KD 9536. The Gold Resources AND THE Gold Mining Industry of the Far Eastern Republic Published by The Special Delegation of the Far Eastern Republic to the United States of America Washington, D. C. 1922 TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. Introduction 5 II. The Gold Minig Industry in the Amur Province 10 1) The Zeya District 10 2) The Selimdja and Niman Districts 23 III. The Gold Mining Industry in the Baikal Region 31 1) The Zabaikal District 31 2) The Nerchinsk District 43 3) Fundamental Gold Deposits in the Zabaikal Pro- vince 49 4) List of Gold-Bearing Rivers in Eastern Zabaikal opened to Private Gold Minig 54 IV. The Gold Mining Industry in the Maritime and Priamur Provinces 56 APPENDIX I. Ordinance dealing with regulations regard- ing private gold mining in districts alloted for such purpose within the territory of the Par Eastern Republic 64 APPENDIX II. Map of the Par Eastern Republic. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION Russia occupied the fourth place among the nations in gold production, its annual production of gold being from fifty-five to sixty millions of rubles. The provinces of Eastern Siberia which now have become part of the Par Eastern Republic used to produce 33% of the entire gold production of Russia. The number of workers engaged in the gold mining industry in these provinces were 40% of the entire number of workers engaged in the gold mining industry of Russia. Most of the work was done by -manual labor, and only in a few places were mechanical methods in mining gold used. It is difficult to obtain the exact figures of the gold pro- duced, as only a part of the total production was registered. The rest of the gold is not accounted for because, as for instance in the Amur province, a great deal of gold was smuggled into China across the Amur River by Chinese who are either mining gold independently or are employed as laborers in the gold mines. Russians also smuggled gold across the frontier. At the Convention of the owners of gold mines of the Amur and Bureya district (in the Amur Province) the following figures were presented, showing the quantity of gold refined in the gold assay laboratories of the Amur Province during the period 1903-1916: Years Quantity (Ibs.) 1903 20,808 1910 43,812 1904 19,620 1911 42,948 1905 17,316 1912 42,768 1906 18,756 1913 40,932 1907 26,496 1914 43,596 1908 32,688 1915 26,424 1909 38,196 1916 16,128 Even these incomplete figures of gold mined in but one province undoubtedly show that the gold resources of the Par Eastern Republic are very large. The following table shows the number of enterprises en- gaged in gold mining, and the extent of their production in 1913: No. oi Mines Area of Mines in Acres .a| 6 MH o 2 Q en en O bjQ ~*j rt ^3 M-H *s 2 o> g liii 6 a 1 _rt 1 1 1 II West Trans- baikal 65 124 289 413 29,014.2 64,511.1 93,525.3 3,387 East Trans- baikal 37 79 178 257 24,621.3 39,673.8 64,295.1 4,456 Amur 31 64 102 166 19,404.9 19,485.9 38,890.8 5,431 Zeya 65 168 397 565 54,774.9 100,191.6 154,966.5 8,977 Bureya 33 90 119 209 32,883.3 29,054.7 61,938.0 6,847 Mari- time 22 48 182 230 16,920.9 50,063.4 66,984.3 3,306 ! Ussury 4 5 60 65 1,193.4 14,126 .4 15,319.8 391 Ner- chinsk 1 10 .... 10 2,640 Total in Far Eastern Republic 258 588 3,327 1,915 178,812.9 317,106.9 495,919.8 35,435 Total in the whole of ' ".'' * Eastern I Siberia 415 901 3,495 4,396 246,402.0 767,453.4 1,013,855.4 51,114 Total in the whole of Russia 702 1,751 7,208 8,959 432,372.6 1,327,584.6 1,759,957.2 88,608 Regarding the gold resources in Russia in general and the territory at present occupied by the Far Eastern Republic in particular, we have a fully competent statement of a Special Committee convoked in 1911 at the Petrograd Advisory Office of owners of gold and platinum mines, as well as a report made by the Mining Engineer, E. E. Anhert, a well known authority on geological gold researches* With reference to the gold mining districts in the Far East- ern Republic, the statement of the above Committee is, in general, as follows: The data derived from geological and other researches enables us to state that our deposits contain many tens of thou- *One pood 36'. 11 pounds. sands of poods* of gold. For many years to come our gold mining industry will be assured of sufficient stocks of bullion, not mentioning the probability of discoveries of new deposits in vast and non-investigated territories ,in particular, the Maritime, Amur and Nerchinsk districts. Similar deductions have been made by the foreign engineers, mainly American and British. Consequently, there is a basis for the development of the gold industry, viz., the resources, it being only necessary to improve the mechanical methods and to secure a sufficient influx of foreign capital. In particular, with reference to the Amur and Maritime Provinces, the Committee stated that there is in these provinces a gold-mining deposit, the length of which is about 700 miles and the width several hundred miles. This vast area has been very little investigated by the geologists, practically no re- searches having been made. From theoretical conjectures, there is reason to believe that considerable gold resources are here. It is the opinion of this Committee that the greatest possi- bilities for the development of the gold industry in Eastern Siberia and the Baikal regions are in the Amur province, and in the territory of the Nerchinsk mining district (which formerly was the property of the Imperial Crown Lands) , and that later, when mechanical methods of gold mining are applied, the Bargusin, Lower Amur, Maritime and Ussury districts will pro- duce a great deal of gold. Almost no researches have been made at the Uda, Shantara and Sakhalien districts. According to data on hand, these districts are aso of great interest as far as gold industry is concerned. Engineer Anhert draws the following conclusions regarding Russia's gold resources on the basis of the past experiences of the Russian gold mining industry and taking into consideration the number of claims for which applications have been filed, and also the actual number of claims granted: 1. In 1910 for each gold mine that was being worked there were 3.65 which were not being worked. In 1913 for each gold mine that was being worked there were 4.11 which were not being worked. This is explained by the fact that the owners kept a certain number of mines in reserve. 2. In the old gold mining regions of Russia there still remain 139,000 poods of slich gold, although from these districts 231,000 poods have already been extracted. Thus the total resources of gold in these districts were 370,000 poods* 3. With the development of the mechanical methods of exploitation of gold mines, mining districts can be worked which were previously considered unprofitable because of the low gold content, and mines which contained from three to ten times less than what was considered minimum by application of man- ual labor, will be found profitable When worked by mechanical means. Many districts which wtere given up as hopeless or exhausted are now once more being worked. Consequently mines were constantly changing hands. It may be said with certainty that the number of mines which were considered worthless- or exhausted or which were abandoned for other rea- sons by their prospectors, were very few in number in the Par Eastern Republic. According to the figures of Engineer Anhert, less than 10% of the gold mines in the territory of the Far Eastern Republic have been exhausted. 4. Taking into consideration all the sources of gold deposits for which no claims were filed because the mines were supposed to be unprofitable for development by manual labor, Engineer Anhert estimates that the probable remaining quantity of gold in the old gold producing districts is 183,000 poods of slich gold, which can be extracted by the application of mechanical methods. 