In MINERALS Russia is enormously wealthy, but the mining lands are not
diffused throughout the empire but confined to definite areas. Nor can
they be said to be energetically worked. The great gold-fields of the
Ural mountains would not pay expenses as worked at present were they
not supplied with convict labour. Owing to the heavy import duty which
is imposed on pig-iron nearly all the iron now needed for the IRON
manufactures of the empire is obtained at home, but this amounts to
only 46 pounds per inhabitant, as against 810 pounds per inhabitant
used in Britain. COAL is very abundant, especially in the valley of
the Donetz, but fire-wood is so plentiful for domestic purposes, and
water power so plentiful for heavy manufactures, that the amount of
coal mined in all Russia is only one twelfth that mined in Germany,
and only one twenty-fourth that mined in Britain. Over 2,250,000 tons
of coal are imported despite very heavy protective duties. There is
one mineral product, however, in which Russia excels all other
European countries. This is PETROLEUM. The oil-springs on the Caspian
Sea produce an annual yield of crude petroleum of an average value of
$15,000,000. The value of the petroleum and petroleum products
exported in 1896 was over $22,000,000.