MINERAL RESOURCES. The mining industry is of the utmost importance, and Cape Colony is the greatest diamond-producing country in the world. The diamond-fields are almost exclusively situated in Griqualand \Vest, and the mining of diamonds has reached a very high degree of development of late. the annual export amount ing to over $20,000.000. It is estimated that from 1857 to 1900 diamonds of the value of over $465,000,000 were exported. The first•dis covery of diamonds was made in the Hopetown district in 1807, and by 1370 there were about 10.000 men digging for diamonds along the Vaal River. In the same year the 'dry diggings' were discovered between the Vaal and the Madder rivers, which was soon followed by still richer discoveries in the same vicinity and by the foun dation of Kimberley, which has since become one of the most important towns in the colony. The mining of diamonds, which was at first largely carried on by individual diggers, has since been concentrated in the hands of a powerful com pany which controls the entire output of the Kimberley diamond-fields, and, consequently, by far the largest part of the world's output of diamonds. The copper-mines arc mostly located
in Namaqualand, and the ore found is of a very rich kind, yielding a percentage of from 32 to 36, but the output is comparatively small. The same may be said of coal, which occurs almost everywhere-, but is principally mined in the Stormberg mountain range and is used by the State railways. Gold, iron, lead, and salt have been found in small quantities in the Knysna district, at the southern end of the colony. Out side of mining, the industries of the colony are as vet of very little importance and are chiefly confined to the production of beer, tobacco, leather, and flour.