5. Engineer Anhert estimates that the total of the Russian untouched gold deposits is no less than 1% times the total quan- tity of the initial resources of the old gold mining districts of Russia, and that the total untouched resources of gold in Russia are 620,000 poods (10,333 1-3 tons). Figuring the cost of a pood of gold at 20,000 gold rubles, the total value of Russia's gold resources is 12,400,000,000 gold rubles. On the basis of these calculations of the entire gold re- sources of Russia, gold resources of the Far Eastern Republic amount to 4,133,000,000 gold rubles. An analysis of the figures in the tables presented above will show that although the territory of the Far Eastern Republic produced 33% of Russia's gold production, it employed 40% of 8 the total number of workers. This is explained by the fact that in the territory occupied by the Par Eastern Republic there was little application of mechanical methods, the work being done chiefly by manual labor. A Russian geologist, Yavorovsky, called the attention of the committee above mentioned to the fact that While the total population of the Amur Province was at that time 300,000, there were actually employed 80,000 Chinese and Koreans in the gold mines of the province. The official figures showed that only 40,000 people of the yellow race were engaged in the gold mining industry. Some of the mines in the Amur district were worked by purely chemical means which were very injurious to the mines. Lately, because of war and revolution, and because of for- eign intervention, particularly Japanese, the gold industry suffered a great deal. Because of the evacuation of Japanese troops from the Amur and Zabaikal provinces and because of the effords made by the government oi) [the Par Eastern Republic the gold industry in the Par Eastern Republic is beginning to revive. The influx of capital and the application of mechanical methods of development are necessary in order to develop the gold mining indutry in the Par Eastern Republic in proportion to its resources. CHAPTER IP THE GOLD MINING INDUSTRY IN THE AMUR PROVINCE THE ZEYA GOLD-BEARING DISTRICT The Zeya gold-bearing district is situated in the basin of the river Zeya which commences in the southern descent of the Yablonov mountain chain. The length of the river is 766 miles. At the discharge of Zeya into Amur is situated the town Blagoveshchensk, the center of administration of the Amur Province. This part of the Amur River is fully navigable. The navigation along the River Zeya is due solely to the gold indus- try, but no sufficient survey of the river has been made as yet. The river is navigable along a distance of 610 miles, and the principal point of lively and regular navigation is the "Zeyskaia Pristan" (Port), which is 133 miles from Blagoveshchensk and 266 miles from the town of Svobodny (formerly Alekseevsk). The main ports are: Blagoveshchensk, Mazonovo and Zeya- Pristan. In 1909 there were shipped from the Zeya-Pristan goods totalling 560,000 tons and there were received 1,000,000 tons. From the left side a tributary, Selendja, considerably navi- gable and 431 miles long and 80 miles away from the railway, discharges itself into Zeya. There are other tributaries on the left side of Zeya, viz., Depp, Urkan, Arga; on the right side, Tok with Urgan, Brianta with Unaha (Ilikan and Utuge), Giluy (with Big Djeltula and Small Djeltulak), Urkan (with Djelanda) . The rivers of the Zeya district Zeya, Giluy, Brianta, Una- ha, etc., are of the greater importance. The greater part of the region under review is situated in the northern descent of the mountain range Tukuringaa which is extended along the right bank of the Giluy up to the 10 valley of the River Zeya and to the left bank of the River Giluy under another name. Along the left bank of the river Giluy are to be seen a row of volcanoes, the highest of which is 4,000 feet. To the north of the left bank of the Giluy mountain chain is extended a slope- hillock locality which is a low plateau (altitude 2,800 feet), divided by numerous valleys. The whole of this country may be said to be the prototype of woody mountainous Siberian swamp which is at the water-sheds mossy and in the valleys marshy. In the direction of the mouths of the rivers Brianta, Dambuka and Magota, the wjhole locality gradually grows lower, until it coincides with the chalice line extension of the alluvial valley of the river Zeya. GEOLOGICAL STRUCTURE The Archaen middle-sized, light gray granites constitute two considerably large even areas along the rivers Ilikan and Brianta* In the structure of the locality the most important part is played by the gneisses. Nearly the whole territory is made up of this mineral with the exception of small areas of granites and the Jurassic precipitates. Among the gneisses, but in lesser quantity, is found horne- blende, which is noted for its gold-ore making qualities. The Jurassic precipitates are composed of conglomerates, sandstones and argilites, as well as of crystallic limestones and phyllites. The massive crytallic rocks consist of two dissimilar groups. The greater number are granites, with veins of aplites and quartz porphyries. More rare are the diabastos and prophyrites, The vein-quartzes are chiefly of the watery-transparent varieties. The auriferous sands in all probability can be traced to pliocenes. They are represented by channel types, as well as by the so-called "bench" types. The valleys of the larger rivers are made of the present-day deposits, left there by running waters. They all contain gold, and, therefore, may be regarded as the present day auriferous sands. Most attention must be paid to the auriferous sands of the river Zeya and the sands of the lower part of Unaha and Brianta. 11 GOLD CONTENT According to the opinion of local geologists, the original source of the earth's gold is the mineral-mass of the gneiss* nature, and, in particular, the horneblende contained therein* That rocks which contain horneblende in great quantites are exceedingly auriferous is a fact beyond question. It has been definitely established. Of the considerable important auriferous rocks there are also the granite rocks pegmatite, aplite. All rich deposits are in the region where these rocks are found in great abundance. Vein-quartzes as a rule show but little gold content. Auriferous sands which are considerably rich in gold are those which are found among gray gneisses, amidst veins of granite. Among the present-day gold sands deposited by flowing water are almost all those in the mouths of Unaha, Brianta, and other important rivers. For instance, at the place of discharge of Unaha into Brianta there is $0.75-$1.50 gold to each ton of gold-bearing gravel. There is the probability that gold is contained in the Juras- sic deposits, left after the breaking up of the gneiss's thickness. Mines which contained such quantities of gold as yield $8.00 and more to each ton (as the mine of Djalon), may be regarded as exhausted. At the present time mines containing $0.90 and $1.50 in a ton are being worked. There is no doubt that within the gneiss' area there is quite a good deal of auriferous sand deposits, the contents of which are less rich, which have not been worked as yet. With the improvement of economic conditions all these deposits, and later the poorer ones, will begin to be worked, thus rendering possible a lengthy existence of mining. At the present the following are of importance in gold mining: 1) "The Gold Mountain" at the head of the river Hudger (system of Giluia) . 2) Tributary Uspensky along the river Djuwaskite (system of Giluy). 3) Ore veins of theljDjalindsky region. A more detailed report on the nature of gold-content can 12 be obtained by uniting the various deposits in groups. In this connection, the grouping is made: first according to their situ- ation in the same river system; second according to the simi- larity in organization, exploitation and means of labor; third as to the administration being common; fourth as to the like- ness of the origin, structure and the contents of the deposits; fifth as to the conditions of the means of supplying foodstuffs and goods; sixth as to the common means of communications. 1. Group of mines along the lower part of the river Unaga. 2. " Big, Medium and small Uldekite 3. " the fower part of the river Ilikana 4. " rivers Big and Small Emak 5. " river Djalta 6. " river Djaion 7. " the/ middle part of the river Ilikana 8. " Big and Small Smulen 9. " upper part of the river Ilikana 10. " middle part and upper part of the river Unaha 11 " r. Brianta with tributaries: Utuegi, Sivak, Ugagli 12. " r. Kudachi and Dambuke 13. " Big and/, Small rivers Mogota 14. " rivers Konmuni-Iliagir, Djagda-Iliagir, Belaya 15. " Ugan and Amundjak 16. " lower part of the river Giluy 17. " middle part (of the river Giluy 18. " upper part of the river Gilluy 19. " r. Suchdjary and Gargan 20. " the river Toka 21. " the river Suchdjarikan and Nolda 22. " the river Gullik and the middle part and lower part of the river Urkan 23. " the river Djalinda 24. " the river Ingagly 25. " the river 'Yankan 13 All the groups can be united into four systems: 1) The system of the middle part of Zeya and Giluy. .247 areas 2) The system of the upper part of Zeya 23 " 3) The system of the lower part of Zeya 11 " 4) The system of Urkan and Oldoy. 