NIGERIA & ITS TIN FIELDS
NIGERIA AND
ITS TIN FIELDS
BY
ALBERT F. CALVERT
AUTHOR OF “WESTERN AUSTRALIA AND ITS GOLDFIELDS”
“THE MINERAL RESOURCES OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA”
“THE EXPLORATION OF AUSTRALIA,” “THE
POLITICAL VALUE OF OUR COLONIES”
ETC. ETC.
LONDON: EDWARD STANFORD
12, 13, & 14, LONG ACRE, W.C.
1910
Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & CO.
At the Ballantyne Press, Edinburgh
PREFACE
The present conspicuous position which Northern Nigeria holds in the
public eye is of very recent attainment, and its development has been,
comparatively speaking, the work of a moment. The discovery of tin in
paying quantities within its boundaries is the secret of its sudden leap
to an eminence from which it compels interest, and attracts to itself
more than ordinary curiosity and attention. It is with Northern Nigeria
as it was with New South Wales and California, with the Malay Peninsula
and Rhodesia. Their potentialities were admitted long before the
existence of their mineral wealth was made known, but it was not until
their minerals were discovered that they loomed into absorbing prominence.
The importance of Northern Nigeria as a British possession was
demonstrated by the Niger Company; her possibilities as an exporter of
cotton, rubber, and other vegetable products were early admitted; but
it needed the revelation of her enormous alluvial tin deposits in the
Province of Bauchi to attract to the development of her resources the
capital and enterprise which alone can ensure the growth of a country’s
commerce.
But this sudden and surprising discovery also served to expose the
widespread ignorance which prevailed in connection with our newest
Protectorate, while it generated a desire for information concerning it.
This little volume is put forward to satisfy this new-felt want, and it
has, I think, the merit of being the first issued with that object. It
has been compiled in haste, but care has been taken to verify the facts,
and, as far as possible, the data has been derived from official sources.
I believe that no apology will be required for the illustrations, but
for the use of the photographs from which they were produced I tender
my grateful and sincere thanks to his Excellency Sir Walter Egerton,
K.C.M.G., Governor and High Commissioner of Southern Nigeria; Sir William
Wallace, K.C.M.G., late Acting Governor of Northern Nigeria; Mr. H. W.
Laws, Engineer to the Niger Company; Mr. C. G. Lush, Consulting Engineer
to the principal Nigerian Tin Companies; Mr. S. R. Bastard, Chairman and
Director of several of the most important Nigerian tin mining companies;
the Editor of the _Engineer_, Mr. R. Ernest Hope; Messrs. John Holt &
Co., Ltd.; Mr. G. W. Christian; Messrs. E. H. Stein & Co., Ltd., and
other prominent traders in Northern Nigeria.
A. F. CALVERT.
“ROYSTON,” ETON AVENUE, LONDON.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PLATE
Part of Marina, Lagos, Southern Nigeria 1
Marina, showing Customs, Lagos, Southern Nigeria 2
Lagos 3
Lagos. Amongst the Palms 4
Bird’s-eye View showing Marina and Town, Lagos 5
A portion of Lagos Town from Roof of New Mosque 6
Lagos 7
West End of Lagos from the French Factory 8
Steam Tram, Marina, Lagos 9
Lagos 10
Business Premises, Marina, Lagos 11
Part of Marina, Lagos 12
The Marina, Lagos 13
Club House, Lagos 14
Post Office, Lagos 15
Government House, Lagos 16
Public Wash “Houses,” Lagos 17
Public Washing Place, Elegrata, Lagos 18
Railway, Iddo 19
Yams (potatoes) on the Beach, Lagos 20
Fruit Market, Lagos 21
Corner of Market, Lagos 22
Iddo Station, Lagos 23
Railway Engine, Iddo 24
Fulani Sheep, Lagos 25
Bullock Cart 26
Forcados, Southern Nigeria 27
“Sir Alfred” Dry Dock, Forcados 28
Botanical Gardens, Ebute Metta, Lagos 29
Botanical Gardens, Ebute Metta, Lagos 30
Railway Crossing, Ebute Metta, Lagos 31
On the Road to Ebute Metta, Lagos 32
The Market, Burutu, Southern Nigeria 33
Burutu Market 34
Government Boat at Burutu 35
Palm Oil Stores, Burutu 36
Hospital, Burutu 37
Kwa River, Calabar Motor Boat “Spider,” Draught 9 inches 38
Two Jakrie Women, Burutu, Southern Nigeria 39
Jakrie Chief and one of his Wives 40
Large “Cotton Tree” at Okuni, Cross River 41
Jakrie Woman, Burutu 42
Chief Okrododo and two of his Sons, Burutu 43
Chief Okrododo, his Sons and Daughters: Jakrie Tribe, Burutu 44
Native Dancers at Awka in the Onitsha Hinterland, between Niger
and the Cross River 45
Native Market at Itu on Cross River 46
A Landing-place on Cross River 47
On the Ewayong, a Tributary of the Cross River 48
A Bridge over Auja River near Ogoja 49
Bridge built of Vines by Pagans 50
The “Spider” at Itu 51
Oshogbo Railway Station: Lady Egerton and District Commissioner
Mr. Gladstone, in Foreground 52
Cocoanut and Banana Palms 53
Sir Walter Egerton, Lady Egerton, Capt. Lawrence, Private Secretary,
