PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
C.O. 885
22 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
9. Survey
of mining leases and exclusive prospect. ing licences.
10. Areas within the
the minefield
72
Great difficulty was experienced in getting accurate and up-to-date informa- tion as to the number of areas granted, and the names of the holders, but eventually the Government Inspector of Mines supplied the Officer in Charge, Mines Survey Section, with lists showing all mining leases and exclusive prospecting licences within the closed area of the minefield of which he had received notice up to and including 31st July, 1913. Columns I. and V. on pages 1 to 7 in Appendix B, and similar columns, pages 1 to 19 in Appendix C, are compiled from these lists. Alterations and corrections have been made from information obtained subsequently to that date. Pages 7 to 9 in Appendix B, and pages 19 to 22 in Appendix C, show the areas granted between 1st August, 1913, and 31st December, 1913, and the dates on which the Government Inspector of Mines informed the officer in charge, Mines Survey Section that he had received notice from Zungeru of such grants.
Page 10, Appendix B, and pages 22 and 23, Appendix C, show areas which had been recommended by the Advisory Committee, Naraguta, during 1913, prior to the arrival of the mines survey section surveyor on the area. They have been surveyed by the latter to avoid having to return to the same place again at a later date, and thus waste time.
By Chief Secretary's telegram, No. 9303/m, dated 16th December, 1913, the closed area of Director of Surveys, Northern Provinces, took over all areas lying in Kano and taken over by Zaria Provinces within the closed minefield from 31st December, 1913. By the Director Surveyor-General's telegram to Officer in Charge, Mines Survey Section, No. 161312, dated 13th December, 1913, the same officer will probably take over similar areas at Nassarawa Province from 15th February, 1914.
of Surveys,
Northern Provinces.
11. Sum- mary of
areas ac-
counted for by mines survey
section and
of those
remaining
to be done.
12. Guaran-
tee given
by mines survey
section of
The following summary is, therefore, obtained from Appendices (B) and (C):—
Within the closed Minefleld.
Areas granted aud in force on 31st July, 1913 Areas of which Officer in Charge, Mines Survey Section, received notification of grant between 1st August, 1913, and 31st December, 1913. Areas surveyed by mines survey section but notifi
cation of title, letter or number not received by mines survey section on 31st December, 1913.
Areas granted (before and after closing of minefield)
Mining Leases.
Exclusive Prospecting Liouncer.
Total.
149
307
456
67
42
109
23
13
36
239
362
601
up to 31st December, 1913, remaining to be surveyed in-
Zaria Province
8
31
Kano Province
Nil.
Nil.
Nassarawa Province
Nil.
19
Central Province
36
20
44
70
114
Total areas accounted for by No. 1 party at time of
leaving country.
187
TEE
On August 13th, in his letter, No. 3/2/1, the Officer in Charge, Mines Survey Section, stated that he was prepared (with immediate addition of one subaltern to replace the two non-commissioned officers who were sent home in May) to account for all areas granted and in force on 31st July, 1913, after the closing of the mine- number of field, although the size of No. 1 party, mines survey section, was based on the number areas No. 1 of areas in existence at the closing of the field. This guarantee was based on figures supplied by the Government Inspector of Mines, who stated, at the time, that the total areas in existence on 31st July, 1913, were 470. Afterwards, when his detailed lists were received, the totals there shown only amounted to 456.
party would complete.
13. Unfore-
Reen losses
in the strength of the party.
The subaltern, however, did not join the party, and the two non-commissioned officers sent home in May were not replaced until December.
Further, from paragraph 2 of this report it will be seen that owing to sickness there has been a total loss of 27 months' possible output of work between 1st August, 1913, and 28th February, 1914, which was not, and could not have been, foreseen at the time the guarantee was given. The losses were equivalent to reducing the party from 14 to 10 from August, 1913, to February, 1914.
73
In spite of this loss, No. 1 party have exceeded the number of areas guaranteed 14. Guaran- by 17, for, by paragraph 12, a guarantee of 470 was given, while by paragraph 11, tee ex- 487 have been accounted for.
ceeded.
15. Areas granted after the closing of
Appendices (B) and (C) show that up to 31st December, 1913, 167 areas had the minefield been granted after the closing of the minefield. On the departure of No. 1 party, been sur- there will only remain 43 of these to be done.
which have
veyed by No. t party, mines
survey section.
The mines sur-
vey section
Columns VII. and VIII. of Appendices (B) and (C) explain themselves. The 16. Earn- total amount of fees which would have been earned by No. 1 party, if the Minerals ing of the Proclamation, 1913, had been in force on 1st January, 1913, is £14,418 12s. 2d. estimates for No. 1 party for 1912/1913/1914 (making no deduction for the saving by survey that will accrue on the 1914 estimate owing to over 50 per cent. of the party returning fees. to England before completing the tour originally intended) amount to £13,948. Hence it follows that, not counting a large number of instruments and stores in stock and available for the permanent survey staff at a future date (value at least £1,000) and the triangulating of 7,500 square miles of country, which is already being made use of by the Residents and others of the Political Department, No. 1 party, mines survey section, would have earned for the Government £470 12s. 2d. over and above their cost.
further
Owing to the last unrestricted general prospecting right not expiring until the 17. Neces 2nd of March, 1914, applications are still being received, although the minefield was sity for closed in November, 1912, and, as far as the Central Province is concerned, has not yet been declared open. The Government Inspector of Mines states that he has been for informed of the grant of 20 areas in Central Province alone since 1st January, 1914, to get
No. 2 party to date. No. 2 party, which it was estimated would be here by the middle of survey ap January, 1914, has not yet arrived, and, from latest advices, cannot possibly do so till towards the middle of April, 1914. If the check survey of all areas granted before and after the closing of the minefield is to be completed previous to the reopening of the field, the above will show the necessity of affording No. 2 party an increase in strength to bring the date of reopening within the prospect of the imme-
diate future.
to date
The experience gained by the work and health of No. 1 party proves, indubitably, 18. Twelvo that to keep surveyors out in the field for a consecutive twelve months or more on the months Nigerian tinfield is wasteful in the long run of output of work and very deleterious fieldwork to the bodily powers of any man permanently employed on the survey of the Northern efficiency.
too long for Provinces. Although it was fully realised by all in No. 1 party, mines survey section, that they had been sent out for a special purpose, to work at forced pressure for a period of some fourteen months in order to complete a particular piece of work, yet, after about eight months it was found that it was impossible to expect the same rate of output of work as had been obtained at the beginning of the tour, and the diminu- tion was so great that the return of work did not balance the expense of the surveyor and his labour for his camp.
The proof of the inadvisability of laying down twelve months in the fields as a 19.Systems recognised tour for surveyors in the field in a tropical climate is found in the fact adopted by that in the Survey Department of India the plan of giving the surveyor alternate other sur- six months work in the field and in the drawing office has been adopted, whilst in the
vey depart- Southern Province Survey Department the field season consists of eight months, only,
ments. out of every twelve.
14th March, 1914.
(No. 2/17/D.)
SIR,
F. GILES,
Captain, R.E..
in charge Minefield Survey.
Surveyor-General's Office, 23rd March, 1914.
I HAVE the honour to make the following remarks on the complete report of No. 1 party's work which was furnished direct to you by Captain Giles.
2. Paragraph 3.-The difficulty experienced in obtaining reliable information Existing at Zungeru emphasizes the necessity for careful and methodical upkeep of records.
infor-
The impossibility, owing to the absence of sufficient connection between the plan records,
mation anul
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