Chapter 269 Sensation
After a week-long exploration, Father Buckger gave the final answer: "Congratulations, Your Excellency. You are about to make a fortune.
This is a river alluvial mine. The gold content of the river sand on the surface has reached 8 grams, and the gold content of the ore in the lower layer has actually reached 16 grams.
This gold mine spreads for two kilometers along the river. It is estimated that the gold mine reserves may be as high as 50 tons. As long as the report is completed in the colonial government, this place belongs to you. "
Hearing the news, everyone was excited, such a bonanza is rare in Austria.
The ecstatic Baron Fickney forcibly suppressed his emotions and immediately said: "It's not just me who wants to be rich, all of us are going to be rich.
Please rest assured, the original agreement is still valid. This gold mine belongs to all of us, including the young men who sacrificed in search of the gold mine.
I can assure you with the honor of the Stray family that as long as you complete the registration in the colony, half of the gold mine proceeds will belong to you.
Now let's guard this gold mine of our own! "
The discovery of gold mines also means that the most dangerous moment has come. In overseas colonization, because the interests are too large and the spoils are unevenly distributed, there should not be too much fighting.
Don't say it's an internal fight. Before reporting the property rights to the colonial government, even the leakage of information is very dangerous.
In the face of huge interests, there should not be too many incidents of black eating black. In the openness of the African continent, the most dangerous thing is not the jungle, not the indigenous cannibal tribes, but thousands of peers.
Baron Fickney's worth is not rich. After equipping everyone with weapons and equipment, he spent almost the same amount. Naturally, it is impossible to have the money to pay everyone a salary.
Since I have no money, I can only draw big cakes. Sharing the interests of the gold mine is the core of his gathering of this team.
Obviously, the reputation of the Strey family still has a very high status in the hearts of this group of people. If it weren't for the long-standing concept of honor and inferiority, the atmosphere on the field would be even more enthusiastic.
"Generous baron, please rest assured, we will swear to guard the gold mine!"
"Respect the baron, you can rest assured, as long as we are not dead, the gold mine will not be lost!"
...
The crowd assuredly said.
With everyone's assurance, Baron Fickney showed a delighted smile. After appeasing his subordinates, he could go to the colony to register and report with confidence.
Even if the property rights are confirmed, it does not mean that the gold mine is safe. This is the African continent, and there is no shortage of desperadoes. The safety of guarding the gold mines is also a top priority.
Some weak colonial teams, even if they discovered gold mines, did not have the strength to mine them, and could only sell them to the colonial government for a one-time return.
Apparently, Baron Fickney was not that short-sighted. This gold mine was sold to the colonial government for a maximum of 500,000 or 600,000 Aegis. If you mine it yourself, the final profit may be as high as millions of Aegis.
...
After Baron Fickney confirmed the property rights of the gold mine, the news of the discovery of the gold mine in Guinea was sent back to the country in the shortest possible time.
Schönbrunn Palace
Franz, who was trying to create a man, was also attracted by this news. Gold mines mean wealth, and you can imagine a gold rush in Guinea soon.
Franz still has some impressions of the Gold Coast of the Gulf of Guinea. There is no way to know the exact location of the gold mine.
Many place names in later generations do not exist in this era, and even remembering them is of no use.
Just like the gold mine discovered in Guinea now, it is a big greeting in the Guinea region that is not in later generations.
The African continent in this area is still a land of no man. The colonial government does not have the so-called concept of sovereignty, anyway, if I occupy it, it is mine.
The neat border lines of African countries in later generations were actually determined at the Berlin Conference. Before that, there were no clear border lines in various regions, and whoever occupies it counts as whoever owns it.
The cruel reality made Franz give up his dream of mining gold to make a fortune, but it is a good way to attract immigrants with the news of gold.
There are always very few gold diggers who can make a fortune. Most of them end up running out of money, and the gold has not been found. In the end, they have to stay in the colony to find a job to make a living.
There is not much else on the African continent, except that there is a lot of land. With sufficient labor, the development of local land will bring benefits far beyond what one or two gold mines can match.
The maid's voice sounded: "Your Majesty, the ministers of the cabinet are here."
"Well, I'll go right there," Franz replied.
The charm of the gold mine is huge, especially a large rich mine has attracted the attention of many people, even the cabinet of the Vienna government is no exception.
If you exchange gold for money, it is estimated that the temptation will be greatly reduced. One ton of gold is only worth 273,200 Aegis, and fifty tons of gold is worth more than 13 million Aegis.
In fact, mining gold mines also requires costs, and the final net profit may only be three or four million Aegis, and it takes time to mine gold mines, and the average annual return is only a dozen or two hundred thousand Aegis.
For Franz, this is only a small sum of money, and for the Vienna government, it is just one day's revenue.
Obviously, the account is not calculated like this. The biggest use of the government to use gold is to issue currency as a reserve fund, and the potential profit contained in it is much larger.
...
Chancellor of the Exchequer Carr
Feng Fa said: "Your Majesty, a large gold mine has been discovered on the African continent. After analysis by geological experts, there may be other gold mines nearby, and the colonial government has blocked the news.
If we organize manpower and conduct comprehensive exploration now, we will definitely gain a lot, and the African colonies will soon be able to turn losses into profits. "
Franz was puzzled. He had never heard of the gathering of large ore veins in Guinea. It is not surprising to find a large gold mine, but it is impossible to find a large gold mine without causing a sensation.
However, Franz was not in a hurry to deny the Chancellor of the Exchequer's statement. Colonies in this era were all free to develop and expand. If a colonial team ran out of Guinea and discovered gold mines, he would not be surprised at all.
Guinea is not big. Don't expect the colonial team to act according to the national borders of later generations. Only they themselves know where the activities of these people are.
