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 province, and of the Union is Pretoria, with a population (1904) of 36,839 (of whom 21,114 were whites). Johannesburg, the centre of the gold-mining industry, had a population, within the municipal boundary, of 155,642 (83,363 whites). Other towns within the Witwatersrand district are Germiston (29,477), Boksburg (14,757) and Roodepoort-Maraisburg (19,949), virtually suburbs of Johannesburg, and Krugersdorp (20,073) and Springs (5270), respectively at the western and east ends of the district. Besides Pretoria and the towns in the Witwatersrand district, there are few urban centres of any size. Potchefstroom, in the south near the Vaal (pop. 9348), is the oldest town in the Transvaal. Klerksdorp (4276) is also near the Vaal, S.S.W. of Potchefstroom. Middelburg (5085) is the largest towrn on the railway between Pretoria and Delagoa Bay; Barberton (2433), the centre of the De Kaap gold-fields, lies on the slopes of the Drakensberg overlooking the De Kaap valley.

Communications.—Before 1888 the only means of communication was by road. In that year the government sanctioned the building of a “steam tramway”—a railway in all but name—from the Boksburg collieries to the Rand gold mines. In 1890 the construction of the Transvaal section of the railway to connect Pretoria with Delagoa Bay was begun, the line from Lourenço Marques having been completed to Komati Poort in December 1887. The line to Pretoria was not opened until July 1895. Meantime, in September 1892, the Cape railway system had been extended to Johannesburg and in December 1895 the through line between Durban and Pretoria was completed. Since that date many other lines have been built. The majority of the railways are the property of and are worked by the state. With the exception of a few purely local lines they are of the standard South African gauge—3 ft. 6 in. The lines all converge on Johannesburg. The following table gives the distances from that city to other places in South Africa :—

Besides the lines enumerated the other railways of importance are: (1) A line from Johannesburg eastward via Springs and Breyten to Machadodorp on the Pretoria–Delagoa Bay railway. (2) A line, 68 m. long from Witbank, a station on the Pretoria–Delagoa Bay line, to Brakpan on the Springs line. By (1) the distance between Johannesburg and Lourenço Marques is 364 m., by (2) 370 m. A continuation of the Springs–Breyten line eastward through Swaziland to Delagoa Bay will give a second independent railway from that port to the Rand, some 60 m. shorter than the route via Pretoria, while from Breyten a line (90 m. long) runs south and east to Ermelo and Piet Retief. (3) A line from Krugersdorp to Zeerust (128 m.). (4) A line from Pretoria to Rustenburg (61 m.). (5) A line from Pretoria to Pietersburg (177 m.). This line was continued (1910) north-west to effect a junction with (6) the “Selati” railway, which, starting from Komati Poort, runs north-west and was in 1910 continued to Leydsdorp. North of the junction with the Pietersburg line the railway goes towards the Limpopo. (7) A line from Belfast on the Pretoria–Delagoa Bay railway to Lydenburg (65 m.). (8) A line from Potchefstroom to Lichtenburg (70 m.).

There is an extensive telegraphic system linking the towns of the province to one another, and, through the surrounding countries, with Europe and the rest of the world. There is inland communication via Rhodesia with British Central Africa and Ujiji on Lake Tanganyika. The telegraph lines within the Transvaal have a length of about 3000 m. There is a well-organized postal service with about 400 offices. In connexion with the postal services to outlying districts there is a public passenger service by mail carts. In the Pietersberg district zebras are occasionally employed.

Mineral Resources.—The Transvaal, the principal gold producing country in the world, is noted for the abundance and variety of its mineral resources. The minerals chiefly mined besides gold are diamonds and coal, but the country possesses also silver, iron, copper, lead, cobalt, sulphur, saltpetre and many other mineral deposits.

Gold.—The principal gold-bearing reefs are found along the Witwatersrand (“The Rand”). Probably connected with the Rand reefs are the gold-bearing rocks in the Klerksdorp, Potchefstroom and Venterskroon districts. Other auriferous reefs are found all along the eastern escarpment of the Drakensberg and are worked in the De Kaap (Barberton) district, on the Swaziland frontier, in the Lydenburg district, in the Murchison Range and in other places in the Zoutpansberg. Goldfields also exist in the Waterberg and on the western frontier in the Marico district (the Malmani fields). The total value of the gold extracted from mines in the Transvaal up to the end of 1909 was about £246,000,000.

