[Inclosure in No. 300.]
I send you herewith all the statistics of the gold produced and exported
from this port and district, covering a period from November, 1883, to
the 18th of the present month.
During the months of November and December, 1883, the value of the gold
exported from this port was $28,920. Previous statistics are
unattainable, but the amount exported from the opening of the port is
said to be very great. The total value of the gold exported during the
year 1884 was $110,265. The total value exported during 1885 was $357,
148. The value of the gold exported from the first of the present year
to the end of March was $89,641, while the amount sent away in one
steamer this month (18th instant) was $21,559.
These statistics, of course, do not account for the gold carried overland
to Seoul, or for that which is taken north over the boundary, the value
of which is said to be very great.
Nearly all the gold exported from here is produced within an area of 60
miles from the port.
The method employed by the Coreans in washing the gold is very primitive,
and a great deal of the line gold dust is lost. All the gold exported
from here is alluvial, and I have not been able to satisfy myself yet
that any other than surface gold is mined in this country, although I
have seen a fair sample of gold-bearing quartz, and have been told by
the natives that “stone gold” is produced in the northern part of this
province, from which the gold is extracted by a crushing and washing
process.
The number of people working last year in the gold fields is estimated at
ten thousand, which was far above the average, and is accounted for by
the fact that more people were allowed to go to the fields on account of
the bad harvest, and which may possibly account for the increased amount
of gold exported as compared with previous years.
There seem to be several different methods of obtaining mining grants. In
some cases the miners appear to hold the claims by a payment of a fee,
while in other cases the gold appears to be purchased by officials
appointed for the purpose at a fixed tariff. Of this, however, I am not
certain; it is very hard to get any reliable information from the
natives in relation to gold.
The principal mining place in this district is near the city of
Yung-Hung, abou 40 miles from this port. However, gold appears to be
found in considerable quantities in many parts of this country,
noticeably on the Yumen River. Reliable information in regard to the
quantity produced, however, cannot be obtained.
Gold is also found near Fusah, at Ma-san-pho, in fair quantity. The same
difficulty has to be borne there as in other places, i. e., after getting down to good pay gravel the products are
generally flooded, and as the natives have no pumping appliances, the
work has to be abandoned until the water falls.
The period of mining seems to extend from the time the crops are in the
ground till the harvest time, people coming from all parts of the
country to wash for gold.
You may have noticed, in No. 1 of the quarterly returns, that in the
“Treasure Table” for this port the amount exported for the quarter
ending December, 1885, is given as taels 7,761,180; this is rather
misleading, as it is not value, but weight * * * Reckoning the value of
the gold at $20 per tael, the amount would be about $155,000.
I am under the impression that gold in paying quantities is found at many
places between hero and Seoul. The greatest difficulty, as I have
elsewhere remarked, is experienced in getting reliable information from
the natives. One man will tell [Page 222]
that a certain place is rich in gold, while another will say that there
is none at all; the probability being, however, that they are both
incorrect.
This province (Ham-Kyöng Do) is rich in other minerals, copper and iron
being found in large quantities not far from the port. At Kapoan, about
500 li north of here, good coal is said to be abundant, and copper and
lead. I have not heard of coal nearer than that, although it is quite
possible that there may be plenty.
Coal is found about 25 or 30 miles from Fusan. I have only seen the
surface shale but I have heard that people at Fusan have burned it and
say that it is not good; however, it may be that it was not taken from a
good depth.
note.
I have recently learned that the Chinese officials and merchants are
actively interested in the gold mine of Corea at Yung-Hung (near
Wönsan). I have it on good authority that these mines were visited
recently by the Chinese consul at Wonsan, and he has stated that there
are 20,000 men working at the mines in the district.
Each man pays to the Government for the privilege of mining about 6
candareens, weight, of gold or its equivalent in
money. The consul intimated his whim to go to Seoul soon, and that
Chinese interest in gold mining at Yung-Hung would be extended.
There can be no doubt that China’s policy with regard to Corea has, for a
large section of its base, her cognizance of the undeveloped mineral
wealth of the country.
GEORGE C. FOULK,
Ensign U. S. Navy,
Chargé d’Affaires ad interim.