50 " 331 areas In the whole of the District there were in operation 105 mines (1907) of which number 75 were situated as follows: In the system Giluy 20 mines Unaha 10 " L. DJalta 15 " Djalon 17 Magot 7 " Dombuk 6 " Along the other rivers there were in operation from one to three mines. The output in the Zeya district was as follows: In 1901 about 7,200 Ibs. 1902 " 72,900 " 1903 " 7,740 " 1904 " 4,572 " 1905 " 3,222 " 1906 " 2,070 " 1907 " 1,872 " THE FIRST SYSTEM of the middle-part-of-Zeya and Giluy occupies the central place in the District and is of great import- ance as to the output of gold. To the first system belong eight- een of the above-named groups of mines, where there are situ- ated 247 areas of the total of 331 areas in the entire Zeya system. 1. Group of Mines of the Lower Part of the River Unaha. In the group of mines situated in the Valley of Unaha, be tween Uldekite and Ango, five mines have been at work solely on the basis of payment to workers being made in gold. The river Unaha flows through a narrow valley bound by high abrupt slopes, and sometimes, by abrupt cliffs. After the mouth of y Ilikan, the river makes a lot of zigzags, flowing through a gneiss* stratum. At three miles above the discharge into Brianta, the valley does not extend itself considerably, the banks having the form of slopes. There is a possibility of existence here of a rich deposit made by flowing water. The thickness of a layer is 2 feet; the turf is 4 feet* Partly by way of packroads, partly by trails, the river is connected with the Dambukitsky Storehouse. 2. Group of Mines of Big, Medium and Small Uldekite. Applications have been filed for 19 areas, situated along the river Big Uldekite (the right tributary of the river Unaha) with its left tributaries Middle and Small ,Uldekite. The river Big Uldekite (17 miles) flows across a gneiss stratum full of folds. There is a great deal of deposits, varying in contents and standard, and in the shape of lying in the earth. The layer is 2-7 feet, turf 2-12 feet. The average com- pound contents of gold is $1.35 to one ton. 3. Group of Mines Along the Lower Part of the River Ilikan. The lower part of the river Ilikan, in its valley, along a length of 20 miles up to the mouth of Big Sigulen, there are eight areas. Gold of average size $0.90-$1.50, average fineness 953 (953:1000). The layer 3 feet. The average compound contents of gold is $1.00. The fall of Ilikan is 0.0018-0.002* The flow of water 283 cubic feet in a second. The ground is always frozen. 4. Group of Mines of Rivers Big and Small Emak. The river Emak discharges itself on the right side into Ilikan. The length of Emak is 9 miles. Along it there is a small group of mines. The width of the valley 5-7 feet. The fall is 0.013. There are often floods which affect the works badly. The layer, 2-4 feet; turf, 7-11 feet. Compound contents of gold $0.90-$1.50. Gold of average size. Average fineness, 952.5. 5. Group of Mines of the River Djalta. The upper part of the river Djalta is of gneisses, while the lower part is of granites. The upper part of the mine: the layer, 15 5 feet; turf, 7 feet. Th compound contents of gold $2.40. Pine- ness, 960. After the Djalonsk group this is the richest group of the Zeya region. The river freezes by October lst-20th, thawing from April 10th-20th. The method of mechanical delivery of sands for washing has been used. 6. Group of Mines Along the River Djalon. The group of mines along the river Djalon is situated in the center of the system of the right tributaries of the middle part of the river Zeya. It is one of the two richest mining groups of the whole Zeya region. Twelve gold mines which have been at work are situated along the channel and the "benches" of the river Djalon. The length of the valley is 5 miles. The width is 700 feet. It break's into granular granite. The layer is 12 feet; turf, 7 feet. The compound contents of gold, $3.33* Gold grains are of small size, scaly in the lower and middle part of the deposit. Fineness 970. In the upper parts they are of greater size (fineness 951). Ore gold has been found on the right slope of the valley of river Djalon. Applications have been filed for two areas, but no work has been done. According to rumors, in the massive Djalon granite diamond boring was made in order to find gold- containing veins. 7. Group of Mines in the Middle Part of the River Ilikan. To this group belong: 1) The river Sanar (the right tributary of Ilikan). The valley is deep and wide. The compound contents of gold, $1.35. Fineness, 951. 2) The river L. Djendagli (right tributary of Ilikan. Gen- eral characteristics: Layer, 12 feet; turf, 7-28 feet. Compound content of gold, $1.50. Gold varying (nuggets up to 0.1 lb.). Average fineness, 940.5. 8. Group of Mines of Big and Small Sigulen. The river Big Sigulen (left tributary of Ilikan). Width, 140-350 feet. Gold of large size in the upper part of valley; gold of small size in the lower part of the valley. 16 The layer, 5 feet; turf, 18 feet; average fineness, 912. Com- pound content of gold, $1.32. All the groups which have been reviewed so far (from 3-8) form a series of central mines of the Zeya system. Most of the work has been of a preliminary nature. 9. Group of Mines Along the Upper Part of the River Ilikan. The group of right tributaries of the upper part of the river Ilikan is connected by a vista (20 miles long) with the central mines. The vista is accessible in winter, but very marshy and dusty in summer. The river Arga (the right tributary of Ilikan). One mine Ilynsky. The layer, 2 feet; turf, 7 feet. The compound content of gold, $0.75. The mines along the river Olongro (the right tributary of Ilikan) were not being worked. The river Amunachi (the right tributary of Ilikan). The layer, 3 feet; turf, 12 feet. The compound content of gold, $0.76. Fineness, 934. 10. Group of Mines Along the Middle and Upper Part of the River Unaha. The river Unaha and its tributary Besimyannaya (drop 0.02) and Thema. The majority of mines are those having the channels of the river containing gold. One hillock mine (Ya- sonov Klad) has been at work. The layer, 3 feet; turf, 7 feet. The compound content of gold, $0.82. Fineness, 867. Sub- stance of rocks: Biotite gneiss (including numerous layers of pegmatites. On the right bank of the river Besimyannaya near Yasonov Klad there was one mine for which an application was filed, but no work had been done there. River Olongro and its right tributary Burgali. In this group there was only one mine at work; connected with a vista, partly marshy. In summer access to it can be had only by packroad. The layer, 5 feet; turf, 11 feet. The compound content of gold, $1.02. A constituent of the rocks is the sulphurous pyrite, the principal of it being green-stone rocks which are especially rich. Nuggets are not found at all. The width of the river Unaha in this place is 210-280 feet. Drop, 0.0017 feet. The extraction of 37 gold from the channel can be made by means of a dredge only. 11. Group of Mines of the River Brianta with Tributaries. This group, consisting of four mines, is '.situated off the central mines. The delivery of goods by boat is possible along the river Brianta up to the mouth of the river Utugei. There is a considerable increase along the river Brianta, and its tributaries of deposits made by flowing water. In all probability, they are gold-containing. Therefore hope is enter- tained that in the lower parts of the river Brianta and its tribu- taries Utugei, Sivak and Ugagli work can be done by means of improved methods. The dredging of the channel and the sand banks of the river Brianta is but a matter of time. 12. Group of Mines of the River Kudachi and River Dambuk The river Dambuk, the right tributary of the middle part of Zeya, flows through a gneiss' thickness. Pour mines. The .layer, 5 feet; turf, 9 feet. The average compound content of gold, $1.00. The river Kudachi (Kuduli) is the right tributary of the river Brianta. Three mines. The layer, 5 feet; turf, 8 feet. The average compound content of gold, $0.94. 