Capt. Lloyd, A.D.C. 54
Lower Niger 55
Lower Niger 56
On the Banks of the Lower Niger 57
Shipping Rubber, Lower Niger 58
Village on the Lower Niger 59
Idah, River Niger 60
Messrs. G. W. Christian’s Store at Idah, Niger River 61
Ejaws: Village Scene, Lower Niger 62
Bridge of Sighs, Lokoja, Northern Nigeria 63
Main Street, Lokoja Market 64
Native Judge or Alkale at Lokoja (A Copy of the Koran on his Lap) 65
Asaba Boys, Southern Nigeria 66
“Boys” who work the Cargo 67
Shipping Cotton, Lokoja, Northern Nigeria 68
Niger Company’s Depot at Lokoja 69
Produce Stores, Lokoja 70
Lokoja Market 71
Lokoja Market 72
Lokoja Market 73
Lokoja Market 74
Yams on the Beach, Lokoja 75
At the River-side, Lokoja 76
Lokoja 77
Lokoja 78
Marine Bungalow, Lokoja 79
European Hospital, Lokoja 80
Canteen at Lokoja 81
Bank, Lokoja 82
King Abiga, Lokoja, Northern Nigeria 83
Devil Man, Lokoja 84
Lokoja 85
Lokoja 86
Camp Road, Lokoja 87
Camp Road, Lokoja 88
Barracks, Lokoja 89
The Serrikin (King of Lokoja) and his Chiefs at the King’s House 90
Meat Market, Lokoja 91
Guard on Government Treasury, Lokoja 92
Messrs. Christian’s Store, Lokoja 93
Hausas Love Soap and Water 94
Coming in from the Country, Lokoja 95
Lokoja 96
Bridge of Sighs, Lokoja 97
Government Officials and others watching Gymkana, Lokoja 98
Hausa Women Hairdressing, Lokoja, Northern Nigeria 99
Barbers, Lokoja Market 100
Native Barber 101
Preparing Foofoo (Crushed Yams), Lokoja 102
Children at Play, Lokoja 103
Children in the Market, Lokoja, Northern Nigeria 104
Washing up, River Nigeria 105
A Quarrel, Lokoja Market 106
Washing Day on the Niger River, Northern Nigeria 107
Native Trading Canoe, Upper Niger, Northern Nigeria 108
Group of Hausa and Nupe Chiefs (Serrikin of Lokoja in Centre) 109
Black Bluejackets on the Government River Steamer “Kapelli” 110
S. W. “Ndoni” (Cargo Boat) on the Niger River 111
“Halstead” (Cargo Boat) on Niger River 112
High Commissioner’s Yacht “Corona” on the Niger 113
Hausa Canoe 114
Chief’s Canoe being saluted on the Niger 115
Nupe Town of Egga on the Niger 116
Egga, Northern Nigeria 117
Egbohu, Northern Nigeria, Landing-place of Expedition against Beda 118
Part of Rabba Village, Northern Nigeria 119
Unloading Salt, Jebba 120
Loading Steamer, Jebba 121
The S.S. “Scarborough” at Jebba 122
Looking up the Niger from Jebba 123
Mohammedan Mosque, Northern Nigeria 124
Palm Village, Northern Nigeria 125
Shonga, Northern Nigeria 126
Fulani Cattle, Northern Nigeria 127
On the Benue River 128
Camping on Benue River 129
Market at Lamugo, near Keffi 130
Cowrie Men paying Carriers per Basket 131
Making Lama Mats 132
Making Stools 133
Grinding Guinea Corn 134
Jukums at Abinsi 135
The Emir of Kano. (Now a Prisoner in Lokoja. Was the cause of the
Kano Rising in 1907) 136
Three Hausa Traders with Bundles of Skins from Kano 137
Cattle, near Nafada 138
Camels at Nafada 139
Selling Cotton in Nafada Market 140
Chief of Kanam 141
Head Men in Vom 142
Miango Chief and Head Men (Ex-Chief on Left) 143
Chief of Wase 144
Camps in Hos 145
Hausa Loom 146
Second Chief at Ibi 147
Wase Rock 148
Amo Men 149
Hausa Girl 150
Kabba Boy 151
Hausa Woman 152
Hausa Boy 153
Brother Healy and some of his Pupils, Onitsha 154
View on the Niger River 155
Messrs. G. W. Christian’s Store, Onitsha 156
Sir William Wallace, K.C.M.G. 157
Mr. S. R. Bastard 158
Mr. Laws in front of Office with Bars of Tin ready for Transport 159
First Camp at the Tin Mines, Naraguta 160
Naraguta Camp 161
Part of the Fuel Market, Bauchi 162
Surveying Party at Juga 163
Pagans paying a Visit to discuss Matters at Jos 164
Pagans bringing in a Present, Jos 165
Naraguta. Pagans coming in for Tin Loads to Jermaan. (We were
fighting them a year before) 166
Carriers leaving Naraguta Camp 167
Carriers crossing Delimi River 168
Naraguta. 190 Bars of Tin leaving Camp by Asab Pagans 169
A Camp. Survey Camp at Jos 170
Horses being brought as Tax 171
Part of actual Working Face, Naraguta 172
Launders at end of Tail Race at River’s Edge, Naraguta 173
Naraguta. Making Dam 174
Naraguta. Construction of Dam. Rukubar Pagans 175
Naraguta. View showing Back of Dam 176
Naraguta Dam 177
Naraguta 178
Naraguta 179
Naraguta 180
Naraguta. Four Sluice-boxes in Labourers’ Creek 181
Naraguta 182
Naraguta. View of Sluice-boxes, Labourers’ Creek 183
Naraguta. Moving Boxes to Face of Stope, Bala’s Stope 184
Naraguta. Two Sluice-boxes 185
Naraguta 186
Naraguta 187
Naraguta Camp 188
Opening Foot-bridge, Delimi River, Naraguta 189
Labourers’ Camp on the Tin Fields 190
Naraguta. Tin-workers working the Bed of the River in dry season 191
Naraguta. Construction of Leat by Rukubar Pagans 192
Naraguta. Construction of Leat by Rukubar Pagans 193
Washing Tin in Delimi River, Naraguta 194
Delimi River 195
View of Delimi River between Naraguta and Jos 196
Naraguta. View showing Flood-boxes on Leat 197
Naraguta 198
