are fair deposits to be found at Silver Mine Bay, Lead Mine Pass and Lin Ma Hang.
Iron is everywhere in evidence but the only deposit which so far has attracted a major commercial exploitation is the lenticular magnetite mass at Ma On Shan on the mainland. Its production is exported almost entirely to Japan. Surface scratchings for ochre, a hydrated oxide of iron, are worked on and off. The ochre is used by small local paint companies.
Wolfram, which is loosely called tungsten, occurs in several places. It is mined officially and unofficially at Shing Mun, Castle Peak, Ho Chung and on Lantao Island.
Kaolin, not excluding the great reserves of building stones and sand and gravel deposits, is certainly the most valuable of the proved deposits in the Colony both in quantity and quality. It occurs everywhere in varying degrees of purity ranging from the best ball clay to the coarser varieties. Of the many deposits now being worked, the pit at Cha Kwo Ling is the most valuable and productive. Much of the clay from this pit is exported to Japan but some is used locally in the ceramic industry. Elsewhere other deposits are mined for the various brick, face powder, tooth powder and rubber companies.
There are stone quarries sited all round the coast. The orna- mental grey Hong Kong granite is most usually worked for building stone. Sands and gravels are available in large quantities mainly from the raised beaches along the coasts.
INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION
Although 1950 was a reasonably good year for Hong Kong's industry, exports showed a slight decrease when compared with 1949. Local manufacturers have continued their efforts to improve the quality of their goods by introducing up-to-date machinery and methods of production, and at the 8th Annual Exhibition given by the Chinese Manufacturers' Union in December great improvements in the quality of the goods were noticeable in the extensive range of products on display. A record number of 750,000 people visited the Exhibition.
In the same month, however, the United States Government placed a complete embargo upon shipments to Hong Kong, and the local industry, which depends to a great extent on raw material supplies from North America, was faced with a grave crisis. Full details of the extent of the ban were not available at the close of the year, but it was believed that essential raw materials would be placed under strict export control and that Hong Kong's industry might well suffer a blow from which it may take years to recover.
Certificates of Origin (and Imperial Preference Certificates) were issued in 1950 for goods valued at $196 million (£12,250,000) but this figure does not represent the total quantity of Hong Kong manufactured goods sent overseas since for some countries such certificates are not usually required.
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