13. Group of Mines of the Rivers Big and Small Mogot. To this group belong the rivers Big Mogot and Small Mogot, and Besimyannaya (the right tributary of the Big Mogot). There are in this group 15 areas, 5 mines. The layer, 5 feet; turf, 9 feet. Th average compound content of gold, $1.28. The average fineness, 868. The river Big Mogot (20 miles long), 4, mines* A wide valley is situated along the gneiss' thickness. Average drop, 0.0107. The river Small Mogot (14 miles long; the tributary of the Big Mogot). Applications have been filed for 4 areas. The river Besimyannaya (the right tributary of the Big Mogot) ; applications have been filed for 8 areas. 14.. Groups of Mines of River Kongamuni-Uliagir, Djagda-Uliagir and River Belaya. The group of mines situated along the river Kongamuni- 18 Uliagir consist of 4 areas. The average compound content of gold, $0.91. Fineness, 898. Djagda-Uliagir, 3 areas. The average compound content of gold, $1.19. Fineness, 878.5. The groups are near to the Dambukitsky Storehouse. The mines are situated in the most upper parts of the river. The dike is biotite and horneblende gneisses. These gneisses and the veins of horneblende granite, pegmatite and aplite intersect each other. Among these is included Belaya (Besimyannaya), 8 miles long With three areas. The layer, 2^ feet; turf, 10 feet. The average compound content of gold, $1.22. The average fineness, 896. 15. Group of Mines of the Rivers Ugan and Amundjik. The river Ugan (12 miles long; the drop 0.0114), 12 areas. The river becomes frozen by November lst-15th, while the breaking up of the ice takes place by the first of May. The water in the river is high (floods) twice a year in May (from the thawing of the snow), and in August (from rains). The draught lasts from May 15th to June 20th. The dike, biotite and horneblende, gneisses and slates with sulphurous pyrites. The layer, 4 feet; turf, 12 feet. The average compound content of gold, $1.15. Fineness, 889. The river S* Amundjak (the right tributary of Zeya) . Applications have been filed for three areas. 16. Group of Mines of the Lower Part of the River Giluy. The group is situated in the lower part of the river Giluy, with its trubutaries, Utenak (the left tributary of Giluy) and Nijni Chimgan (the right tributary of Giluy). The lower part of the valley of the river Giluy is bound by high slopes and often by abrupt cliffs. Large sandbars are rare, in view of which it is little fit for regular works. Many cataracts. The drop, 0.001. All along, 54 miles, are developed gneisses and granite-gneisses with quartz veins of the shape of a layer. The layer is 2 feet; turf 7 feet. The average compound ^content of gold $1.11. Fineness 888. Applications for nine areas have been filed. 17. Group of mines of the middle part of the R. Giluy. The middle Giluy is superior to all other parts of Giluy for 19 the quantity and richness of the mines. Applications for seven areas have been filed. The river Upper Kamray (the left tributary ,-of the river Giluy, near Argaskite). Appli cations have been filed for two areas. jThe valley is 6 miles long, considerably narrow, and abrupt. Situated among mica and horneblende gneisses inter- sected with veins of half transparent, partly smoky quartz (dark quartz which is, not transparent), and considerably large veins of reddish pegmatites. River Argaskite (the right tribuatry of Giluy). The valley is six miles long. One mine. There can also be seen a gneiss syncline. The river Daburkit with a right tributary Hugder. Applications for 11 areas have been filed. The mines of the river Hugder are of two kinds: the modern the channel mines which are situated up-the-river; the old fashioned "bench" mines which are situated down-the-river. Judging from the considerable difference in the fineness of the gold of the upper and lower part of the valley, uneven distribution, the channel mines are situated at the mother lode. The layer 5 feet; turf 8 feet. The average compound content of gold $1.28. The "bench" mines are known for the large gold-sand-allu- vium, uneven but rich content of gold. The river Djevaskite (the right tributary of Giluy, 14 miles to the* ; north of the mouth of Dabukit). The width of the marshy valley, 8 miles, the length 26 miles. Applications have been filed for 12 areas. The general characteristic of the group: layer 5 feet; turf 7 feet. The average compound content of gold $1.35. Fine- ness 958. i 18. Group of mines of the upper part of the river Giluy. The Upper Giluy. Applications for 28 areas have been filed. 7 mines are being worked. To this group belong: the river Amunachi (the left tribu- tary of Giluy; the rivers Luchi, Ika, Talma). The layer 2 feet; turf 7 feet. The average compound content of gold $0.86. River Taiga. The layer 3 feet; turf 9 feet. Average com- pound consent of gold $1.91; the river Djeltula and the river Djeltulak. 20 All three groups of mines situated in the basin of the river Giluy (Lower, Middle and Upper) are lying among gneiss network, with numerous outlets of pegmatites and aplites. All mentioned substances of rocks contain often ingredients of sulphurous and copper pyrites and magnite iron-ore. THE SECOND SYSTEM, covering the mines of the right tributaries of the river Upper Zeya, is situated along the tribu- taries of the river Tok and is way off the central mines of the river Zeya. In summer the communication between the mines is by ships and boats; in winter by sledges along the jce of the river (from November to April) as far as the Dambukitsky storehouse. During almost two and a half months communi- cation between the mines is carried on along the marshy forests' pathway (from the mines Yasonov Klad 167 miles) solely by reindeers. 19. Group of mines of the rivers Suchdjari and Gargan. The river Big Suchdjari (the right tributary of Zeya, about 104 miles above (to the north) the Dambukitsky Residence. Applications for eight areas have been filed. The river Gargan (the right tributary of Zeya, 14 miles above Suchdjari). Applications have been filed for two areas. One mine at work. General characteristics: layer 5 feet; turf 15 feet. The average compound content of gold $2.63. Fineness 779. 20. Group of the mines of the river Tok. The river Tok 132 miles long. 6 mines are at work. With the exception of one mine situated at the bank of the right tributary of the river Tok-Haraganjo, all the others are situated along the river Sivakan (the left tributary of the river Tok, 20 miles off the mouth). Means of communication are very difficult. River Sivakan. 7 areas have been applied for. The layer 5 feet; turf 7 feet. The average compound gold content $1.34. 21. Group of mines of the rivers Suchjarikan and Nolda. The little group with three areas is situated off the central 21 district along the Suchjarikan and its left tributary Nolda. Communication is carried on by packroads. Gneisses and granite-gneisses with veins of pegmatite and aplite. This dis- trict is similar to that of Middle Zeya as far as the situation of rocks and their character are concerned. Known for the low fineness of gold 816, but the mines are very rich. THE THIRD SYSTEM is situated along the right tribu- taries of the lower part of the river Zeya. 22. Group of mines of the rivers Gullik and Ukran (the lower and middle part of the river). The river Gullik. One mine at work. The river Urkan (the lower and middle part of the river) . Applications for ten areas have been filed. The group was being worked on the basis of the workmen being paid in gold. Par away from the warehouses and miners* homes. The average fineness 845. THE FOURTH SYSTEM is also off the Zeya district; the system is situated along the upper part of the river Urkan and its right tributaries Djilinda and Ingagli, as well as along the river Jankan belonging to the system Oldoya (the left tributary of Amur). The majority of works are carried on by lease- holders. A common good horse-road, 70 miles long, connects the group with the harbor Reinovo, s. Amur. Sometimes the communication is carried on by camels. 23. Group of mines of the river Djalinda. River Djalinda (the right tributary of Urkan). Gold ore has been discovered at the southern slope of Djalindinda Goltz at the summit of the left side of the right summit of this river. Applications have been filed for 9 areas, but no extraction of gold ore has been made. The surveying consisted of divid- ing into squares, the installation of shafts and "Stollen" for tracing of veins contained in the granite. The content of gold is from $3.75 to $13.50 for each ton. 24. Group of mines of the river Ingagli. The river Ingagli (the right tributary of the S. Urkan); applications have been filed for 6 areas. Flows through gneiss' 22 granites. The layer 2 feet; turf 11 feet. The average com- pound gold content $1.20. Average fineness 955. 