomson says of the natives that they make very good labourers: “They insist on being paid with English money, ‘threepenny bits’ being very popular. They have no liking for gold, and do not consider it so valuable as silver. The pagans, who are the farming class, appear to be a most industrious people. They still live in fear of invading Fulani, and always take their bows and arrows with them to the field. Neither men nor women wear dress of any kind. They have a juju or secret oath which forbids them to put on any garment. With these people the missionaries make no headway at all. Neither do they with the Mohammedans.”

The manager of the Lucky Chance Mines, reporting under date 29th August, said he was still paying 6d. per day for ordinary labour, and so far he had had little trouble with the men on day wages, although they had several times tried to get him to raise the rate of pay.

Reporting on a property at Juga in the tin district, Mr. Huddart says:

“The properties are very favourably situated to obtain labour. The men from Bauchi and the east come along the main caravan route looking for work to enable them to earn money to pay the taxes, &c. As this particular property is near the market, and the men usually halt at the market, they can easily be recruited. The cost of ordinary labour is 1d. per hour, and is easily trained. The Bornu and Eastern Kanuri are, in my opinion, the best workers available. A further advantage lies in the position of the property in settled country under the control of the Filani Emir of Bauchi, and the men prefer this to the pagan country.”

Referring to another property about twenty miles further south, Mr. Huddart says:

“When all is in proper working order, I am convinced that ample labour will be forthcoming, as the property is favourably situated in that it can tap the Angass country and the western part of Bornu, as well as the eastern Bauchi territory. When the proper camps are made, markets organised, and the natives learn that a certain income awaits them, I feel sure that labour will come in without any difficulty, and I speak as one knowing their language and having an intimate knowledge of the conditions.”

Mr. H. W. Laws, General Mining Manager of the Niger Company, in his report to the Bisichi Company, whose property is near Naraguta, says:

“There is a good supply of labour in the country; owing to a sudden increase in the demand for labour a temporary shortage was reported this wet season, but the labour market is now rapidly recovering, and in view of the very large amount of labour available in the Hausa States, and the Province of Bornu, no difficulties need be anticipated as to the supply in future.”

The concensus of opinions held by men who understand the amount and nature of the work entailed in this particular form of mining, and are, at the same time, personally familiar with the material that the country has to offer for the purpose, shows that the supply of labour in Northern Nigeria is entirely adequate, and although the development of West Africa depends almost entirely upon the labour question, there is no prospect of any difficulty on this account. Mr. Astley Cooper believes the chief grounds upon which trouble might arise, are the desire of the majority of the natives not to do too much work, the fear that a few months’ work in the mines would give a native sufficient money to live on for a year or two, and the difficulty of getting the right sort of European to take charge of the native labourers. But after all there is little reason to anticipate trouble on any one of these counts. No native in any part of the globe does more work than he is kindly but firmly obliged to perform, and there is no necessity for employers to demoralise the native labourers by a policy of over-payment. But the necessity of employing the right sort of European to put in control over the natives is quite to the point. The West African is more domestic than the Kaffir—of whom there are over 200,000 at work in the Transvaal mines—and there is no more willing worker if he has the proper white man over him. But it is the duty of the Government and the trading companies, and the mining corporations, to select the right men for their purpose, and if they are wise in this respect there need be no fear of labour troubles in either Southern or Northern Nigeria.

THE FUTURE OF THE FIELD

The published opinions of Government officials, engineers of repute, capitalists, traders, and travellers, all tend to prove that in Northern Nigeria we have one of the largest, if not the very largest, of the tin-producing areas of the world. Other minerals are known to exist, and very big developments may be looked for in the near future, as the pioneering efforts of the Niger Company and the Champion Gold Reefs of West Africa are being followed by powerful financial houses, but alluvial tin stands out, and will always stand out, as the leading product of this remarkable mineral country.

Two such astute men and persons so well acquainted with the country as Sir Walter Egerton, the Governor of Southern Nigeria, and the late Sir Alfred Jones, have expressed the strongest views as to the extent and importance of these tin deposits, and the acting Governor of Northern Nigeria in his latest report asserted that “with the introduction of more capital and a good means of transport from the field to the railway a very large development is anticipated.”

Mr. Lush says the Bauchi tin deposits are richer than he has seen in any part of the world. It is, he says, a granite country, and although the existence of reefs has been proved in one part of the district, the alluvial deposits—which yield tin oxide containing about 72 per cent. of metallic tin—are of principal importance.

ALLUVIAL AND LODE MINING

Alluvial mining, has, of course, the demerit of being short-lived. There is no great depth in the deposits, and especially if they are worked economically—that is to say rapidly—they are exhausted in a comparatively short time. But the attention directed to the district in these alluvial workings will certainly lead to the discovery and opening-up of the tin lodes, which in course of time should prove a more lasting source of supply than the alluvials. Indeed, at two points, two tin lodes are already being opened up, and before long a good idea should be obtained of their value. The interests at work in the district will certainly see that every chance is given to this side of the business, but, of course, development upon a lode is very different work to that upon alluvial deposits, and progress may be slower in their case. It is very unlikely, with such an enormous area of stanniferous gravels, that lodes of importance should not be discovered as time goes on, and there appears to be no doubt that the tin production of Nigeria will become quite a factor in the markets of the world. Many things will have to happen before lode producing can be carried out upon a large scale, but as the alluvials are worked out, the labour employed upon them can be concentrated upon the most lasting deposits, and the operations of the alluvial miners should produce a working population which should be fitted to deal with the higher form of mining. Certain facilities will doubtless be given to the district, and some idea of the importance and the developments in this part of Nigeria can be gathered from the fact that the Bank of British West Africa has been earnestly invited to open an office in Bauchi. At present this matter is under consideration, since it is difficult to fix upon a spot which will be most suitable for such an institution to work, but before long it is probable that the tin-mining district will have the facilities offered by a bank.