A Camp 199
Naraguta. Tributers washing Tin 200
Tin Washing 201
Naraguta. Half-length new Main Tail Race 202
Naraguta. No. 2. Looking up Main Tail Race 203
Naraguta. Lower View, No. 2, Main Tail Race 204
Naraguta. Close to Main Working Face, No. 2 Stope 205
Naraguta. Tin Mining. Yorubus Working in the Ground 206
Troops leaving Naraguta Camp for Bauchi 207
Nafuta Gorge, looking towards Juga. The Juga River runs down
the centre and passes to the Nafuta Flats 208
Nafuta Gorge. The River at this point is lost to sight to thirty
feet below the big boulders in the middle of the Ravine 209
Proposed Dam Site, Juga 210
Prospecting on Dubbo or Topaz Valley 211
Mr. C. G. Lush’s Camp at Juga 212
Camp of Messrs. Lush, Huddart and Walter Wethered 213
Messrs. Huddart and Lush prospecting on one of the Creeks of the
Dubbo or Topaz Valley Property 214
Face of Alluvial, 16 feet deep, averaging about 6 lbs. of Tin per
cubic yard; Dubbo or Topaz Valley Mine 215
Juga Camp: Pay-day 216
Rafinsiroma Camp 217
Rafinsiroma Dam, looking south-east 218
House-building, Rafinsiroma Tin Mines 219
A Group of Natives 220
View in Amo 221
A View in Vom 222
Mr. G. W. Christian, a Nigerian Trader 223
Steamers discharging at Baro 224
Baro Yard 225
Baro Beach just before the Railway was begun: Baro-Kano Railway 226
Setting out Earthwork at Patatifi, Baro-Kano Line 227
Temporary Bridge over the Bakogi River, Baro-Kano Line 228
Engine of the Emir Class on Steel Bridge, Baro-Kano Line 229
Earthwork in Progress, Baro-Kano Line 230
Straightening Road at Railhead, Baro-Kano Line 231
Niger End of the Line: View from Baro Hill 232
General View of Baro Station 233
Mr. H. W. Laws, Engineer to the Niger Company 234
Map of Southern Nigeria 235
Map of Northern Nigeria 236
Map showing Route of Railway from Baro to Rigachika 237
Map showing Railway and Roads to Tin Fields 238
Alluvial Tin Districts in the Bauchi Province 239
Plan of the Naraguta Tin Mines showing Workings 240
Properties of the Juga (Nigeria) Tin & Power Company, Limited 241
Properties of the Lucky Chance Mines, Limited, in the Dubbo
District 242
The Dubbo or Topaz Valley Property, belonging to the Lucky Chance
Mines, Limited 243
Rafinsiroma Tin Property, belonging to the Lucky Chance Mines,
Limited 244
The Polchi Alluvial Tin Property, belonging to the Lucky Chance
Mines, Limited 245
The Bilidi Alluvial Tin Property, belonging to the Lucky Chance
Mines, Limited 246
The Federri Alluvial Tin Property, the Tin Fields of Northern
Nigeria, Limited 247
Doss or Dila Tin Property, the Tin Fields of Northern Nigeria,
Limited 248
The Kurdum River Alluvial Tin Area 249
The Rein, Forum, Ribon, and Kurdum Alluvial Tin Areas 250
The Rein Alluvial Tin Area 251
The Farum Alluvial Tin Area 252
The Shen Alluvial Tin Area 253
South Bukeru Tin Area 254
Juga District 255
Gel Tin Lode and Alluvial Company 256
The Northern Nigeria (Bauchi) Tin Mines 257
Route from Minna to Tin Fields 258
New road from Railhead to Tin Fields 259
NIGERIA & ITS TIN FIELDS
EARLY DAYS IN NIGERIA
In 1879, when Sir George Taubman Goldie organised the amalgamation
of the rival trading firms of the Lower Niger and formed the United
Africa Company, only a few far-sighted people could have had any idea
of the possibilities of future commercial greatness that were possessed
by this utterly unattractive and uncivilised region. “The Niger,” as
Colonel Mockler-Ferryman tells us, “was absolutely tabooed; its name was
mentioned only in whispers, and the British public regarded it as an
unlucky, pestilential spot, out of which no good could ever come.” It
must be remembered, in explanation of this pessimistic attitude, that all
attempts to explore Nigeria and open up commerce on the river had failed
more or less completely; a great number of lives had been sacrificed in
successive expeditions, and no practical good had been accomplished.
McGregor Laird, some quarter of a century earlier, had founded the
African Shipping Company, with monthly sailings to the West African ports
and, with the grudging co-operation of the Government, had contracted to
keep a steamer on the Niger. But Laird died in 1857, when his spirited
enterprise appeared to be on the point of yielding tangible results, and
the country was still under a cloud when, twenty years later, the first
organised attempt was made to develop its commercial resources.
THE PROTECTORATE PROCLAIMED
The United Africa Company’s efforts were recognised by the grant of a
Royal Charter in 1886, but its mission and its potentialities failed
to appeal to the general public; and even when in 1900 the Territory,
with its area equal to that of Germany and the British Isles combined,
was added to the Dependencies of the Empire, the new Protectorate was
regarded with indifference and suspicion as a present burden and a
probable source of future trouble.