25. Group of mines of the river Yankan. The river Yankan (the right tributary of Krestovka which is the left tributary of Oldoy) flows, alike to the 1 river Djalinda, through a land stratum of metamorphic schists, phyllites, sand- stones, conglomerates, limestones, and various schists. The land-thickness is intersected by veins of prophyrites, and home- blende of the granite type, and is situated, on reaching the lake, near the granite Djalindinda Goltz. Some qartz veins intersect granite, as well as metamorphic schists. More than 18 gold- bearing veins have been discovered, but no development in the work has been made. THE SELIMDJA AND NIMAN DISTRICTS. The Selimdja District. General Survey The river Selimdja, the left and consider- ably large tributary of the river Zeya, is situated at the north- west slope of the mountainous chain Yam Alin, which is one of the branches of the northern boundary of the^Burein mountain range, or the small Hingan. The whole length of the river (from head to mouth) is about 400 miles; the river's fall is 3,444 feet, and the average fall amounts to Q.0017. As regards the surface of the basin of the river Selimdja from the head up to winter camp, the surface is hilly; down to the mouth the surface is plain. The river Selimdja is fit for navigation up to the Norsk warehouse only, viz. along the dis- tance of 84 miles, and, further, to the north to the Ikimchan Storehouse, only by vessels of light draft, the navigation being very difficult. The river Harga, the left tributary of the river Selimdja, is the largest tributary of Selimdja; the length of river Harga is 72 miles; average fall 0.006; the width of the valley of the river Harga is varying, from 100 feet, at the river head, to more than one mile. Description The Selimdja gold bearing system covers a 23 group of mines situated along the tributaries of the river Selimdja. The characteristic of the system is the scattering state of the mining groups; thus the distance between the mines situated along the tributaries up-the-river Selimdja and the group of mines situated down-the-river Selimdja is more than 270 miles. Of the groups of mines mentioned above a description will be given only of those of interest and worthy of special atten- tion. 1. The District of Harga. In the district of Harga are at work the mines Zlato- ustovsk and Shedrinsk. The Zlatoustovsk -mine is situated along the river Harga, at its left side and between the mouths of Dagandin and Albin. A part of this mine was worked by manual labor, the thick- ness of the turf having been from one to five feet. The thick- ness of the layer Is from one to two feet, and the content of gold up to $15. The work was possible only with the water being low, for the height of the area above the level of the river Harga is not more than two feet. At the present this mine and the adjacent mine, Jadrinsk, are being worked by three dredg- ing machines. The area of the Zlatoustovsk is 675 acres. The Jadrinsk mine is situated along the creek Albin, which discharges itself into the river Harga; the area of the mine is 15 acres. The creek Albin, along which is situated the Jadrinsk mine, which is 1.5 miles long; the width of the stream within the claim is nearly nine feet. The average deviation of the length is about 0.03 feet; the width of the valley is about 1,750 feet. The valley of the Albin creek and the river Harga in this section has an abundance of water and forms a basin. The mine is situated in a place which is always in a frozen state. The depth of the freezing of the river Harga is about 5 feet, and that of the Albin stream about 2 feet. They freeze at the beginning of November and thaw at the beginning of May. Up to the present time the mine was being worked by man- ual labor; the thickness of the turf is 9 feet, and that of the layer 7 feet, and the average content of gold $1.90. The 24 gold is distributed evenly; the fineness is 895 898; the gold is small-grained. As already mentioned above, at present the Jadrinsk and the neighboring mines are worked by three dredges. All three dredges are of 5 Ib. capacity, of the system Verf-Conrad, the daily production of each dredge being 1/270 cubic yards. The places for dredge-work are still very large and thick, the average content of gold being $0.38 per ton. The average number of working days per year is 180. In the region of Harga, of interest is the mine Olginsk along the river Elge and at the mouth of the stream Afanasieffsk. On the right slope of the valley there is a "bench" gold mine. 2. District of the Big and Small Naergen, the left tributaries of the river Selimdja. Of the mines covered by this system, attention should be paid to the mine Maisky, being 150 acres in area. The valley dowii-the-river small Naergen, where the Maisky mine is situ- ated, is very narrow, the width of the valley being not more than 900 feet; the surrounding mountains border on the river valley by narrow capes ; the channel of the river is very winding ; the nature of the gold-bearing layer is varying and the gold there is distributed unevenly. The average thickness of the turf is about 5 feet; of the river bed, 5^ feet; and of the layers up to 5 feet. The average gold content, $1.20. The layer con- sists of thick, heavy and dark-gray lime, as a result of the destruction of the formerly common schists; the gold is small- grained, flat and smooth. 3. The Region of Semertak, the Right Tributary of Selimdja. Manual labor has been instrumental in the partial exhaus- tion of the gold-bearing area which is situated along the lower part of the river Semertak, viz. the claim of the mine Blagoveshchensk, belonging to the Ust-Semertaksk Co. Now a dredging machine is being brought into employ for the extraction of the remainder of the gold; the capacity of the scoops of the dredge is 2% cubic feet; the daily production, 760-900 cubic yards; the thickness of a layer is 2 feet; the thickness of turf, 25 up to 10 feet; the average gold content is about $2.25 to one ton of sand, or $0.33 to one ton of sand aud turf. In this region the river Selimdja is also auriferous and con- tains from $0.15 to $0.27 gold to 1 ton of earth, which renders it possible to exploit it to greater advantage by using a dredging machine, with a scoop capacity of 18 cubic feet. It would cer- tainly be a large and profitable business if use of these possi- bilities was made. 4. The Region Nekly. A whole number of mines worked by the Nijne-Selimdjinsk Co. is situated in the basin of the middle part of the river Nekly which is a relatively small right tributary of the river Selimdja and along the streams Khrabry and Utesny, discharging into Selimdja. Manual labor has been instrumental in a partial extraction of gold, but there still remain a number of areas which are not suitable for manual labor and which 'must be worked by mechanical methods. Along the river Nekly and the stream Vesely, which dis- charges on the left into the Nekly, are situated two main mines: 1) Stretensk along the river Nekly, and 2) Vesely, along the stream Vesely. Both mines are situated in a plain covered by a marsh. In the Stretensk mine the thickness of turf is varying from 2 to 3.5 feet; the thickness of the layer, 4-6 feet; the content of gold in the remaining areas, $0.45-$0.60 to one ton of sand; the gold is small, round grained. In the mine Vesely the gold is large-grained, porous, with quartz; the turf is here about 2 feet. The turfs consist of a vegetable layer and clay of bright colors. There is a likelihood that there is a gold-containing layer underneath, while for washing the whole portion of land (2-11 feet), immediately under the vegetable surface and up to the clay which is not gold-containing, is taken. The method of washing of such a layer in barrels Would not be practical, as a great amount of gold would be lost; the waste could be washed over again to good advantage. Along the stream Khrabry, which discharges itself on the right side into the river Selimdja, is situated the mine Dagmara. 