THE GENERAL PROSPECTS

Mr. Oliver Wethered, whose name is so well known in connection with the tin industry, has described to a meeting of shareholders the peculiar advantages of the country which is now attracting the attention of the tin markets of the world, and in the course of his address he said:

“Now as to the country in which our interests are centred, judging by the information that I have received from all available quarters, I have no hesitation in stating that we are interested in one of the most important virgin alluvial tin fields the world has ever seen, and certainly the most important that capitalists have had an opportunity of working as a new field. In Tasmania, Australia, and other countries which have produced large quantities of alluvial tin, the prospectors have gone in by hundreds, and even thousands, and have washed out large quantities of tin greatly to their own individual benefit. Subsequently the ground has been worked over and over again, and in recent years again re-worked by means of modern appliances. I may say here, that in Cornwall some of the ground must have been worked eight or ten times, and big plants are now being erected for the purpose of working it again by modern methods. It will be obvious to every one that with a practically untouched field, and working in the most economical and thorough way from the start, the results cannot fail to be extremely satisfactory.

“Undoubtedly one of the factors which has delayed the opening up of the tin fields of Nigeria has been the question of economical transport. But the Nigeria tin is of very high quality. It fetches, as a rule, anywhere from £6 to £8 more a ton than Cornish tin, and in this connection I should like to read an extract from a letter which was written to me by the managing director of the largest tin smelting works in Europe, to whom I sent a sample of the tin oxide as it was received here, and of which, in acknowledging it, he says, ‘It is about 75 per cent. metallic tin, of excellent quality, equal to anything being put on the market, so far as my observation goes.’ I am very closely connected with Cornish mining, and there we get Bolivian, Straits, and all kinds of tin, and it is the general opinion that Nigerian tin is one of the very best tins imported into Europe, and will always command a price equal to, if not better than, that of the Straits. Even under existing conditions alluvial tin mining in Nigeria is a highly profitable business, but when the present railway system is completed, and the road made from the Government line to the tin field, the freight should be reduced by many pounds per ton, and the profit largely increased. The completion of the road would enable heavy machinery to be brought to the mines, when larger quantities of the rich alluvial ground would be handled in an economical way, and the work done at a cost much below what is possible under existing conditions. The lodes, too, of which there is undoubted evidence, could be worked. Meanwhile some machinery can be transported in sections, and the output of tin should be rapidly increased and the costs greatly reduced.”

Mr. Assheton Lever, in summing up the situation generally in Northern Nigeria to a meeting of shareholders, said:

“We know that there are considerable areas there which in some cases are very rich in alluvial tin. There are also tin lodes there; but that for the present is another story, because alluvial tin is a thing which is easily and comparatively inexpensively worked, whereas to work a lode mine requires good means of transport, and to be able to get up to the mines easily expensive and heavy machinery. We have a good climate, we have a sufficiency of water, and so far as we can ascertain, we have a sufficiency of native labour. All the companies which are interested in Northern Nigeria appear anxious to co-operate, and are willing to work together generally for their mutual benefit, and for the tin industry in particular.”

Mr. H. W. Lake, the consulting engineer, speaking in a professional capacity at the same meeting, referred to the phenomenal richness of the river banks in the tin district in Northern Nigeria, while very rich alluvials are found on the flats, and when it comes to investigation of the river banks themselves very much larger quantities of black tin to the cubic yard are won. “I am speaking now,” he added, “from a certain amount of experience, because four years ago we had an expedition in the Bauchi district, and our engineer obtained some quite remarkable results from the alluvial. Of course, it is a new country. There is a great deal of pioneering work to be done, and what we have still to look forward to is steady systematic organisation for the next year or two. We do not want to make the mistakes that have been made in the opening up of many new countries—some of them not very far from Nigeria—but we do want to settle down to steady systematic development. As far as the railway is concerned, there seems no doubt that we shall have a line into the tin fields, which is going to simplify the question of transport, and reduce the costs very materially. With regard to the actual working of these alluvials, to begin with, I am of opinion that we should use the simplest methods possible—ground sluicing and so forth, but there will come a time when we shall have very seriously to consider the question of hydraulicing and treating these alluvials on a very much larger scale than would be possible by means of sluicing.”

