China is a large country and various kinds of metallic minerals are widely spread. Although many mines are still in the hands of the natives, some for example of iron and coal, are worked with the aid of a foreign capital.
The mountain gold is obtained in the northern part of Hopei along the Great Wall and the eastern part of Shantung. In the upper course of the Yang-tze-kiang valley, in the province of Szechuan, placer gold is frequently met with. Rich copper mines are found in the middle part of the Yangtze-kiang (Hupei), also in Tagishan mountain range of Hunan, and the Tonchuan district of Yunnan. These mines are in the contact region of limestone and granite. The ores of the above places also contain much gold. Iron deposits are distributed in many provinces, the biggest being in Lungyen of Tsahar, Shantung, Shansi, Anhwei, Hupei and Fukien. Lead and zinc mines are worked in Suikawshan of Hunan and Chekiang. Antimony is found in Hunan and tin in Hunan, Kwangsi and Yunnan. These two metals are famous in the world. Mercury of Kweichow; tungusten, molybdenum and bismuth of Kwangtung and Fukien are alf: D very famous.
China has an old history and the mining there was in great progress, but after the Min-Dynasty the progress of all chinese local industries (like mining) were checked by reason of the centralisation of power just as in Japan where the Tokugawa-Shoguns afraid of the local Daimyes checked their becoming too rich.
On account of wide distributed of small mines in China, the production of antimony and tungusten becomes very great. On a similar reason, the production of other minerals in China has a hope to grow in future.
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