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PRIMARY PRODUCTION
which operate revolving loan funds with a total capital of some $1.2 million and a turnover of $210,000 a year. Yet a further source of credit is the World Refugee Year Loan Fund for Co- operative Societies with a capital of over $450,000. The fund is designed to provide loans for a wide variety of purposes of social or economic benefit to societies and their members. Up to the end of 1965 loans totalling $104,700 had been issued from this source.
During the year 13 societies were registered bringing the total on the register to 396. At present there are 15 different types of societies. A table showing the number of societies in being at 31st December 1965 with details of their membership, share capital, deposits and reserve funds will be found in Appendix XXIV.
MINING
Iron ore, wolframite and graphite are mined underground, and kaolin, feldspar and quartz by opencast methods. Iron ore con- centrate (magnetite) is exported to Japan, wolframite to the United States, graphite to Britain, the United States and Taiwan, and kaolin to Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines. All the feldspar and quartz, and about 25 per cent of the kaolin, are consumed by local light industries. During 1965, the productive capacity of the Ma On Shan iron mine was increased by 40 per cent following installation of additional equipment in the grinding section of its ore-dressing plant. There was little interest in wolframite as the market price remained low, and only one mine at Needle Hill was in production during the year., Prospectors_for graphite made no discoveries of any economic importance.
The ownership and control of all minerals is vested in the Crown under the Mining Ordinance 1954. The Commissioner of Mines is empowered to issue prospecting and mining licences, and the Land Officer to issue mining leases. Prospecting licences are valid for periods of six months, renewable up to a maximum of five years. Mining licences are valid for periods of six months, renewable up to a maximum of five years, but may be extended further with the consent of the Governor. Mining leases are granted for periods up to a maximum of 21 years. Details of leases and licences in operation are published twice a year in the Government Gazette. At the end of 1965, there were three mining leases, 17 mining