been referred to in previous reviews, amounted to some 4,800 tons. The Sasti field of Hyderabad again shews a considerable decline which, however, is more than balanced by the partial recovery of the Singareni field. The Sohagpur field of Central India nearly doubled its production, but Umaria continued its decline. Ballarpur and the Pench valley were chiefly responsible for the serious drop in the Central Provinces output. The new Loi-an coalfield of Burma, which is of Gondwana and not of Tertiary age as formerly supposed, has made strides during the year and increased its output from 172 tons in 1922 to just over 2,000 tons in 1923.

The pit's mouth value of coal decreased in some areas and increased in others. In Burma it increased another 5 rupees or so, as it had done the previous year, and the rate in Baluchistan rose nearly Rs. 1-7-0. In the Punjab the drop in value amounted to Rs. 4-14-0, in the Central Provinces to Re. 1 and in Rajputana to Re. 0-4-5. Bengal and Bihar and Orissa both shew an average decrease, the presidency of Re. 0-8-4 and the province of Re. 0-1-10.

TABLE 3.-Average Price (per ton) of Coal extracted from the mines in each province during the years 1922 and 1923.

TABLE 4.-Origin of Indian Coal raised during 1922 and 1923.

TABLE 5.-Provincial Production of Coal during the years 1922 and 1923.

TABLE 6.-Output of the Gondwana Coalfields for the years 1922 and 1923.

The yield of the Makum field of Assam decreased practically to its figure for 1921; both Baluchistan fields shewed heavy decreases also. Rajputana produced less than half what it did the previous year, and the total from the Punjab shews a decrease.

TABLE 7.-Output of the Tertiary Coalfields for the years 1922 and

The export statistics shew an increase of nearly 59,500 tons, while the imports of coal and coke on the other hand fell to practically half what they totalled in 1922. Over two-fifths of the imports came from South Africa whose contribution increased by over 38,000 tons. Australia and other countries are the only other sources whose contributions shew an increase. From the United Kingdom imports fell from 718,500 to only 125,300 tons; from Japan India received a paltry 4,600 tons instead of 55,500 tons in the previous year.

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TABLE 8.-Exports of Indian Coal and Coke during 1922 and 1923.

TABLE 9.-Imports of Coal, Coke and Patent Fuel during 1922 and

The average number of persons employed daily in the coal-fields during the year remained practically the same as it was in 1922, while the average output per person employed shewed a slight improvement, rising from 94-6 tons in 1922 to 97.8 tons during the year under report; in 1919 this figure was 111.05 tons. The number of deaths by accident was unusually large, totalling 363, and corresponding to a death-rate of 1.81 per thousand persons employed; in 1922 the total figure was 243 corresponding to a rate of 121 per thousand.

TABLE 10.-Average number of persons employed daily in the Indian Coalfields during 1922 and 1923.

Copper.

Since 1919, following the commencement of smelting operations at the Rakha mines during the year 1918, the output of copper-ore in Singhbhum has been maintained with a fairly steady level till 1923. The decrease in the output of ore during that year was heavy, the amount totalling 6,500 tons only, valued at Rs. 65,500 (£4,367). This amount of the ore was obtained by the Cape Copper Company during the first quarter of the year, and from the 1st of April the works were closed down and pumping alone carried on. The amount of refined copper extracted from the ore amounted to 187-23 tons. The Rakha mines deposit is a low-grade sulphide ore containing two to four per cent. of copper, but a slightly improved grade of ore has recently been struck. Three other companies are prospecting in the Singhbhum belt, and one of these, the Cordoba Copper Company, has met with very promising ore-bodies in their Mosaboni mines. A zone of secondary enrichment, in which malachite and cuprite predominated, was pierced and an impoverished zone with practically no ore encountered beneath. The lode channel was, however, well defined, and beneath the impoverished zone chalcopyrite began to make its appearance in small lenses. At a vertical depth of 169 feet from the surface tunnels driven along the lode