A DISTRICT FULL OF NARAGUTAS

The extraordinary results obtained by the Naraguta Company might be regarded as exceptional, since it was a proved mine when taken over from the Niger Company, and the actual work done upon it has only confirmed what was previously known of its phenomenal value. But it may be said with great confidence, after careful examination, by not one, but many engineers, that the picture is not in any degree overdrawn. Moreover, the head of a great firm of mining engineers who was inclined to ridicule the values reported, has since admitted that he has altogether changed his opinion, and that he thinks from advices he has received, that the Malay Peninsula fields, even in their palmiest days, were never “in it” with the Northern Nigerian alluvial tin fields. In one place tin has been taken out, on the Dubbo property, belonging to the Lucky Chance Mines, extending over 640 acres, which actually goes 120 lbs. to the cubic yard. That is to say, that the calabashers must be getting out tin almost pure. This may be only a pocket; but the whole character of the reports from the fields makes it perfectly certain that the general nature of the Bauchi district, where the alluvial tin is mostly found, is of an absolutely phenomenal character.

There is no doubt whatever that in this remote district of Nigeria, which until a few years ago, was closed to the white man by the ferocity of its inhabitants, nature has been concentrating tin for thousands and tens of thousands of years, until we have it now in very large quantities in an almost pure condition. To Sir Percy Girouard is largely due the honour of opening up this country, through the discipline he and his subordinates dealt out to the original inhabitants. To his successor, Sir Hesketh Bell, fell the duty and the honour of opening up further the country by a railway system which will make it a great Imperial acquisition.

The work of Sir Percy Girouard and Sir Hesketh Bell may be specially referred to, for they represent the Imperial Government; but we must not forget the work of the directors of the pioneer companies in London, who must have worked continually to do what they have done. In the short space of only twelve months they have accomplished an amount of work which ordinary directors without enthusiasm would have taken years to do. The country has been searched for good properties, engineers have been despatched and machinery ordered, and such is the good work done in a small way with high values, that it is no exaggeration to say that many properties are now paying their way. All has been so swiftly done, and with so little fuss, that it seems like a fairy tale, and the public have no conception yet of the extraordinary value of these alluvial tin propositions in Northern Nigeria.

POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL OUTLOOK

It is satisfactory to gather from the report of the acting Governor dated 11th December last, that the year 1909 was a very peaceful one, the military operations which it was found necessary to carry out being on a small scale, and chiefly on account of highway robberies. From all the Provinces it is reported that the general feeling of the Emirs and native chiefs towards the British Administration continues to be most friendly. They are beginning to show an intelligent interest and zeal in the political work, and political officers are receiving support in any scheme proposed for the improvement of the Native Administration. The people show signs of wishing to be on friendly terms with the Government, and the agricultural classes are feeling a sense of security which enables them to spread out in all directions and take up new holdings. Their present position is described as “one of progressive tranquillity and content.” The inter-colonial traffic in slaves has already ceased; local slave-dealing is not entirely stamped out, but it is not extensive, and last year 1,392 slaves were freed, practically all by means of native courts, the majority of these ex-slaves being self-redeemed.

The cultivation of food stuffs has increased; new markets have been established, and the present safety of the roads has greatly stimulated the internal trade of the country. A great improvement in the export trade has followed the extension of the Baro-Kano Railway. To the north of Minna there is a most extensive area of shea butter trees, but very little of the produce of this area has so far been placed on the market, partly on account of the cost of transport, and partly owing to the reluctance of the pagans to have intercourse with markets outside their districts. The construction of the railway has done much towards gaining the confidence of these people, and the reduction in the cost of transport, consequent upon the completion of the railway, will render it possible to place profitably this sylvan produce on European markets. Further north the railway will pass through the rich agricultural and stock-raising Lausa provinces, which at present export live-stock, skins, and potass by means of annual caravans. The idea that Northern Nigeria is an especially unhealthy place for European residents is scarcely borne out by the total death-rate of roughly twenty per thousand, calculated on the average resident European population; but the proportion of officers invalided home is still large, though it is much smaller than it was a few years ago, when less satisfactory sanitary conditions prevailed at the stations.

Although the addition of the Nigerian Protectorates to the Empire is primarily due to the prescience and enterprise of the Niger Company, that corporation has no monopoly of trade within their boundaries nor any special advantage over other traders. It takes its chances against rival firms in the many spots in which it comes into competition with them. At Gana Gana, for instance, the company’s first station beyond Burutu, the German firm of Bey & Zimmer has a depôt. John Holt & Co., E. H. Stern & Co., J. T. Palmer & Co., Pagenstecher, and the British Cotton Growing Association are all represented in Nigeria, and the firm of G. W. Christian & Co. has established important trading stations at most of the principal towns on the river. As recently as 1904 Messrs. Christian started operations in Nigeria at a small place named Proropro on the left bank of the Niger; to-day they have branches at Forcados, Burutu, Onitsha, Illah, Illushi, Idah, and Lokoja, and at all these centres they not only conduct a large cash and barter trade, but undertake equipments and accept commissions, and cater in every way for the requirements of both Europeans and natives. The extraordinarily rapid rise and progress of this firm is almost entirely due to the exceptional qualifications for the trade possessed by the principal, Mr. George William Christian, who was born in Liverpool in 1872, and who, from the early age of fifteen has been associated with West Africa, and in twenty-five years has acquired a thorough experience and first-hand knowledge of the British and native needs of the Protectorates.

PARTICULARS OF COMPANIES WORKING TIN PROPERTIES IN NORTHERN NIGERIA

CHAMPION GOLD REEFS OF WEST AFRICA, Ltd.

Capital.—£50,000, in 200,000 shares of 5s. each; all are issued and fully paid.