a. The Witwatersrand and Neighbouring Mines.—The Rand reefs, first mined in 1886, cover a large area. The main reef, continuously traced, measures about 62 m. and runs in an east and west direction. The gold is found in minute particles and in the richest ores the metal is rarely in visible quantities before treatment. In many places the main reef lies at a great depth and some bore-holes are over 5500 ft. deep. The yield of the Rand mines, in 1887 but 23,000 oz., rose in 1888 to 208,000 oz. In 1892 the yield was 1,210,000 oz.: in 1896 it exceeded 2,280,000 oz. and in 1898 was 4,295,000 oz. The war that followed prevented the proper working of the mines. In 1905 when a full supply of labour was again available the output was 4,760,000 oz., in which year the sum distributed in dividends to shareholders in the Rand mines was over £4,800,000. The total output from the Rand mines up to the end of 1908 was 56,477,240 oz. (see, and ). The Klerksdorp and Potchefstroom goldfields, known also as the Western Rand, were proclaimed in 1887 and up to the close of 1908 had yielded 446,224 oz.

b. The De Kaap (Barberton) Fields.—Gold was discovered in this district of the Drakensberg in 1875, but it was not until 1884 that the fields attracted much attention. The mines are, in general, situated on the slopes of the hills and are easily opened up by adits. The reefs are narrower than those of the Rand, and the ore is usually very hard. The output, 35,000 oz. in 1889, was 121,000 oz. in 1896, but only 43,000 oz. in 1905. The total production (including the Komati and Swaziland fields) to the end of 1908 was 1,097,685 oz.

c. The Lydenburg and other Fields.—The Lydenburg fields, reported to have been worked by the Portuguese in the 17th century, and rediscovered in 1869, though lying at an elevation of 4500 to 5000 ft. are alluvial—and the only rich alluvial goldfields in South Africa. The ground containing the gold is soil which has escaped denudation. Though several large nuggets have been found (the largest weighing 215 oz.), the total production is not great, the highest output obtained by washing being worth about £300,000 in one year. Besides the alluvial deposits a little mining is carried on, gold being present in the thin veins of quartz which cross the sandstone. The chief centres of the fields are Lydenburg, Pilgrims Rest and Spitzkop. The total output of the Lydenburg fields up to the end of 1908 is estimated at 1,200,000 oz. Farther north, in the Zoutpansberg and on its spurs are the little-worked mines generally known as the Low Country goldfields. Near Pietersburg in the Zoutpansberg is the Eersteling, the first mine worked in the Transvaal. Operations began in 1873 but in 1880 the machinery was destroyed by the Boers. It was not until 1904 that prospecting in the neighbourhood was again undertaken. The fields in the Waterberg and along the Malmani river are very small producers. The total yield to the end of 1908 of the Zoutpansberg, Low Country and other minor fields was 160,535 oz.

Diamonds.—The chief diamond fields are in the Pretoria district. The ground was discovered to be diamondiferous in 1897, but it was not until 1903, when mining began on the Premier mine, situated 20 m. north-east of Pretoria, that the wealth of the fields was proved. The site of the Premier mine had been recognized as diamond-bearing in March 1898. The owner of the land, a Boer named Prinsloo, refused to' allow experimental spade work, but after the conclusion of the Anglo-Boer War in 1902 sold his property for £55,000 to T. Cullinan (a Cape colonist and one of the chief contractors in the building of Johannesburg), whose faith in the richness of the ground was speedily justified. In June 1903 mining began and the diamonds found in the first five months realized over £90,000. On the 27th of January 1905, the largest diamond in the world, weighing 3025¾ carats, over 1½ lb avoirdupois, was found in the mine and named the Cullinan. The Premier mine is of the same character as the diamond mines at Kimberley (see ), and is considerably larger. The area of the “pipe” containing blue ground is estimated at 350,000 sq. yds.

Besides the Pretoria fields there are diamondiferous areas (alluvial diggings) in the Bloemhof district on the Vaal river north-east of Kimberley, and in other regions. In 1898 the output for the whole of the Transvaal was valued at £44,000. The output since the opening of the Premier mine has been: 1903–1904, £685,720; 1904–1905, £1,198,530; 1905–1906, £968,229; 1906–1907, £2,203,511; 1907–1908, £1,879,551; 1908–1909, £1,295,296.

Coal and other Minerals.—There are extensive beds of good coal, including thick seams of steam coal near the Rand and other goldfields. Coal appears to have been first discovered in the neighbourhood of Bronkhorst Spruit between the Wilge and Olifants rivers, where it was so near the surface that farmers dug it up for their own use. In 1887 coal was found at Boksburg in the East Rand, and a mine was at once started. The principal collieries are those