Colonial Minister Josip Jelacic suggested: "Your Majesty, the Gulf of Guinea has always been said to be a golden bay, and now that gold has been discovered in Guinea, it means that the gold in this area has not been mined.
Now let's take advantage of the fact that the news has not leaked out, first send troops to occupy all of this area, and then slowly look for gold mines! "
Franz shook his head, opened the map and drew a few lines and asked: "It's okay to expand in the Gulf of Guinea, but the British, Portuguese, Dutch, and French all have strongholds in the coastal areas.
We can't be in conflict with so many countries at the same time, so the best way is to avoid these strongholds and expand from the interior, can this be done? "
The name of the Golden Bay is too loud. Although few new gold mines have been discovered in the area in recent decades, it has now become a gathering place for the African slave trade, and slave traders from all over the world gather here.
Don't look at their individual strength is not strong, once united, it is not so easy to deal with. And it still affects the whole body. In case the countries behind it are involved, Austria still wants to swallow the Gold Coast alone, which is simply a dream!
Josip Jelacic replied confidently: "Your Majesty, most of the colonial strongholds of these countries are private actions, not government organizations.
We also sent civil armed groups to compete with them, not to mention driving them out, it is still feasible to establish some more strongholds in the coastal areas.
As long as we have a sufficient number of local immigrants, we will take the initiative to colonize. Before large-scale gold mines are discovered, the intervention of various governments will be limited.
As long as we have established enough advantages before this, we can solve the problem through negotiation later. It is nothing more than sharing the interests of everyone, and the strength of the fundamental strength is to divide the territory locally. "
Civilian armed forces are the main force of governments in overseas colonial activities. Even if these organizations fight, there is still room for manoeuvre, and governments of various countries will not be directly dragged into the water.
After hesitating for a while, Franz drew a few circles on the map of Africa, and then said: "Take these areas as the target, these are all areas where there may be a lot of gold.
However, our goal is not gold. The most valuable wealth on the African continent is the fertile land that has not been developed, followed by some natural minerals, and finally gold.
Even if gold is rich, how can it be? The annual mining volume is limited, and it is simply not worth investing a lot of resources and confronting countries.
So once things don't work, give up what should be given up. Gold may exist in coastal areas, but more inland.
We do not have the ability to deeply develop the interior, but we have authorized civil organizations to move freely and develop it.
If countries concentrate their efforts on fighting for Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire, then we will go to the hard bones of Nigeria, just to take this opportunity to clarify the interests of West Africa. "
After listening to Franz's explanation, everyone was shocked. That is, if a land-power country like Austria was changed to a sea-power country, such remarks would be deviant.
It cannot be said that everyone is short-sighted. It is really a gold mine. It only takes one or two years for the colony to make a profit.
This is still based on the fact that there are enough immigrants. It is a pity that the major colonial empires are now short of people, and the local population is not enough. How can they be able to develop colonies?
The Netherlands and Portugal are small countries with a population of less than 5 million. Even Britain and France have a population of more than 30 million. The growth rate is similar to that of a snail, and there are a large number of colonies, which cannot be developed at all.
On the contrary, the situation in Austria is better. The number of colonies is not large, the domestic population is not large, and the population growth rate is much higher than that of Western Europe, so that there are enough human resources for in-depth development.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Carr reminded: "Your Majesty, if the government gives up its monopoly on gold mines, I am afraid that our colony will still be in a state of loss for a long time."
"This kind of loss is within our tolerance range, giving up the interests of monopolizing gold mines, but we can get a large influx of immigrants.
If we control it artificially, the gold rush can last at least five or six years. As long as one third of these gold diggers can stay, our foundation on the African continent will be stable. ' Franz replied calmly.
Gold diggers may not be able to make money, but those who provide logistical supplies to gold diggers will definitely make money.
What the government needs is a long-term sustainable colony, not a colony that thrives because of gold mining and collapses because it runs out.
Is the colony really losing money? It depends on how the account is calculated.
If you simply calculate taxes and administrative and military expenses, there may be losses on the books, but the gold rush will also form a local market, which can expand the sales of domestic industrial and commercial goods in Austria.
For example: tents, kettles, shovels, hardware, ships...
So many related industries have received orders, and a lot of taxes will inevitably be generated, which will be fed back to fiscal revenue.
If the losses cannot be made up, then the government buys gold locally and uses it as a reserve fund to issue currency, and the currency tax collected can be converted into a profit, right?
There are not only one or two colonies in various countries that have lost money, but everyone has not given up, so they know the hidden benefits behind the scenes.
...
The Vienna government lifted the blockade, and news of the discovery of a large gold mine in Guinea quickly spread in the New Holy Roman Empire and then throughout Germany.
This is just the beginning. After the discovery of gold mines by Baron Fickney, others have discovered gold mines one after another, but these gold mines are not that big.
But it doesn't matter, as long as there is a gold mine. Even some gold mines that are too low in gold content to be mined have been brought out by the unscrupulous colonial ministry for propaganda.
Anyway, they are all gold mines. The official only announced the reserves and gave an ambiguous figure for the gold content of the ore.
For example: 0.8 to 45 grams, the gold content of 0.8 grams per ton may not be the lowest number, but the gold content of 45 grams per ton must be the highest, even far exceeding the highest gold content.
These data are enough to fool ordinary people. The gold content of each ore is different. It is normal to have such a large gap. Even the garbage gold mine will occasionally produce a high-quality ore!
The media also cooperated with propaganda, and so-and-so became rich overnight in the gold rush. For example, Baron Fickney became a household name, so everyone knew that he became a multi-millionaire overnight.
As for the fact that wealth is still buried underground, and gold mining also requires costs, the media has decisively ignored it.