26 The thickness of the layer is up to 4 feet, and the thickness of the turf to 7 feet. The gold is not large-grained. It is partly flat. The average content of gold is $1.50 per ton of sand. The Niman District. General Information All the mines of the so-called Niman system are situated within the boundaries of small area, viz. the area bound by the river Niman, its tributary river Olga, and the latter's tribu- tary river Samar. The area has a considerable absolute height. The lowest point of the area, viz., the river Niman, is 2,625 feet above sea level. The difference of the longitude of this area is nearly 27 miles, while the difference in the latitude is not more than 20 miles. All the rivers and streams as well as Niman and Olga, the main rivers of this territory, have a very abrupt fall; for instance, the fall of Olga from the Soffyisk mine up to the mouth of the river is about 0.003. The fall of tributaries is even more abrupt. The daily outflow of water of these typical mountain rivers varies greatly. A little river hardly noticeable in summer turns into a stormy water-duct which in a short space of time causes a great deal of harm. The water rises very rapidly, but subsides equally as fast. Some of the valleys have quite clear terraces. Such is the valley of the river Olga, especially above the Soffysk mine, where two terraces can very distinctly be seen. One terrace seen at the horizontal junction is approximately 70 feet above the river level, and the other, seen at the horizontal junction, is about 140 feet above the river level. Ways of Communication The main means of communication with the mines in sum- mer, as well as in winter, is the river Bureya. From the Soffyisk mine, the center of the Niman system, a road extends along the valley of the river up to the winter camp, near the discharge of the latter into Niman. Prom the Niman ford the road makes way along an abrupt stream and creeps over the valley of the river Umalta, the summit being 525 feet high. Further on, the road extends along 27 the slope of Umalta as far as the place of the discharge of the latter into the river Bureya. The distance from the mines to the Ust-Umaltin winter camp is 67 miles. Notwithstanding rapids and cataracts, the navigation from Ust-Umaltin Store- house up to the mouth of the river Bureya, 306 miles, is more or less safe. Further below the Ust-Umaltin winter camp along a distance of 90 miles up to Chekundin Storehouse it is navigable by large boats (junks), the loading capacity of which is about one ton. During the season of flood or at the time of a flood, steamers with light draft are able to reach the Ust-Niman winter camp, 40 miles off the Umaltin Storehouse. The distance of 216 miles from Chekudin Storehouse up to the mouth or Bureya is navigable by light boats with a light draft at any time of the year. The winter road has the same direction. Description of Gold-bearing Territories According to the geological data compiled by the geologist Yavorovsky, who made investigations in the Niman system, all, or nearly all, sediments of the rivers of this territory contain more or less gold and may be regarded as "auriferous sands" in the sense of this term; of course, it will depend upon the conditions and methods of work whether the gold-bearing sys- tems will prove productive or not. It must be admitted that the methods employed heretofore in the gold industry of the Niman system have not been satisfactory. The enormous richness of the deposits, on which the profits in the seventies of the past century amounted to millions (over 100% for some years, and 61.23% for average year during the period 1886-1890), made it possible to consider the rough methods of exploitation as suf- ficiently fit, and there was, accordingly, no inducement for the improvement of the methods. The Niman Company, w;hich at the time was the all-powerful company in this district, has been exerting all means to prevent the establishment, in the vicinity of the nines, of the small scale gold industry. As a result of this, when all the large and investigated deposits with high gold content have been exhausted by the Niman Company, their method of exploitation proved to be un- profitable for the exploitation of the poorer areas, the latter, 28 besides, being insufficiently investigated. In view of this, the Ninian gold industry has stopped, little by little. However, there is no doubt that in the Niman system there is still a great number of areas which are fully fit for a regular exploitation, in particular, by mechanical means. Of this category of areas special attention should be paid to the Sofyisk and loann-Krestitel mines situated along the river Olga. Although the discovery of the whole of the Niman system was begun with the discovery of the Sofyisk mine, the exploi- tation of the latter in the years immediately following has been confined to the exploitation of gold of the rich district "Zolotoi Yar," and also relatively small underground works were being carried on near the mouth of the streams Kanaka and Sofyisk; the exploitation of all other deposits of the district was, under the existing conditions and methods of work, considered by no no means possible; therefore in these regions of the gold area there is a large quantity of gold which can be extracted to great advantage if more advanced methods of exploitation are employed. The upper part of the Sofyisk mine, between the mouths of the rivers Agda and Kanaka, has been investigated in more detail; the results of the investigation are shown, in approximate figures, in the following table: Thickness To Cubic Yd of gold Ibs. M o Districts MH 4J *| 1 J J rt c I MH U H 3 < in MH fe 1 !i 11 Part of the i Sofyisk Mine above Niko- laevsk 2569 feet 24 1,75 1,036,742 24,921,808 1,814,299 0.025 0.0011 1,048 Next to the north of Sofyisk 2975 feet 22 1,5 1,021,307 22,468,754 1,531,960 0.016 0.001 883 The balance of 2450 feet adjacent to the Timofey Mine 35 1,4 1,516,746 53,086,110 2,123,444 0.026 0.001 1,998 Total 3,929 29 The distance of one, mile of the lower part of the Sofyisk mine between the mouth of Kanaka and the stream Sofyisk has been investigated but very little. On going over the foregoing table, sight must not be lost of the fact that the thicknesses of the turf and the layer, as is shown above, cannot be considered to be quite exact. In a great number of instances, the quantity of the layer proves to be much more, but it is a little poorer than that shown in the table, for the bottom layers of turf often contain $0.30-$0.45 to one ton, and it is but just that they should be considered gold-bearing layers although the latter is thus rendered poorer, the average content of turf and layer of gold, however, being somewhat increased. As mentioned above, a smal area of the Sofyisk mine had been worked out and nearly 6,480 Ibs. of gold had been extract- ed, the average content of gold being $0.61 to a ton. Alike, a small portion of the area of the loann-Krestitel mine had been worked out, the average content of gold being $5.25 to a ton. As compared with this figure, the content of gold of the Sofyisk mine, $2.05, as is shown in the table above, is, of course, small, and in order to make the exploitation of this place profit- able new and cheaper methods of exploitation should be intro- duced. One of these methods is the washing of the turf, there being a lot of water in the river Olga. An experiment in this direction was made, and, at the beginning, it proved to be very successful, but later on the adminstration of the mine changed, and resulted in not applying this method to the fullest extent. As regards the loann-Krestitel mine, which is situated be- yond the Sofyisk mine, it has not been investigated in full, and its lower part has not been investigated at all. In all, these two territories may be considered as containing 7,200 Ibs. of gold, the extraction of which may prove profitable with methods of exploitation which are more regular and advanced. With such advanced methods of exploitation the whole number of smaller areas along the river Olga and Toen- Elga could be worked to great advantage. 