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THE ECONOMIC RESOURCES OF RUSSIA 119
the Nikolaievsky Zavod are situated on the Angara River,
which flows from the Baikal Lake and are about eighty
miles distant from the important town of Irkutsk. They
contain 50 per cent, to 75 per cent, of magnetite, hematite,
and limanite ores covering an area of several hundred square
miles. In the smelting works English machinery is used.
The Petrovsky Zavod lies near the city of Chita. Here the
ore contains 54 per cent, of iron. Both the Nikolaievsky
and the Petrovsky deposits are only worked on a small
scale chiefly owing to market conditions. More efficient
organisation, a greater supply of capital, and the progress
of industrial development in this part of Siberia are bound
to result in considerable extension of these works. The rich
iron veins of the Pri-Amur region and numerous iron deposits
in out-of-the-way portions of Siberia have hardly been
tapped. They await the introduction of transport facilities
and the investment of capital.
Copper.—Copper-mining is a comparatively old industry
in Russia, which was started in the eighteenth century. Till
1911, the works of Demidov and the Bogoslovsky Works in
the Ural were the most important centres of copper
production in Russia. In 1911-12, the Kyshtim Works improved
their plant and gradually took precedence. According to
the last report published by the corporation, the mines and
plants of this flourishing concern were working under
conditions which enabled it to produce 10,000 tons of copper
a year. Besides the Kyshtim corporation, which is an
Anglo-Russian company, many other British companies
were formed for the extraction of copper, as, for instance,
the Syssert, Tanalyk, Irtish, and Russo-Asiatic. New copper
works will soon be started in the Ural—a sign that this
industry is rapidly attaining bigger proportions. In the
Caucasus the copper-mines are exceptionally rich: the
Zangezursky district in Transcaucasia is noted for its wealth
of this mineral. Unfortunately, its development is hampered
by the lack of transport facilities. The Spassky Copper
Company in Western Siberia is owned by a company of
British capitalists; its importance will be considerably
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