Annual report on Sarawak.

Date:
[1950]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annual report on Sarawak. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    assessing the full extent of the investigations. Minerals have, however, played an important part in Sarawak’s development. From 1823, after the discovery that antimony ore had a ready market, • they have figured prominently in the country’s economy. Until about 1885, antimony ore wTas generally the most important mineral produced and, in the early days, often Sarawak’s leading export. Mercury was the leading mineral product for five of the six years between 1874 and 1879 inclusive, but after 1887 output declined and became negligible ten years later. Coal was the main mineral export between 1889 and 1898, after which gold took its place and headed the list continuously from 1899 until 1920. From this time on- wards oil has been the leading mineral export. The relation¬ ship of Sarawak’s mineral products to the country’s total exports is shown in the table below : Past Sarawak Mineral Production. ( V Year. Value of Sarawak Produce Exported. Value of Mineral Exports. Percentage of Mineral exports to exports of Sarawak Produce. Mineral Royalties paid to the Sarawak Government. Remarks. Mineral exports in their order of value; the most valuable export is shown first. 1868 N.A. 38,001 — N.A. Antimony, quicksilver, gold, diamonds. 1878 809,325 83,086 10 13,333 Antimony, quicksilver, gold, diamonds. 1888 1,322,325 118,915 09 8,889 Antimony, coal, quick¬ silver, gold. 1898 3,089,017 323,230 10 10,177 Goal, antimony, gold, quicksilver. 1908 5,732,723 1,177,266 21 77,367 Gold, coal, antimony, quicksilver. 1918 9,221,459 N.A. 98,109 Gold, oil, coal. 1928 53,302,340 39,208,840 74 770,835 Oil. 1938 23,244,666 12,842,134 54 387,636 Oil, gold, silver. 1948 166,023,615 111,820,069 67 67,320* Oil, gold, antimony. All values given in Sarawak dollars, fixed at 2s. 4d. sterling since 1906. N.A. = not available. ^-Estimated oil royalty and mining rents and fees; most of tlie oil exported during 1948 was produced in Brunei.