That was but a decade since, yet it was only the other day that Lord
Crewe declared that “there is no part of the Empire about which higher
hopes may properly be entertained than the Protectorate of Northern
Nigeria;” and the Colonial Report, in emphatic corroboration of this
optimistic opinion, asserted that “very few countries have witnessed such
great changes for the better in such a short space of time, as has been
the case with this Cinderella of the British Dominions.”
It must be admitted that the Nigerias have been of late years more
favoured in the matters of ocean transport and inter-communication.
Since McGregor Laird started his monthly service to Lagos, the African
Shipping Company has been succeeded by six shipping lines—the British and
African Steam Navigation, African Steamship, Elder Dempster, Woermann,
Hamburg-America, and the Hamburg-Bremen-Africa—the first three of
which, to all intents and purposes, may be classed as Elder Dempster’s.
Twenty-five liners and Elder Dempster’s regular services call at Lagos
each month—one nearly every day of the week. Two vessels of some four
thousand tons are exclusively employed in bringing Welsh coal to Lagos;
and a cargo service, another Elder Dempster enterprise, now runs from
inside Lagos Lagoon to Hamburg, thus avoiding the transhipping of cargo
in Lagos Roads or at Forcados. Persons who only know of Elder Dempster’s
famous service of ocean liners, which leave Liverpool every Wednesday and
arrive at Lagos Roads sixteen days later, may be surprised to learn that
they have a large and distinct inter-colonial service between Lagos and
Secondi. These vessels, built of light draught to enable them to cross
Lagos bar, not only afford shippers a short and rapid means of forwarding
their produce, but are of immense service to the growing number of
natives who travel, mostly for trade purposes, between Lagos and the
smaller ports along the Gold Coast; while another Elder Dempster service
runs weekly to and from Porto Novo in Dahomey and Lagos, carrying general
outward cargo and bringing back produce for shipment to the United
Kingdom and the Continent.
These services, which cater for the ramifications of the commercial
activities of West Africa, are practically unknown at home, and the
organisation and development of this enormous industry was, to a
great extent, the work of one man—the late Sir Alfred Lewis Jones. It
has been said of him that “when the story of our times comes to be
written comprehensively, he will be bracketed with Cecil John Rhodes.
One obtained a large territory for the Empire; the other enhanced
immeasurably countries formerly judged as of questionable value. He
was a pioneer in building up their commerce, and is of still higher
estimate—he was instrumental in making them more fit to live in by
revolutionising the health conditions.” His varied commercial enterprises
in West Africa are well known, and it is unnecessary here to enlarge
upon them. They ranged from coaling and engineering companies with dry
docks, to banking—which facilitated relations between the natives and the
European traders—and included his cold-storage scheme, which the medical
faculty admit has been one of the most powerful factors in lowering the
mortality of West Africa. This object was also largely assisted by the
investigations carried out at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.
The school was financed by Sir Alfred Jones, who also provided the
means for putting the resultant discoveries into practice. He further
established a branch of the School at Grand Canary, and arranged with
Elder Dempster a cheap service from the West African Coast to the Canary
Islands for malaria patients, whose lives depend upon their reaching that
Mecca for invalids. By such means the dead merchant prince has lowered
the death-rate among Europeans and natives in West Africa to a degree
unthought of fifteen years ago, and he has built in that part of the
Continent a monument to his name more enduring than brass, because the
foundation was made for the betterment of his fellow-men.
THE NIGER COMPANY
But if the Elder Dempster Line have accomplished great things in
establishing regular communication between England and the new
Dependencies, much splendid pioneer work has been done in the country
by the Niger Company. During the last few years they have opened up the
Bauchi tin field in Northern Nigeria, and their trading and transport
facilities have made it possible for them to carry out an enormous amount
of development under great difficulties. The directors have had the
courage of their convictions. In forwarding their own interests they have
benefited the Protectorate, and if they have profited by their enterprise
they have made the country a source of profit for others.
From the proceeds of the surrender of its charter to the British
Government in 1900, the company were able to make a special distribution
to its shareholders amounting to 145 per cent., and the sale of certain
of their mining rights in the Bauchi Province has more than repaid them
for the work that they had carried on in the district since 1902, and
resulted in raising their dividend payment in 1909 from ten to twenty
per cent. And in addition the Niger Company possess practically a
monopoly of the transport to the tin fields, the value of which cannot be
overestimated.
The Niger Company’s share of the credit that is due for effecting this
great improvement in the present condition and future prospects of the
Protectorate may be at once admitted; but much has been accomplished
since the control of the country devolved upon the British Colonial
Office. In 1900 only some 30,000 square miles, out of a total of 250,000
in Northern Nigeria, were under some form of organised control. The
remainder was controlled and ruled under conditions giving no guarantee
of liberty or even life. To-day the whole condition of the country is
entirely altered. Sixteen provinces, comprising the entire Protectorate,
have been organised by the never-ceasing efforts of Residents, and the
sum total of the unadministered area does not now exceed the 30,000
square miles that were under administration ten years ago.
PROGRESS OF SOUTHERN NIGERIA
At the date of the proclamation of the Nigerian Protectorates the
Southern Colony was in a much more advanced state of development than its
Northern neighbour, and was naturally regarded as the paramount partner.
It had a sea border, a port at Lagos, which to-day is the most important
town in West Africa, and it was destined to be the terminus of the first
railway to be built in the new Dependencies. The markets and trading
stations of the Niger Company were within its boundaries, the fertility
of the soil was proved, its richness in rubber, tobacco, and coal was
established, and its wealth of other vegetable products was well known.