Directors.—S. R. Bastard (Chairman), F. N. Best, Sir Horace C. Regnart, John Waddington.

Secretary.—Newman Ogle.

Offices.—Friars House, New Broad Street, E.C.

To this company belongs the credit of being one of the first to appreciate the almost unlimited opportunities the tin fields of Northern Nigeria offer for the employment of British capital. It is not surprising, therefore, that it has to-day, not merely one finger, but the whole of its digits in the Nigerian “pie,” from which it has already pulled out a “plum” in the shape of a dividend of 100 per cent. paid in March last. It is not always the pioneer in a new mining field who strikes the richest areas, but under the guidance of its highly capable engineers, Champion Gold Reefs of West Africa obtained exclusive rights over some properties and interests in options over others which promise a magnificent harvest in years to come.

It was in September 1909, that the company decided to abandon gold mining in Ashanti and devote attention to tin mining in Northern Nigeria. What were described as “very extensive alluvial tin areas” were acquired on September 20. In a circular to the shareholders, dated October 6, it was stated that the work carried on by the Niger Company, and the investigations of mining engineers in the district had “proved the existence of very rich alluvial ground, and already upwards of 1,000 tons of black tin, won by means of calabashes and sluice boxes, had been shipped.” It was further stated that on one of the properties, over which the company had exclusive rights, there was a waterfall of 480 feet, which would secure cheap and ample power; that the properties were situated some 3,500 feet above sea-level, and the climate was good; that the district was thickly populated, and the natives willing and anxious to work.

The first members of the staff sailed for Northern Nigeria on October 6, and were followed a month later by Mr. Charles G. Lush, the well-known expert on the working of alluvial tin deposits. Mr. Lush was to advise as to the best method of developing the company’s property, which was then stated to be 13 square miles in extent. Parenthetically it may be mentioned that other suitable areas were afterwards taken up and several handed over to subsidiary concerns. Mr. Lush first went to the Juga and Sub-Juga properties, and the first communication received from him was the following cable, dated Bauchi, December 17: “Have visited Juga, am very favourably impressed. Up to the present time proved alluvial extends over 200 acres and averages 9 feet; alluvial contains 4s. per cubic yard; the value of stream tin, £600,000. I will visit Sub-Juga this week.” On December 22 he again cabled as follows: “Sub-Juga—Have visited, am very favourably impressed. I consider admirably adapted for the Australian method of working. It will be necessary to erect a dam; will make survey and report upon. Alluvial extends over 500 acres and averages 9 feet. Estimated value of stream tin, 2s. 6d. per cubic yard.” From these and other communications subsequently received it was evident that Mr. Lush had been most favourably impressed with the field generally, and with the value of the Champion Gold Reefs property in particular.

Four subsidiary companies have been formed to date, viz.:

• Naraguta (Nigeria) Tin Mines, Ltd.
• Lucky Chance Mines, Ltd.
• Juga (Nigeria) Tin and Power Company, Ltd.
• Tin Fields of Northern Nigeria, Ltd.

The Naraguta (Nigeria) Tin Mines is not only a productive concern, but one that has already entered the dividend list, 1s. per share having been distributed. The property was originally five square miles in extent, but the area has since been extended. It was held under option by Champion Gold Reefs, who transferred their option to the present company. The purchase consideration paid to the Niger Company was £50,000, payable as to £30,000 in cash and £20,000 in fully-paid shares. The Government and the Niger Company are together entitled to a royalty of 10 per cent. on the profits. Before the present company was formed the Niger Company obtained from the Naraguta property over 1,000 tons of tin concentrates, and it is stated that in one square mile of the property, which has been systematically tested by pits, there are 10,000 tons of black tin awaiting extraction. Up to the present time, the ground treated has produced tin to the value of £3,000 per acre, whereas in other countries, such as Australia and the Malay Peninsula, £1,000 per acre is considered phenomenal. Some of the ground gives fully 5 lbs. of tin to the cubic yard. There can be no doubt that Naraguta is going to be one of the “gems” of the district.

The Lucky Chance Mines, Ltd., was originally formed in May, 1905, to acquire property in New Zealand, but at the end of 1908 only seven shares had been issued, and the paid-up capital was £5 5s., the company having no assets or liabilities. Towards the end of last year, however, it was placed on its financial legs by the Champion Gold Reefs of West Africa. The latter company sold certain of its tin areas to the Lucky Chance Company for 200,000 shares, and agreed to procure the subscription of 8,000 further shares. To-day the Lucky Chance Company is a robust and ably-controlled enterprise, with excellent prospects of development. Its properties comprise nearly 12,000 acres. The South Juga property has recently been sold to the Juga (Nigeria) Tin and Power Company for £10,000.

The Juga (Nigeria) Tin and Power Company owns what is known as the Juga property, which is situated on a plateau 3,280 feet above sea-level, having a total area of 1,600 acres, and the Sub-Juga property, which lies upon the lower plateau immediately below Juga, the area in this case being 6,720 acres. As already remarked, the South Juga property has recently been added. Mr. Lush estimates that 200 acres of the Juga property will be highly payable. For the purposes of his estimate, he took the average depth as 9 feet, which, extending over 200 acres, equals 2,904,000 cubic yards, each cubic yard containing 6 lbs. “In valuing the ground at 6 lbs. per cubic yard,” Mr. Lush said, “I am not taking into account only the high results obtained from some of the bottom wash, but am reckoning it as a whole. I do this because working results may prove that the wash does not extend over the whole 200 acres, but the gravel does, and I feel confident will average what I state.” In a similar way he estimated that the Sub-Juga property would yield 3 lbs. per cubic yard over 5,808,000 cubic yards.

