Handbook of the federated Malay states - Sabrizain.org

Federated Malay States. 129
The expenses attendant on mining in Pahang are great,
and this fact presents a marked contrast to conditions in the
States on the West Coast. The vast alluvial deposits of tin
which have heen the source of the prosperity of Perak and
Selangor are exactly suited to the requirements of Chinese
capitalists. They can be worked with comparatively small
quantities of machinery, and do not, therefore, call for the
expenditure, as an initial step, of large capital sums. The
working of gold and tin reefs, however, more especially in
a country where the huge quantities of water with which
the miner has to contend make heavy pumping appliances
indispensable for even prospecting operations, entails the
sinking of considerable sums before any return can be looked
for, and this is a prospect which few Chinese capitalists are
in a position to face. Pahang must therefore look principally
to European capital for its development.
Prospecting and mining for gold and tin in this State
should not be undertaken by poor men, but it certainly offers
a good probability of a profitable result to individuals or
corporations with sufficient means who will vigorously under
take it.
follow ing table shows the quantity of gold and tin
3d fromL Pahang since 1800 :
—
Year. Gold. Tin.
Ounces. Pikuls.
1890 930 1,522
1891 1,227 2,451
1892 3,509 2,765
1893 9,616 3,026
1894 11,805 7,435
1895 15,099 8,348
1896 21,300 6,759
1897 26,420 6,597
1898 22,200 11,730
1899 18,507 13,465
1900
Total
17,048 15,728
147,661 79,826
The forests of Pahang are of vast extent, practically Economic
untouched, and both in the coast and interior districts ^''^^^'^^*-