It is not at all surprising, then, that British pioneers and capitalists
saw the splendid commercial future that was before Southern Nigeria,
and were somewhat neglectful of the distant, isolated, and inaccessible
Northern territories. Nor were they wrong, for the advance of its trade
justified the most sanguine predictions, and, as will be seen by a glance
at the appended tables (prepared in francs by Mr. C. A. Birtwistle, the
Commercial Intelligence Officer of the Colony), its commerce to-day
practically equals the total of the French Colonies of Senegal, Guinea,
the Ivory Coast, and Dahomey:—
All French
West African Colonies. Nigeria.
Imports and Exports. Imports and Exports.
Value in Francs. Value in Francs.
1899 116,843,000 78,000,000
1900 129,861,000 90,575,000
1901 131,459,000 96,625,000
1902 130,906,000 112,325,000
1903 161,819,000 111,700,000
1904 155,949,000 130,100,000
1905 152,471,000 128,775,000
1906 163,442,000 144,925,000
1907 177,436,000 192,550,000
1908 193,090,000 184,550,000
It will be noted at a glance that whilst French West African trade has
increased by 65 per cent., that of Nigeria has grown by 136 per cent.
ANTICIPATIONS OF NORTHERN NIGERIA’S FUTURE
Northern Nigeria, however, was known to be rich in iron, and the
existence of other minerals was suspected; its suitability as a field
for the exploitation of the cotton-growing industry was realised and
the British Cotton-Growing Association reported a few years ago that
“in Northern Nigeria alone lies the possible salvation of Lancashire.”
Moreover, the Directors of the Niger Company had always foretold the
ultimate importance that would be attained by the regions north of the
Niger and the Benue. The company’s trade flourished in the south, new
products were being continually discovered and new factories opened, and
the optimism of its shareholders was justified by the declaration of
substantial dividends, but Sir George Goldie consistently predicted the
boundless potentialities of the unopened North, and as far back as 1889
declared: “We can hardly impress too strongly upon our shareholders that
our hopes of future prosperity rest far less on the lower regions of the
Niger than upon the higher, inner, and recently explored country.”
Sir Percy Girouard and others have warned the public against confusing
Northern and Southern Nigeria, and running away with the idea that there
is no great difference between them. As Colonel Mockler-Ferryman says:
“Commencing with what is called the Niger Delta, we have a land of swamps
and impenetrable forests, intersected by a vast network of streams and
creeks and inhabited by numerous pagan tribes addicted to every species
of vile custom, including even cannibalism and human sacrifices.... Above
the pagan land—_i.e._, at the confluence [of the rivers Niger and Benue]
there is a marked change, not only in the type of the people but also in
the nature of the country. Mohammedan influence commences to show itself,
and low swampy wastes are superseded by rocky hills or far-extending
grassy plains, well studded with magnificent trees.”
NATIVE TIN WASHING
The existence of alluvial tin in these Northern regions was known for
some considerable time, but until a year or two ago its value as a
commercial asset was not seriously considered. Rumours of such sources
of wealth frequently reached the Niger Company, and quantities of small
faggots of very pure metal, which occasionally found their way down
to the coast, afforded evidence that the natives had been working and
smelting tin for a lengthy period. It was subsequently discovered that
the procedure adopted by the native Nigerian tin miners, and described by
Mr. Nicolaus, is as follows:
“The washers, usually working in gangs of three or four, wade into the
river, tributary creeks and gullies, generally at or near some shallow
rapids, and, loosening the gravel under water with a short hoe-like
implement, scoop it into large calabashes about 18 inches to 24 inches
in diameter. As soon as sufficient gravel is collected (about 30 lbs.),
it is washed, and the resulting rough concentrate placed in a smaller
calabash, 6 inches to 8 inches in diameter, and thoroughly cleansed,
nearly all the fine tinstone being lost. The resulting ‘black tin’
containing the equivalent of from 60 to 65 per cent. metal, is sun-dried,
and packed in bags and skins for transport to the smelting furnaces.
“This ‘black tin’ is usually smelted in various parcels on a royalty
basis, exclusively by members of one family, who hold the process
a profound secret. Only three native smelting furnaces are in use,
and these are each capable of turning out about 2 cwt. of metal per
diem. They are built of well-puddled clay, and are 3 feet 6 inches in
diameter, and have at the back four tuyère holes conducting the blast
from primitive sheepskin bellows to the hearth. The tin is reduced by
means of charcoal, and runs through a channel 2 feet 6 inches long and
4 inches broad to a catch-pot, whence it is ladled by small gourds or
calabashes and poured. The tin is cast in the form of thin bars of about
an eighth of an inch in diameter and 12 inches long, which are produced
by pouring the molten metal on semi-circular banks of clay, 18 inches
high, perforated by dry Guinea corn-halms.”
THE DISCOVERY OF BAUCHI TIN
The first actual discovery of tin in the Protectorate, or the first
conclusive evidence of its actual existence there, has hitherto been
‘wrop in mystery,’ but, thanks to the courtesy of Sir William Wallace,
late acting Governor of Northern Nigeria, I am in a position to dispel
all uncertainty on the subject. In the course of a letter I received
from Sir William, dated 21st October 1910, he says:—“Up to ’84 we used
to believe that the tin used by the Hausa people for tinning their brass
ware was brought across the desert. I then, being busily engaged opening
up the Benue River to trade, got a hint that the tin was being smelted
in some of the Hausa States, and, on making inquiries, found that it
was being produced in Bauchi. We did all possible to develop the trade
in the tin straws, but with little success, as the pagan tribes would
have no dealings with the Hausa merchants, and rightly so, as it would
have only led to the subjection of the tribes to the Fulani, whom they
kept at bay till our advent in 1902. Early in that year I went with the
little army as Political Agent to subdue the Emir of Bauchi, and after
settling that matter I was able to get messengers through to the Delimi
River, close to the Naraguta, from whence they brought about a quarter
of a hundredweight of the tin sands, the first ever procured or seen by
Europeans. This sample I brought home, and submitted to the Directors of
the Niger Company, who shortly afterwards took out a prospecting licence
over 1000 square miles. Since then, thanks principally to Mr. Laws, the
mining industry has slowly forged ahead, until the rush came along this
year. Year in, year out, I have been urging companies and encouraging
prospectors to come along until I almost despaired of success; but now,
given a railway to the tin field, the industry cannot but prosper if the
Government do not hamper it with too many restrictions.”