30 CHAPTER III. THE GOLD MINING INDUSTRY IN THE BAIKAL REGION I. THE ZABAIKAL DISTRICT Brief Historical and Statistical Data. The gold mining industry in the Baikal Province had come into existence in 1832, but it was only in the beginning of the forties of the past century, when rich mines had been discov- ered, that the gold mining industry had gained importance from the point of view of gold industry. These rich mines are: Karyisk, Shachtalin, Kazakov, Tainin* etc. Following the discovery of these mines there had been a gradual development due first, to the discovery of new mines, secondly to a more intensive exploitation of the mines chiefly by methods of gang work, and thirdly to the granting of permis- sion for the establishment of private ownership of gold mines in the Western part of the Nerchinsk District. Thus in 1914 the output of gold in the Transbaikal Province reached about 14,40,0 Ibs. This was the quantity which had been officially registered, but it must be taken into consideration that a great deal of gold has often been hidden from registration, mainly because the gold owners wished to avoid payment of a 5% tax in kind to the Department of Imperial Crown Lands, which had been the chief landowner in the Baikal region. The real figure of the output of gold in this region in the years immediately previous to the war must therefore be taken to be nearly 36,000 Ibs. The Department of Imperial Crown Lands was in the lead, as far as the exploitation of gold in the Baikal region is con- cerned. The works carried on by private gold-mine owners were, on the whole, very little, the output being somewhat in 31 the neighborhood of several poods and sometimes pounds. The department of Imperial Crown Lands, as well as private gold-mine owners, have been applying primitive methods of exploitation; in earth- works which were done at the mines manual labor only had been used. This is true, with the exception of a small dredging-machine installed by Mr. Novo- meisky, a private gold-mine owner, in the river Zepikan (in the Bargusin marshy forests), the dredging machine working quite satisfactorily and an excavator which is used at the mine Shuvikh along the river Kruchina. It is evident that with the employment of manual labor only, it proved advantageous to exploit solely the richer areas, Where the contents were not less than $0.18 in a ton of sand and turf (in the case 01 super- terraneous works), and not less than $1.50 per ton of sand with the gold-containing layer not less than 4 feet (in the case of subterraneous works). All areas, where the gold contents were less than the figures just mentioned, were being considered disadvantageous for the industry, and no attention was paid to them, while with the application of mechanical metnoas of exploitation, the neglected areas could be worked with great advantage. New gold-bearing deposits were being searched for and investigated into just as much as the exploitation of gold-bearing areas was being carried on. On reviewing the map showing the resources of gold at mines formerly belonging to the Department of Imperial Crown Lands, it is evident that the annual gold output has been about 7,200 Ibs., while the resources of gold in reserve had been remaining at all times about 1,000-15,000 Ibs. This is explained by the fact that the Department of Imperial Crown Lands did not make strenuous efforts towards new discoveries, and work for the purpose of new discoveries was being carried on to the extent of filling the requirements only, so as not to face a cessation of work. In view of this, the greater part of the Nerchinsk District has not been investigated at all, not to speak of examining the discoveries. In spite of this, the non- investigated regions of the Nerchinsk District are of a very great importance as far as the posibility of new discoveries of gold is concerned. These will be dealt with later on. The method of investigation, in itself, has been very primitive; the method 32 of investigation, by means of drills, has been brought into appli- cation just before the war. Almost sole attention at the inves- tigation and examination works was being paid to the discovery of new or channel auriferous sands (deposits), outside of which nothing had been exploited; the old, or very deep deposits have been worked on very few occasions; to the latter category belong the Kazakovsky and Novotroizky, old deposits which are at present worked. There is no doubt that in the event of investigations of new deposits, made in a proper manner, a great number of old deposits are likely to be brought to light. As regards ore deposits of gold, the exploitation of these in the Baikal region has not been made at all although there is a great number of ore deposits of gold in the Baikal region. DESCRIPTION OF REGIONS IN WHICH THE GOLD-MINING INDUSTRY COULD BE DEVELOPED PROFITABLY 1. Undin Region. The Undin region consists of two main gold centers: Kazakovsk and Novotroitzk. They are situated in the South- eastern part of the Baikal region, along the river Unda, a tribu- tary of the river Onon the Kazakovsk deposit being 20 miles off the station "Biankino," of the Transbaikal Railway, and the Novotroitzk deposits being 30 miles off the station "Priiskovaia" of the Transbaikal Railway. These railway stations are con- nected with the mines by good highways. The mines are situated in a wide and open valley of the river Unda which is very fertile and thickly inhabited mainly by cossaks engaged in agricultural work. A road of 17 miles along a good and even plain connects the Novotroitzk and Kazakovsk mines. Kazakovsk Mines The region of Kazakovsk gold mines is contained between the stations "Undinskaya Sloboda" and Kolobovsk village, along the right tributaries of the river Unda. Almost all the mines are situated in a direction- perpen- dicular to the valley of the river Unda the methods of the mine* 33 discharging into the river Unda so that the valley of the latter is in this place also gold-bearing, which has been proved by investigations. Mention should be made here of two kinds of gold sands: 1) Channel auriferous sands, not deep, as, for in- stance, those along Kazakovka or Kluchevaya; and 2) the so-called "bench" auriferous sands, lying 70-140 feet deep from the surface. Those sands which had been investigated in full have already been worked out; of the "bench" sands a part only had been worked out, the average content of gold varying from $1.90-$0.03 to a ton of sand; the thickness of the layer taken being from 8 to 11 feet. According to official data, taken in 1919, the resources of gold remaining in the untouched Kazakovsk "bench" auriferous sand was figured to be 748 Ibs. After 1919 no exploitation was made. In reality, the resources of gold, according to data of the experience of former years, should be considered larger and it may be definitely held that the quantity of gold in the untouched parts of the Kazakovsk mine is about 1,120 Ibs. Besides, up to the present moment, there has remained uninvestigated a part of the sand situated in the suburbs of the village Malaya Kazakovka along a distance of about a half mile. It surely contains gold fit for the industry, as on both sides of the village there is being exploited the same mine, with good content of gold. The resources of gold in the part of the mine situated beyond the village Malaya Kazakovka, and within its suburbs are held to be 1791 Ibs. In all, the resources of gold along the Kazakovsk hollow should be held to be 2907 Ibs., as is seen from the enclosed table. The resources of gold are not confined to the above figures. The main part of the Yushkovsk mine had not been worked out. The mine "Sukhoy," along the Kolobovsk, contains, in its investigated part only, more than 360 Ibs. of gold. A mine along the Grasnukhinsk "bench," near the village Lieskovo, is known to contain gold, but investigations have not been completed yet. Besides the places mentioned above, there are a number of other sands in the region of the Kazakovsk mines, where gold 34 has been located. As they have been very little investigated, it is premature to speak about the resources of gold there. As regards the equipment of the Kazakovsk mine, it had been well equipped from the technical point of view. There is a central electric station installed in the valley of the river Unda, at the mouth of the river Kazakovka. The electric current supplied by a 3 H. P. generator of 190 kilowatts. Electric current was used for: 1) The delivery of water from the river Unda to the Kazakovskaya "bench" for the wash- ing of sands; 2) for the pumping of water out of working mines; 3) for the mechanical lifting of the sands; 4) for light- ing of the mines and all other buildings; 5) for the dredging machine, etc., etc. The following is the machinery installed at the electric station: 1 "Lantze" locomotive, with tandem-compound, 230 H. P. 2 "Erlikon" works generator. 3 "Otto Schwabe" centrifugal pump, connected with a 160 H. P. motor. 