Silver.

There was a further increase in the output of silver from Bawdwin, amounting to some 638,350 oz. The production from the Kolar gold mines on the other hand amounted to half that of the previous year. The yield from the Anantapur gold mines fell from 554 oz. in 1922 to only 103 oz. in 1923. The total Indian production was 4,863,066 oz. valued at Rs. 1,01,58,102 (£677,207).

TABLE 28. Quantity and value of Silver produced in India during 1922 and 1923.

Burma

Northern Shan 4,205,584 1,00,39,362 669,291 4,843,939 1,01,16,985 674,466 States.

There was again a small increase in the production of tin-ore amounting to 121 tons. The total production of 1,996 tons was derived from Burma, Tavoy contributing 73.8 per cent., and Mergu 25.9 per cent. No block tin seems to have been produced by Mergui. Imports of unwrought tin increased considerably from 34,459 cwts. in 1922 to 48,342 cwts. in 1923; 90.7 per cent. of these imports came from the Straits Settlements.

1922.

TIN-ORE.

BLOCK TIN.

TIN-ORE.

BLOCK TIN.

Tons.

Rs.

:

Tons.

Rs.

£

Tons.

Rs.

11.8

16,339

1,089

:

3.2

2,002

133

TABLE 30.-Imports of unwrought Tin (block, ingots, slabs) into India during 1922 and 1923.

The production of wolfram decreased slightly from 943 tons. valued at Rs. 3,75,532 (£25,035) during the previous year, to 872 tons valued at Rs. 4,79,693 (£31,979) in 1923. The decrease in output was, however, accompanied by a considerable increase in total value, amounting to £6,944. Practically the whole of the output was derived from the Tavoy district. Recent experiments have found a use for tungsten carbide as a substitute for the "bort used in the crowns of core-drills. The carbide is said to have a hardness very little inferior to "bort," and to be cheaper. As

66

the price of bort "

is between £10 and £12 a carat, the substitution of tungsten carbide may add a much needed impetus to the wolframmining industry.

TABLE 31.-Quantity and value of Tungsten-ore produced in India during

against 18,061 tons in the preceding year. The ore is found in association with galena in the Bawdwin mines leased by the Burma Corporation, Limited.

Alum.

Amber.

III. MINERALS OF GROUP II.

The production of alum in the Mianwali district of the Punjab decreased by 48 per cent. The output amounted to 3,456 cwts. valued at Rs. 64,472 (£4,298) in 1923 as against 6,632 cwts. valued at Rs. 99,760 (£6,651) in 1922. The production of amber in Burma rose from 3'6 cwts. valued at Rs. 1,960 (£131) in 1922 to 47.9 cwts. valued at Rs. 13,720 (£915) in the year under review. An output of 1,082 tons of apatite was reported from the apatite magnetite deposits of Singhbhum; the Apatite. value of the production was Rs. 10,820 (£721). There was also a production of 3,680 tons of "phosphate" valued at Rs. 70,000 (£4,667) from the Nandup area in Singhbhum, against 1,340 tons valued at Rs. 17,000 (£1,133) in 1922.

The production of asbestos amounted to 247 tons valued at Rs. 9,880 (£659) in 1923 as against 242 tons valued at Rs. 10,520 (£701) in the preceding year. The whole output came from the Hassan district in Mysore State.

Asbestos.

There was no production from the Central Provinces.

Barytes.

Of the total production of 2,570 tons of barytes valued at Rs. 42,749 (£2,850), 1,603 tons valued at Rs. 22,749 (£1,517) were reported from the Karnul district of the Madras Presidency, and the balance, 967 tons valued at Rs. 20,000 (£1,333), from the Alwar State, Rajputana. The total output in 1922 amounted to 2,392-2 tons valued at Rs. 48,000 (£3,200).

An output of 5,768 tons of bauxite valued at Rs. 54,065 (£3,604) was reported from Kaira in the Bombay Presidency. The Katni Cement and Industrial Company,

Bauxite.

Limited, extracted 779 tons of bauxite valued at Rs. 1,168 (£78) from the mines in the Jubbulpore district, Central Provinces. There was no production of bauxite in the Savant vadi State during the year 1923.

The total estimated value of building stone and road-metal produced in the year under consideration was Rs. 76,86,138 (£512,409), (see Table 32). Certain returns supplied in cubic feet have been converted into tons on the basis of certain assumed relations between volume and weight.

Building materials and

Road-metal.