Tin Fields of Northern Nigeria, Ltd., is a company owning eight square miles at Federri and nine square miles near Dila River, both in the Bauchi Province.

In addition to having floated these companies—in which, of course, Champion Gold Reefs retains a large interest—the company has also large holdings in the following concerns:

• Northern Nigeria (Bauchi) Tin Mines.
• Anglo-Continental Mines, Ltd.
• Anchor Diamond Mines.

It also still owns a lease over five square miles in Ashanti.

NARAGUTA (NIGERIA) TIN MINES, Ltd.

Capital.—£175,000, divided into 175,000 shares of £1 each, of which 158,500 are issued and fully paid.

Directors.—Frank N. Best (Chairman), H. C. Godfray, Herbert Moir, John Waddington, H. Bousquet, H. S. Reitlinger.

Secretary.—Newman Ogle.

Offices.—Friars House, New Broad Street, E.C.

This company owns an area of 3,200 acres at Naraguta, and two further blocks known as the “C” and “Q” areas of eight square miles. It was formerly worked by the Niger Company, who won from the alluvial beds its 1,000 tons of tin concentrates. The company was registered on 15th January, and the property was taken over on 4th February. Mr. C. G. Lush, the company’s consulting engineer, has inspected the property, and has stated that on the Naraguta property they had ground which would give fully 5 lbs. of tin to the cubic yard. He further reported that ten acres had already been treated and given that result, which could be taken as a very fair prospecting whole.

The returns up to and including the month of October 1910 amounted to a total of 350 tons of tin oxide made up as follows:

Good profits can be, and are being, made under the present primitive methods in use, but the greatly increased profits to which the management is looking forward can only be secured by adopting the most up-to-date machinery, such as is used in Tasmania and other countries. In order to assure success experienced men are being brought from Tasmania by the Champion Gold Reefs group, and the Naraguta Company will have the benefit of their advice.

At the statutory meeting in April last the chairman stated: “We have the proud distinction of owning the property from which the first shipments of tin were made—not only that, but one of the richest out there, and I am quite confident this company can look forward to a very successful career. The extent of our property is four square miles, one mile only of which has been thoroughly prospected, and calculated to contain 10,000 tons of tin oxide. At the present market price of tin this should yield over £500,000 profit. Our engineer tells me that up to the present time every acre of ground so far treated has produced tin to the value of £3,000, whereas in other countries, such as Australia and Malay, £1,000 per acre is considered phenomenal: therefore, I consider we can congratulate ourselves upon being interested in such a unique proposition.”

As an indication of what may be expected when improved working methods have been introduced, Mr. C. G. Lush states that thirty men and one plant will be able to produce as much and even more tin than is now being obtained with three hundred men. “If we put only one plant on the property,” he says, “it will take us, perhaps, a hundred years to work it out, but there is no reason why we should not have four or five plants, and work it out in a lifetime!” In Australia, Tasmania, and the Straits Settlements 1½ lbs. of tin per cubic yard is considered very good, but Mr. Lush is of opinion that in Naraguta the ground will give fully 5 lbs. of tin per cubic yard; in fact, 10 acres have already been treated, and have given that result, which can be taken as “a very fair prospecting whole.” All that is necessary is to get the plant there as soon as possible.

In Mr. Frank D. Bourke the company has an excellent and indefatigable manager, and recently the directors engaged the services of Mr. A. F. Kitto, who left on October 12 to assist Mr. Bourke in the management.

LUCKY CHANCE MINES, Ltd.

Capital.—£75,000 in 300,000 shares of 5s. each, all issued and fully paid.

Directors.—Mr. S. R. Bastard (Chairman), Mr. F. N. Best, and Mr. Oliver Wethered.

Secretary.—Mr. Newman Ogle.

Offices.—Friars House, New Broad Street, E.C.

This company owns the following properties:—

(1) Dubbo.—A property in Bauchi, Northern Nigeria, consisting of 632 acres. This property is under the charge of two engineers.

(2) Rafinsiroma.—This is a small rich property of 33 acres adjoining Dubbo to the south, and capable of immediately producing tin by ground sluicing and calabashing.

(3) Bengalili.—A property of about 320 acres on the river Bukeru, situated about one mile to the north of Dubbo, and capable of producing tin by handworking at once.

(4) Bengalili North.—This is an area of about 120 acres adjoining and to the north of the Bengalili property, also capable of producing tin by sluicing and calabashing. The river runs through this property.

(5) Polchi.—A property of 84 acres adjoining South Juga, and situated on the main road from Toro to Bauchi. The property is now being worked and is producing tin.

(6) Boidun.—This property is situated on the road from Dubbo to Bri, and is about one mile west of Dubbo. It extends for a distance of about a mile along the river.

(7) Bilidi River.—Three square miles, or 1,920 acres. Good tin was found on this property, besides an appreciable amount of gold in the wash.

