116 ECONOMIC CONDITIONS [NO.99 .

the world . The present mining programme will keep the plant supplied until 1920 or 1921 .

Up to 1915 five furnaces had been installed. Two others, capable of turning out 600 tons monthly, are now in course of erection . The production of copper since 1911 is as follows : Year. Copper (metric tons ). 1911 997 1912 2,492 1913 7,407 1914 10,722 1915 14,190 1916 22,2001 The cost of production per ton has been reduced considerably by the latest improved furnaces. The cost per ton of copper from Katanga delivered in England in 1916 is shown by the following figures : d. By old furnaces . 27 16 0 By new furnaces 22 15 Average cost 25 12 0 Average cost of rail, freight, insurance , &c . 15 19 3 Total cost of production and dispatch to England . 41 11 3 In normal times, with improved furnaces, the last figure would be about £30, and on the completion of the Benguela Railway it is expected that the cost of transport will be greatly reduced.

About 50 per cent. of the shares of the Union Minière . are held by the Tanganyika Concessions, Ltd. , which also holds 90 per cent . of the Benguela Railway Company's shares, the remaining 10 per cent. being in the hands of the Portuguese Government ; 70 per cent . of the shares of the Rhodesia-Katanga Junction Railway Co. are also held by Tanganyika Concessions.

1 The value of the output in 1916 is given as 66,000,000 francs ; the total exports from the Colony in that year were valued at 122,000,000 francs .

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