THE NIGER COMPANY’S EXPEDITION
Sir William Wallace’s tribute to the work done by Mr. Laws, the plucky
and importunate mining adviser of the Niger Company, is entirely
merited. The existence of paying tin was regarded with some scepticism.
It has also been surmised that the officials and civil servants had
too comfortable berths to risk the disappointments and discomforts
of prospecting work. Moreover, the Niger Company was in a flourishing
condition, and its directors were not anxious to launch into mining
enterprises. But Mr. Laws and his assistants were indefatigable. In 1902
and 1903 three expeditions were despatched to locate the tin areas. The
little party, under the protection of an armed escort—for at that time
the natives, now so friendly, were somewhat hostile—proceeded to make a
geological examination of the country east of the Niger, and eventually
found tin in the Province of Bauchi, some 600 miles to the north-east of
Lokoja. Further prospecting located the stanniferous area to the outlines
of the Gura Mountains, a small range known as the Naraguta and Shere
Hills in the Badiko district of that province.
THE FIRST GEOLOGICAL REPORTS
The geology of the area, as described by Mr. R. C. Nicolaus, is composed
of granites, igneous intrusions of diabase and porphyry forming the
prominent peaks of the hill range. Near the river a coarse grey gneiss
forms a contact with the granite, both of which rocks are traversed by
lenticles and gash veins of quartz, and several small igneous dykes
cross diagonally the general strike of country, which is north-east and
dips west.
Although the stream tin had so far only been prospected in the
neighbourhood of the rivers, there was abundant evidence to show that the
source of the tin supply came from a stockwork formation in the granite
at the slopes and at the base of the foot-hills. A somewhat remarkable
feature of this deposit was that a considerable quantity of metallic
tin was discovered under the river banks during prospecting operations.
It was found in small grains and nodules about the size of a bean,
its surface very thinly coated with only a trace of iron. It was very
ductile, and emitted, on crushing, the peculiar tin cry. Its mode of
occurrence in the gravels, associated with coarse grains of stream tin
at a depth of some 15 feet under the surface, did not at first allow its
genesis being determinable, but it was unhesitatingly put down as “native
tin”—a mineral up to that time of very rare occurrence.
FIRST SHIPMENT OF TIN
Mr. Laws and his engineers were so well satisfied with their work, and
the results they produced were so encouraging, that the Niger Company
applied in 1905 for a number of mining leases in selected areas. In
spite of slight difficulties arising from a scarcity of water in the dry
season, a considerable amount of development work was accomplished, and
the company secured an output of one ton of black tin per diem. These
results proved that the gravels could be worked profitably, while the
geological structure of the country compelled experts to the conclusion
that the field represented by far the most important discovery of native
tin that had been made. Further examination of the district, which fully
confirmed the expectations raised by the first reports, has inspired the
prediction that this Northern Nigerian tin field is perhaps the richest
in the world.
The Niger Company continued to treat the alluvial in the old primitive
method, which consists in the main of the use of calabash and sluice
boxes, by which they have, up to the present time, secured over 1000
tons of black tin. Still, the mineral resources of the colony were not,
until recently, appreciated in accordance with the proved facts. Lord
Scarborough year after year had told the British public, in his annual
speech to the shareholders of the Niger Company, that there was treasure
in Northern Nigeria in the shape of alluvial tin. He told them, in March
1907, that during the previous fifteen months roughly 240 tons of black
tin, of the approximate gross value of £30,000, had been obtained from
one property, the Naraguta, or an average of 16 tons a month. He told
his shareholders in 1908 that the Niger Company had won £29,933 worth of
tin for that year. Last year he said: “As regards tin development, we
have brought home and marketed an increased quantity of ore compared with
the previous year.” This year the chairman of the Niger Company declared
a 2s. dividend per share as a result of the sale of a small portion of
their mining lands.
OFFICIAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE NEW FIELD
The first official recognition of the importance of the Bauchi tin
deposits was conveyed to the public in the Colonial Report on Northern
Nigeria in 1905, and in 1906 was published the First Report on the
Results of the Mineral Survey of Northern Nigeria, 1904-5. “The mineral
resource of Northern Nigeria being virtually unknown” (to quote the
report), “a mineral survey of the Protectorate to be carried out under
the general supervision of the Director of the Imperial Institute by
surveyors nominated by him, was proposed by Sir F. Lugard, the High
Commissioner of Northern Nigeria, and sanctioned by the Secretary of
State for the Colonies in 1904.” It was arranged that the officers of the
Survey should spend about eight months of each year in Northern Nigeria
in exploring the mineral deposits of selected districts.
In the general introductory summary of the first report of the surveyors,
the prospects of the tin fields of Northern Nigeria are described with
the customary official reserve. “Tin, in the form of cassiterite,” the
report stated, “has now been found in the stream beds of other districts.
It is probable that as soon as suitable transport is provided Northern
Nigeria will become an important tin-producing country. Already deposits
in the Bauchi Province are being worked by the Niger Company, and
the metal smelted on the spot. The first consignment of tin from the
Protectorate has reached this country.”