(8) Kurdum.—Five square miles, or 3,200 acres. On the tests made the overburden went 3 lbs. of tin for 7 feet, and the bottom wash went 60 lbs. of tin for 1 foot.

(9) Kwall Falls.—The first application was made on behalf of this company for this power, which would be of great value, as it gives 2,000 horse-power in the dry season, and commands several properties.

The Dubbo property is situated near the village of Dubbo, on the Dubbo River, and west of the Soli Hills. It is sometimes described as Topaz Valley, so named on account of the large quantity of topaz found in the wash. It is situated about six miles north of Juga. The Lireui natives have done a lot of work on this property, sinking shafts in some cases a hundred yards back from the Dubbo River. These shafts run from 8 to 10 feet in depth, proving that the bottom wash must have been very rich for, as a rule, the Lireuis only mined shallow ground where the wash is easily got. Mr. Lush said that he had not seen similar work in any other part of the tin district.

Mr. Lush reported that the pannings from the river bed gave very high values, and four shafts sunk to a depth of 8 feet averaged 6 lbs. of tin to the cubic yard. One shaft, which bottomed at 5 feet, went 30 lbs. of tin to the cubic yard. An open-cut on the river bank exposed 17 feet of gravel, which went 6 lbs. to the cubic yard. The overburden thrown out at the shafts sunk by the Lireuis, where tried, gave an average of 5 lbs. of tin to the cubic yard. At the southern end of this property Mr. Lush says the river comes down from a hill with a fall of some 350 feet through a rocky gorge. By working a dam at the top of the rapids sufficient water could be conserved to run a plant by electrical transmission. This country is mostly granite sand, no stiff clay or pug. Mr. Lush states that nearly the whole of the 632 acres are an alluvial deposit, and in his estimates, in order to be well within the mark, he estimates that the payable dirt extends over 300 acres and averages 6 feet in depth. The manager reported on August 29 that he had 300 men employed, and for the four weeks ending August 27 he had recovered 31½ tons of tin, and had cut 735 feet of water leads.

Rafinsiroma adjoins Dubbo to the south, and the manager, reporting on August 29, said he had just started work on this property. On September 4 the manager reported that he had already shipped 505 lbs., and a cablegram received October 9 states that a further shipment is being made.

Work has been started on Polchi, and on October 9 a cablegram was received stating that the first shipment had been made.

On the Bilidi River property Mr. Lush reported that he made several tests from wash exposed on the river bank below the Kofai crossing, and obtained payable tin results in all. He then followed up the river for about three miles, and in one part he says he got gold as well as tin in the concentrates. In five pannings he reports there were from six to ten colours of gold in every dish, which in his opinion was highly satisfactory. Two miles below the Kofai crossing he found some very promising flats, where he also got eight colours of gold in one dish. At the time of his visit he says there was sufficient water running in the Bauchi River for centrifugal pump work.

As regards Kurdum and Dila Rivers, at the lower end of the ground, near the village of Bundas, Mr. Lush says he obtained very good prospects of tin in gravel from the river bed. At Dawka, some eight miles upstream, the wash taken out of the river went 80 lbs. to the cubic yard. Several pits were sunk on the banks, but owing to soakage water only one bottomed, the depth of which was 8 feet, and gave the following result:

Overburden 7 feet went 3 lbs. of tin to the cubic yard.

Bottom wash 1 foot went 60 lbs. of tin to the cubic yard.

The river between Dawka and Bundas falls 400 feet, and at the latter town it is 30 feet by 2 feet deep, flowing at the rate of 60 feet per minute. Even in the middle of the dry season Mr. Lush says a race cut from a point about a mile upstream would give sufficient head to generate 500 h.p. by electricity.

Mr. L. H. L. Huddart, in his report on the Kurdum River concession, says he feels justified in making a preliminary estimate in order to give an idea of what the property may be proved to contain, and he bases it on the following reasons:—

(a) The tin falls above the property.

(b) The river has its source in a country rich in tin.

(c) The good values obtained in the stream bed and samples taken from the banks.

(d) The method of deposition of the alluvial which indicates that “wash outs” are unlikely to be found. In fact some good leads should have been left by the river in the older gravels.

Upon these grounds he is of opinion that there are about 300 acres of alluvial ground that should prove to be about 2½ yards deep with values of about 3 lbs. per cubic yard. Mr. Huddart adds that an output of about 30 tons per month, or 360 tons per year, should be reached without difficulty. In conclusion, he says: “The property is a good one, and its ample supply of water cannot be too strongly emphasised. Tin will be produced quickly from the river bed, and systematic development should bear out the above estimate, and enable the work to be laid out with a view on ultimate production of about 40 tons per month.”

Application for the Kwall Falls for electric power has been made on behalf of this company, and great importance is attached to them. They are situated about 14 miles west of the Niger (Bauchi) Syndicate’s area, and it is stated that in the driest months there is ample water flowing with a drop of 400 feet to generate 2,000 h.p. without any expense of damming.

TIN FIELDS OF NORTHERN NIGERIA, Ltd.

Capital.—£100,000 in 100,000 shares of £1 each, of which 45,000 were issued to the vendors and 24,507 for cash, 10s. paid.

Directors.—Mr. S. R. Bastard (Chairman), Mr. F. N. Best, and Mr. C. H. Dudley Ward.