4 A number of centrifugal pumps, cranes, and other auxiliary apparatus. Novotroitzk Mine As was already mentioned above, the Novotroitzk mine is situated in the valley of the river Unda, 20 miles beyond the Kazakovsk mines. Work is being carried on along a small part of the territory, along a distance of the valley of 3 miles up to the Novotroitzk Stanitza (cossak village) . There are two kinds of mines: 1) The channel mine bounded by the banks of the river Unda, not deep under the surface; 2) the terrace and "bench" mines, which are deep, being 35-60 feet under the surface. These two mines have been worked ; partly, by private own- ers, and partly by gangs of workmen. The Novotroitzk mines have often proven remarkable for their rich content of gold. The content of gold in the sands has, after washing, varied from $0.60 to $2.25 per ton of ore; sometimes there was as much as $4.50-$6.00, with the thickness of the gold-containing layer from 5-9 feet. In most cases, the conditions of exploitation of these sands are easy. 35 The area of soil permanently frozen is not considerable, so that it is not a matter of great importance in super-terraneous works and cannot cause a decrease in the productiveness of the works, nor it cannot delay the washing of sands in the early spring or late autumn. So far the exploitation of gold has been carried on by manual labor; no improvements have been introduced; the character of the mine is such as would allow a substitution of mechanical works for manual labor. Only mechanical methods which would decrease to a minimum the complicated gold-min- ing business and also decrease the number of workers, might allow the exploitation to great advantage not only of the principal mine, but also of the poorer parts of the mine as well. With regard to the resources of gold at the Novotroitzk mines, there are official figures of gold only in those areas 'which have been investigated in great detail. In 1919, after which no regular work was done, the quantity of gold in the areas of the Nikitinsk and Undinsk deposits was held to be 867 Ibs. Besides, in the valley of the river Unda, there is situated a mine which had not yet been touched by a dredging machine. According to official data, the quantity of gold in that mine is held to be 2,087 Ibs. In reality, the said areas on the gross washing will prove considerably richer. Prom the practice of former years, the quantity of gold derived had always been nearly two times as much as the data derived from investigations, and the areas themselves turned out to be much larger than shown on the maps drawn by the investigators. The variance between the data of the investigators and the gross washing at the mines of the Department of the Imperial Crown Lands is accountable for by a number of causes; the main causes being: 1) The unfaithful managers of the mines showed the gold in the Investigation Ledgers in lesser quantities purposely, so that on washing the gold, a part of it could be retained by them; 2) some managers, who were more honest than those mentioned, were making wrong entries, because they were planning to get a premium for the gold washed above the rate. In view of the above, the actual resources of gold in the Nikitinsk and Udinsk sands of the areas which had been inves- 35 tigated into, in detail, should be taken to be 1,530 Ibs., corres- ponding to the data of gross washing of former years; while the resources - of gold in the place not touched by the dredging machine should be taken to be 3,750 Ibs., as is shown in the enclosed table. Thus, the resources of gold, in the areas which had been investigated in detail, should be held to total 5,280 Ibs. The resources of gold at the Novotroitzk mines do not constitute the total gold reserve; the data of investigations being very meagre, we are taking, for the sake of precaution, only the resources of gold which have been listed. For instance, there is along a slope a large area containing gold which had not been exhausted; then, a rich sand area, though deep, is situated along a distance from the Nikitinsk cut, apparently under the main road; the presence of a large flow of water has delayed the subterraneous works; finally, there is a series of small and single untouched mines scattered all along the mining area which contains much gold. Summing up the above, the con- clusion may be drawn, that the figures of the reserve of gold are to be increased by not less than 3,600 Ibs. To this must be added that the absence of detailed investigations in areas opposite and beyond the Novotroitzk "stanitza" do not allow us to arrive at anything regarding the gold resources in the area along the river Unda, beyond investigated places, but, of course, no statement can be made that a large extension of the pro- ductive area is impossible. A brief investigation and the fact that illegal work was done in two places support the supposition that there are new abundant gold-bearing areas in the valley of the river Unda. In connection with the resources of gold, it is necessary to mention the dredging operations, and the decison of the De- partment of Imperial Crown Lands, in 1916, to install a dredge in the Novotroitzk mine. The dredging machine was ordered from the American firm "Bucyrus," and, according to agreement, the machine was to be ready in January of 1918, and was to be delivered to the mines in the summer of 1918. A partial pay- ment for the dredging machine had been made in due time; according to information received, the machine was ready in time stipulated, and was forwarded to Seattle for loading aboard a ship. However, due to the revolution in October, 1917, and 37 the breaking off of diplomatic relations with America, ship- ment was postponed for an indefinite period. There is no doubt that dredging operations could be devel- oped to a large extent, there being data regarding the existence in the Undinsk valley, from Kazakovsk mines to the Novotroitzk mines, of an auriferous mine which is 20 miles long; it is pos- sible that the mine does not contain gold all along, but it is beyond doubt that separate parts of the mine contain industrial gold. On the other hand, there are a number of favorable conditions which render possible the successful application of dredging machines in the gold industry. Resources of Gold In the Kazakovsk gold mine in 1919, calculated on the basis of the gross production of gold in previous years: Districts | .S **" $ & "^ OT ft III Cv t>-4 jl| Approximate Quantity of gold IBs. Kazakovsk-Elan Area A 295,470 8.4 2,481,948 $1.90 848 " E Total 93,443 8.4 784,921 1.90 268 3,266,869 1,116 Area D 41,895 7.7 322,592 1.50 92 " a Total 614,950 7.7 4,625,115 2.00 1,699 4,947,707 1,791 Grand Total 8,214,576 2,907 38 Resources of Gold In the Novotroitzk gold mines in 1919, calculated on the basis of the gross production of gold in previous years: 8 | w MH Ojg , Districts M o> $ a |l. ||| 43 " ! ^S H* > "o S ^^5 ^ 1. Andreevka Left Tributary River Tura 1 $1 r 2. Arana Tributary Molotovoy 1 .45 3. Brown-Hamara System of the Upper Onon A Inc 4. BaJdzha System of the Upper Onon .05 O1 "3.6. 5. Bayan-Zurga .. Tributary Middle Hongork in 3 .^l-.OO of C-3 6. Barsuchikha .... Tributary Upper Baidetui J .zo-.oo 7. Baizetui Left Tributary Ingoda f. on <-/->. 1 CA 8. Baljikan System Onon .zu to l.ou 9 Boitza Left Tributary Zharcha . .30 OQ 10. Buktocha Left Tributary Nerchugan .. 1 .00 11. Bistraya Left Tributary Taina AO 12. Gorokhon Right Tributary Alengui . i 1 A 97 ^f! 13. Girmnak Left Tributary Ingoda 9fl 14. Darasun Left Tributary Troga .. 10 ,L\J f\(\ f f\ ^ nr> 15. Depaka Right Tributary Edakui 1 ^ 1 An 16. Dzhermagatay.. Right Tributary of Girmanka -? 1" .HU 7-J 17. Dilmanchik .... Left Tributary of Ingoda 7 .jo 07 79 18. Dibika Tributary of Aratza i 1 97 /in 19. Ernichnaya 20. Zharcha 21 Zhimbtra System of Tura 1 7 "5 i .30-.54 22. Zagdaka Tributary of Kienken i ....| i 22 23 Zubkona Right Tributary of Kiuchina i 1 1 fin 24. Zurga 1 l.UU 25. Zimkina- Edanka System of Kirmanak 21 26'. Ilia Left Tributary of Onon A 1 in tr9 9$ 27 Ildikan . . . System of Gazimur 1 i AZ 28. Kamenka Left Tributary of Turgin 1 29. Kienken Tributary of Kiia 2 2 40 30 Kiia Left Tributary of Shilka o 9 JA 31. Kibacha Right Tributary of Bituy I I 1 no 32 Kruchina Left Tributary of Ingoda 12 7 en t n i no 33 Kuchinga Left Tributary of Kruchina 2 i 4C 34 Kundulutn System of Onon ? i 94 35 Kudzhertay Left Tributary of Grimanka I I "iO 36. Kurlukta System of Tura 1 6 .54 38 Lugie System of Urimkan 1 I 42 39. Mendukuy Left Tributary of Zharcha ] I 40. Molotoi Right Tributary of Ingoda 1 41. Mordvinekha .. 42 Naranya Left Tributary of Edakay 1 1 .... .... 43 Naraka Left Tributary of Kiia 6 3 33 44 Nerchugan Left Tributary of Nercha 2 45 Nikichekha .... Left Tributary of Ingoda 2 46. Ogikuy Right Tributary of Uldurga System of Nercha ." 1 .... .... 54 Name of River Location to 1 0* g No. Mines Worked il