The prospect presented by this information, backed up by substantial
shipments of tin, might have been expected to stimulate the curiosity
of both prospectors and capitalists, and that other Richmonds would
have made an appearance in the Bauchi field. But any hopes of such a
result were doomed to disappointment. The Niger Company continued to
win mineral, and the Mineral Survey persisted in their efforts to prove
the extent of country over which the granites were tin bearing. It is
possible that the remoteness and inaccessibility of the Protectorate
operated unfavourably in the minds of mining adventurers, and the evil
reputation which had been erroneously given to the country may have moved
financiers to an excess of cautiousness. The colony made no new friends,
and, as will be shown later, it was not until last year and then only by
the accident of failure in another direction, that capital was diverted
into the new tin field.
TINSTONE CONCENTRATES ANALYSED
Eleven specimens of tinstone concentrates from the Zagi River, south
of Bauchi, from Bula, Tilde, and the river beyond Joss were forwarded
to the Imperial Institute, and with only one exception were found upon
analysis to contain tin in quantities of from mere traces up to 80.85 per
cent, of tin oxide, equivalent to 63.5 per cent. of metallic tin in the
concentrate.
The official general remarks on the specimens analysed were as follows:
“Most of the concentrates were obtained from the plateaux of Tilde,
Rukuba, Joss, and Ngell. On the first three of these the principal
surveyor reports that the Niger Company has prospecting camps. The finest
grained tinstone is found on the Tilde plateau, the coarser material
coming from Joss and Ngell. The tinstone is said to be irregularly
distributed, and adjoining pits may furnish such different yields as
10 lbs., or less, and 400 lbs. per ton on gravel worked. The average
yield at the Rukuba camp is 25 lbs. per ton. The present works, it is
stated, are all in the near neighbourhood of the river Delimi, but it
appears that the gravels are more or less rich in tin over the whole
surface of the plateau. The river-beds in some cases contain valuable
tinstone-bearing gravels, as is shown by the results of the analysis
of the concentrate from the river-bed at Tilde, which contained 68 per
cent. of tinstone. That from beyond Joss contained only 40 per cent. of
tinstone, possibly owing to the difficulty of separating the ilmenite
from the tinstone by washing. The concentrate from the Kende River
consisted almost entirely of ilmenite. The presence of the latter mineral
in the stream beds will introduce a difficulty in the concentration of
the tinstone, as it is not readily distinguishable by inspection from
tinstone, and collects with it in the first concentration.
“The results so far obtained show that tinstone is widely distributed
in the province of Bauchi in the alluvium of both the high and low
plateaux. As these tinstone districts are in process of being prospected,
it is scarcely worth while to discuss the commercial value of the tin
concentrates here, but it may be pointed out that several of these
concentrates contain monazite, and this may be worth recovering.
The amount of monazite present is usually small, and it is scarcely
likely that its recovery under present circumstances would pay for the
working of an electro-magnetic concentrator, which would be required to
effect its separation. If, however, it becomes necessary to use such
concentrators in order to separate the ilmenite, which occurs with the
tinstone, then it would probably be worth while to recover the monazite
as a by-product.
“The question of the origin of the tinstone occurring in this region
is of great interest, and the officers of the Survey propose to devote
further attention to the subject.”
The Colonial Report for 1907-8 carried us no further, as the third Survey
party which arrived in the country in December 1907 were still upon
their seven months expedition, and the results of their work had not
been received. The report referred, however, to the fact that the Niger
Company, continuing its work on its licensed area in the Bauchi Province,
were exporting black tin to the amount of 500 tons per annum, and added:
“The main difficulty in the development of this promising industry is its
situation. With the construction of the railway through Zaria it should
be possible to place the mines in close connection with it by means of a
road, which should also serve the Bauchi Province.”
THE REPORTS OF EXPERTS
In one of his reports on the Bauchi tin area, Mr. Lush says:
“There is not the slightest doubt that before very long many of the deep
alluvial flats that are some distance from the shallow and more easily
worked tin ground will be worked. The values may turn out to be poorer
than the shallow ground, but the natural facilities are better owing to
the water supply being sufficient for continuous working without the
expense of erection of dams. On the other hand, when you get out of the
granite country, the further you are away from the source of the tin the
greater are the impurities mixed with it. The numerous creeks, after
passing through the schists and other rocks emptying into the main river,
all tend to this, and titanic iron, tourmaline, rutile, and gem sand form
a large percentage of the concentrates. However, if on boring, the deep
ground turns out payable, there should be no difficulty in getting rid of
the impurities and dressing the tin up to 70 per cent.”
Mr. L. H. L. Huddart, writing on this subject in his report on the South
Juga property, says:
“_Sources of the Tin._—The black tin is probably derived from the granite
of which it is a rock constituent, and from stockworks in the granite
quartz porphyry occurs very similar to the ‘elvans’ in Cornwall.
“_Nature of the Wash._—In the upper end the wash is a fine whitish
granite, containing no large pebbles or boulders, and is near the
original source of some of the Juga tin. The surface is slightly cemented
with iron oxides in which cassiterite often grows. The whole wash very
easily breaks down with water. The ground further down the property is
similar except that the alluvial has travelled further, and consequently
has been sorted to a greater extent.
“Taken generally, the tin bearing is the product of denudation from the
granite of which the bed-rock, and sides of the valley are composed. The
tin occurs in the wash right up against the granite on both sides of
the valley. The topaz is abundant in the wash, and with some zircon and
rootile is almost the only mineral besides cassiterite occurring in the
concentrates.”