Secretary.—Mr. Newman Ogle.

Offices.—Friars House, New Broad Street, E.C.

This company owns alluvial tin property at Federri comprising an area of 5,120 acres, and a further property situated on the Dila River or Doss, comprising an area of 5,760 acres.

On the Federri property a tin-bearing area of 300 acres has been proved containing tin alluvial from 2½ to 3½ yards deep, going from 3 lbs. to 6 lbs. per cubic yard, and it is estimated that the property has a life of twenty-six years.

The second property is the Dila River or Doss, which has a proved area of tin alluvial deposit from 3 to 5 yards deep over 400 acres, with an average value of 3 lbs. per cubic yard. The life of the property has been estimated at twenty-three years. A fully qualified engineer is now in charge of the properties, and production of tin is expected to commence immediately. The consulting engineer is Mr. C. G. Lush.

JUGA (NIGERIA) TIN AND POWER COMPANY, Ltd.

Capital.—£275,000, in 275,000 £1 shares, of which all are issued.

Directors.—Sir J. West Ridgeway (Chairman), Mr. Segar Richard Bastard, Mr. Frank Norman Best, Sir Horace G. Regnart, J.P., and Mr. Henry S. Reitlinger.

Secretary.—Mr. Newman Ogle.

Offices.—Friars House, New Broad Street, E.C.

This company owns three properties, as follows:—

South Juga.—Mr. C. G. Lush, in reporting on the South Juga property, said: “On the northern end there are several native workings, in which payable prospects can be got. It would be advisable to have shafts sunk right along the lead from the Juga boundary to the Bauchi road, and boring plant used if water hindered sinking to bed-rock.... Some of the tin carried into Juga must have found its way into South Juga.” Mr. L. H. L. Huddart, reporting on the property, said: “The elevation is about 3,000 feet above the sea-level, with precipitous granite hills rising at least 1,500 feet above the valley on both sides.... The tin occurs in a valley about four miles long, running north-east and south-west. Bed-rock is granite with frequent outcrops of granite and granulite, which form baths more or less at right angles to the valley. The average width is about 2,000 feet.... The ground is friable and easy to work.... A water course which rises on Juga runs right down to the valley. From December to April there is practically no running water, but from May to November the stream runs freely.... If the small tributaries are dammed, and skill is used in saving the water, there should be sufficient for all purposes for six or seven months in the year. Later on a portable pump elevating plant would have sufficient water for at least nine months. There is a considerable quantity of water held up between the granite baths, and the water-locked ground provides natural reservoirs.... A thorough system of prospecting should be inaugurated.... Pits should be put in right across the valley at 100 feet intervals, and a property plan made out showing the depth of ground valued. These will enable the mining work to be laid out in a systematic manner, and will disclose the rich leads.” Mr. Huddart has formed a favourable opinion of the property, and gives the following reasons for the estimates he has prepared: (1) Amount of work previously done by natives who never touch anything but rich wash; (2) sampling and inspection of native working and their tailings; (3) the fact that this proposition is geographically a part of Juga on which rich wash exists; (4) personal knowledge of the ground tested and discoveries on every known part of this field, and general occurrence of cassiterite on all parts of the property. Taking the property as a whole, he estimates that there are 180 acres of alluvial ground, running 4 lbs. per cubic yard, averaging two yards deep. In conclusion, Mr. Huddart says this is an attractive property.... Importance is readily attached to the fact that the property can be made an immediate producer.

Juga Property.—This property is on a plateau 3,280 feet above the sea-level, and Mr. Lush estimates that 200 acres will be highly payable. He takes the average depth of ground as 9 feet, and this extending for 200 acres equals 2,904,000 cubic yards. The area is of exceedingly high quality, and exceptionally free from impurities. In his report Mr. Lush says: “Valuing the ground at 6 lbs. per cubic yard, I am not taking into account only the high results obtained from some of the bottom wash, but am reckoning it as a whole. I do this because working results may prove that the wash does not extend over the whole 200 acres, but the gravel does, and I feel confident will average what I state.”

Sub-Juga.—This property, comprising an area of 6,720 acres, lies upon the lower plateau, or plain, immediately below Juga. The natives have done a great deal of work here, and their beds were extensively tried by Mr. Lush, who got very rich prospects when panning. Some of the dish concentrates went as high as 40 lbs. of tin oxide to the cubic yard, and in no single instance did he get less than 3 lbs. He considers that out of the 6,720 acres 400 are proved to be highly payable, but this only includes the main lead, which runs right through the property for 6¼ miles, and does not include any of the runs coming in from east and west. He takes the average depth of ground as 9 feet; this extending for 400 acres equals 5,808,000 cubic yards. Mr. Lush has recommended movable plants for these properties. Transmission of electrical power to run both the nozzle and the gravel pumps is, of course, the cheapest and best method of working, but it will be some time, probably two years, before the contemplated hydraulical scheme can be installed. Mr. Lush’s recommendations have been accepted by the board, and two plants are being constructed, and their cost when mounted and erected at the mine will not exceed £10,000. In addition to the sluice boxes at present on the property, there are now on the way a further sixty-nine sluice boxes, with all exhausters complete, and these will enable sluicing and calabashing to be carried on pending the arrival and erection of the hydraulic plant.