In his report on the Kurdum River Tin Concession, Mr. Huddart says:
“_Geology._—The base rock is a foliated gneiss and schist; the great
granite _massif_ forming the Jarawa Hills lies to the west of the
property. There is a good deal of granite on the property, with some
dolerite. The rocks are compact, and show considerable signs of regional
metamorphism.
“_Source of the Tin._—The tin has been carried down from the rich placers
at the head water of the Kurdum River, and form feeders that come in
above the property from the Jarawa and Fuersum country. In one or two
places the natives work the river-bed, an indication in itself of high
value, as it does not pay them to work any but rich gravel. The alluvial
ground is a quartz gravel with sand near the top. There is very little
clay, and long boulders are unlikely, and the wash is friable and easy to
work. The river-bed gravel where coarse is very rich.
“_Concentrates._—These contain usually minerals such as ilmenite,
rootile, zircon, and some topaz and garnet. The tin is of good quality,
and varies in colour from black to ruby and pale yellow. A little
monazite is found, and an occasional colour of gold. There should be no
difficulty in shipping concentrates that will assay 71 or 72 per cent.
metallic tin. The tinstone is of a good average size for saving in the
sluice boxes which can be given a good grade.”
FRESH DISCOVERIES ANNOUNCED
The Government Report on Northern Nigeria for 1908-9 contained the
announcement that tin in paying quantities had been located in the
Provinces of Bauchi, Nassarawa, and on the Kobba-Ilorin border, and
this information has since been supplemented by the Akerri (Nigeria)
Tin Company Ltd., which has taken up a tin area in an entirely fresh
district, one day’s journey west of Zungeru, and one and a half day’s
journey north-east of Jebba.
Meanwhile, in a White Paper on “Nigeria, September 1910,” issued in the
following month of October, we get an official reference to the new tin
industry:
“Mr. Parkinson states that in the Oban Hills, Southern Nigeria, there
are tourmaline pegmatites, and Schmeisser has recorded that since the
discovery of an apparently rich tin deposit near Banyo, there has been
much prospecting for that mineral in the Cameroons. Surface tin is found
in Northern Nigeria by the natives, and sold, chiefly to the Niger
Company, but mines on a large scale have not as yet been worked. The
geological surveyors sent out by the Imperial Institute have detected
the presence of alluvial tin in many sand and river gravels. At Uwet, in
Old Calabar, Mr. Parkinson reports the occurrence of tinstone during the
year 1906, and of the washed samples 80 per cent. was tinstone, and the
remainder was garnet, tourmaline, quartz, and columbite.”
CONFIDENCE IN THE FIELD ESTABLISHED
The Bauchi tin won by the Niger Company is of rich quality, and commands
a considerably higher price than ordinary English tin; but while
Lord Scarborough persistently told the public of the results of their
operations, mining was not energetically proceeded with, and as has
been said the new field attracted less attention than it deserved.
But as prospecting work in the district became more general, it was
realised from the virgin nature of the area, the cheapness and abundance
of labour available in the district, and the enormous extent of the
surface deposits, that the regions were extremely valuable and presented
potentialities of great and continuous profits. In the face of this later
information the first feeling of scepticism with which the discovery was
received passed away, doubt yielded to confidence, and it was soon known
that some of the most astute and influential groups in the City were
interested in the exploitation of the new field.
But although the future of the Bauchi tin district was assured, it was
necessary for some one to be first in the systematic development of the
new field. Every report emanating from the colony confirmed the story
of the richness of Nigerian tin, and a Royal Colonial Institute address
had admitted that “if the professional reports were anything like
approximately correct and the supply is regulated, a fabulous amount of
wealth is waiting to be extracted,” but the opportunity to make fortunes
out of Northern Nigeria was neglected until the Champion Gold Reefs of
West Africa, Ltd., who had abandoned their gold property on the Gold
Coast, boldly threw their remaining capital of £12,000 into the new field.
THE PIONEERS OF NORTHERN NIGERIAN TIN
The credit, therefore, for placing the Nigerian tin fields before the
British investor is due to Messrs. Walter and Oliver Wethered, and Mr.
S. R. Bastard. It was Mr. Walter Wethered, being impressed by the large
quantities of metal which were being brought down by the natives and sold
to the Niger Company, who formed the opinion that these fields might be
suitable for working on a large scale. Having satisfied himself on this
point he was able to induce Mr. Bastard, and his brother, Mr. Oliver
Wethered, to join in the business, and as a result the Champion Gold
Reefs of West Africa, Ltd., of which Mr. Bastard was Chairman, decided in
the month of September 1909 to embark its remaining capital and all its
energies in the exploitation of the new Nigerian tin field. In October
the first members of their staff were sent out to the properties they
had already secured, to be followed on 3rd November by Mr. C. G. Lush,
the well-known tin expert, who was to advise them as to the best method
of developing their properties. Everything that happened satisfied this
pioneer group of the value of the field, and they formed the Tin Fields
of Northern Nigeria, Ltd., which was registered on 7th October 1909, with
a capital of £100,000. Mr. Bastard became chairman of this company.
The Nigerian Tin Corporation, Ltd., was registered on 14th October 1909,
with a capital of £100,000. On this occasion Mr. Oliver Wethered took the
chairmanship. No further company was floated during the year 1909, but
on 15th January 1910 this same group issued the Naraguta (Nigeria) Tin
Mines, Ltd., with a capital of £175,000. This company has already, in
the few months it has been working, recovered over 300 tons of tin, and
has declared its first dividend. The next venture to be floated by the
Champion Gold Reefs company was the Northern Nigerian (Bauchi) Tin Mines,
Ltd., registered on 2nd February 1910, with a capital of £200,000, of
which Mr. Oliver Wethered became a director.