Mr. Hooke has been appointed manager, with Mr. Grant as his assistant. Besides sluicing, surveys have to be completed, dams constructed, prospecting done, especially by means of boring, tools being supplied for those parts where the water is too heavy for the pits to be sunk.

Mr. A. W. Hooke writes under date September 14, 1910, as follows:

“Attached hereto are my notes upon the leases of the company and the dam site. In setting forth this general report several difficulties have faced the writer—the absence of any systematic sampling record—the flooded condition of the existing holes, and the short time in which to cover the ground.

“At the same time also an effort had to be made to organise the labour and increase the output under existing circumstances. I give the following summary to show how the output has increased in the last four weeks. From August 15 to September 10 the production stands thus:

“Some of this ore is being won on Juga, but by far the greater part comes from Nafuta. It contains much iron impurity, and a streaming box has already been made for its re-treatment at Juga. It will be understood that the natives bring their weekly winnings from Nafuta to Juga on Sundays, when it is weighed and purchased from them. The first three lots shown above were purchased approximately at ¾d. per lb., and the last one at ½d. The condition of the tin, &c., is a big factor in guiding one as to the price, but as time goes on I hope to instruct the native into the way of streaming his tin and bringing it to a better quality. If I can do this, and keep the price down, it means a big advantage to us.

“Labour at 6d. per day is most satisfactory (9d. is the ruling rate elsewhere except at Dubbo). This week my whole gang struck work and demanded an increase from 6d. to 9d. I flatly refused, and to time of writing have almost as many new men as I require. Some of the old hands have since returned to work. I have despatched a headman to Gingim and Polchi, who will doubtless secure all that I require.

“At Nafuta sampling shafts are being sunk at the rate of about nine per week. These cannot be quite bottomed on account of the water in the wash, but as the rain eases off they can be completed and sampled.

“General.—The three leases are all properties upon which hydraulic sluicing can be carried out satisfactorily, and the wash and overburden in each case is ideal material for gravel pumping. I am quite pleased with the general condition of things, but am anxious to have my sampling completed, so that I may form some estimate of yardage and the average value.”

PRELIMINARY REPORT BY MR. ARTHUR W. HOOKE, ACCOMPANYING HIS LETTER OF SEPTEMBER 14, 1910.

Juga Property.—This lease stands at the highest elevation of the three, and practically forms the divide between South Juga and Nafuta. Its watershed is large, and the greater portion of this goes north-east through the Nafuta gorge to the flats. The lease embraces an area of 1,440 acres and compasses the flats adjacent to two streams coming from the South, which unite and continue north-east, passing into the Nafuta gorge as the Juga River.

The maximum depth of the ground is only about 12 feet, and much of it is amenable to ground sluicing, though it could be handled more advantageously by gravel pumps. This latter scheme is eventually the policy to adopt, as thereby most of the material can be stacked after treatment, and any chance of silting-up be avoided.

The former (ground sluicing) will be a temporary expedient—I say temporary advisedly, because the detritus from such operations will eventually find its way to the area for the dam site above the Nafuta gorge. It will be readily understood that the shape of the property is irregular in order to most economically take in the desired area.

The rocky surroundings naturally bring down their storm waters rapidly, and this will always act as a deterrent in ground sluicing and be a point in favour of power plants.

The lease carries a sparse supply of timber, but will justify the installation of a steam plant of such dimensions as that already under construction. As time wears on, however, an alternative power must have consideration.

The contour of the country does not lend itself to the construction of earthwork headraces, &c., being too rocky; service water, will therefore have to be carried in a pipe service.

I am forwarding a sketch plan showing the two streams and their confluence under the name of the Juga. Pits as shown have been sunk and a sampling done. The samples (Mr. Robinson informs me) were taken by a native headman, and run very erratically from 17 lbs. to nil per cubic yard. Robinson says that some of the holes at that time had been flooded, and is of opinion that all the bottom wash in some instances was not included in the samples taken.

At the present time all the pits are more or less flooded and silted, but I will re-sample the whole of these and advise results at the earliest possible moment.

The two dams shown in the sketch have been carried away by floods. Higher up the river at “A,” a much better site exists, which will give more pressure and command more ground. I propose to place one here as soon as I can.

The tracts shown on the drawing will give some idea of the direction in which the other leases lie.

Viewed in conjunction with the plans, the directors will have a more concise idea of their relative positions.

Nafuta or Sub-Juga.—Of the exclusive area held here some 1,850 acres have been embodied in the mining lease just issued. It embraces what appears to be the pick of the Nafuta flats and encloses a maximum of alluvial drift with a minimum of rock, and at the same time adheres to the water-course. The Nafuta gorge terminates quite abruptly, and opens in an expansive plain lying some 400 feet below. The lease commences at the foot of the gorge, and runs along the river in a north-easterly direction. Its width embraces the deepest of the flats, though there is still some ground at the south-west corner of the exclusive area that warrants attention. I should say from a cursory examination that the amount of workable ground is in excess of that of the other leases, though no attempt can be made to quote tonnage until many more pits have been sunk. It is from this area that most of our present tin is being won. The tin contains much impurity, such as iron, and the natives find a difficulty in separating it by calabashing.

The average depth, judging by the present trial pits, is 12 feet. The wash is clear and medium sized, and the overburden is ideal material for removal where viewed in the old paddocks.