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striking out from south-west to north-east, and from east to west. The widths of the three principal veins are 33.20 feet and 6 feet respectively.
The Besshi mine contains a vein occurring in the schistic strata, which averages 10 to 20 feet. The ore is copper pyrite, containing a great amount of iron pyrites.
None of the coal seams of the country occur in the carboniferous system, which is known as the chief coal-producing formation in Europe and America. The oldest of Japanese coal-bearing strata are in the rocks of the Mesozoic era. The representatives of this are the anthracite fields extending over the districts of Mine, Hirose, and Toyora, in the province of Nagato; another in the Amakusa district, province of Higo; and the coal-field of Higashi-muro district, in the province of Kii. So numerous and extensive are the coal-fields that even to give a fair idea of their locations and qualities would require a chapter by itself, but some idea of the progress of the coal-mining industry may be gained from the fact that in 1901 there were twenty-two mines from each of which more than 100,000 tons of coal were taken, and that these twenty-two mines alone produce a total of more that 4,500,000 tons. Of this amount the Miike, province of Chikugo, furnished 905,738 tons.
In 1890 the Mining Law, which is still in force, was enacted. According to this law, special concessions or permission of the Minister for Agriculture and Commerce is required for the mining enterprise or the exploration of mines. Of two or more applications for one and the same place, the preference is given to that of the earliest date. The period allowed for exploration is limited to one year (in special cases prolongation within one year is permitted), for which term no other person may apply for the same kind of mineral in the same region. The extent of one mining area must be more than 10,000 tsubo (about 8.16 acres) in the case of coal-mines, in other cases more than 3,000 tsubo (about 2.45 acres), and not exceed 60,000 tsubo (about 49.014 acres). For the sake of the administration of the mining industry the whole country is divided into five districts, each of which has a mining inspection office. Each miner is obliged to make a mining programme every year, which, after being examined and sanctioned by the director of the Mining Inspection Office, must be strictly followed out. In case the miner fails to deliver the programme in proper time, the concession may be repealed. The same applies, also, if the mining enterprise or exploration is prejudicial to the public welfare, if the mining work is discontinued for one full year, or not started before one full year from the date of concession, if the concession or the permission has been given by mistake, or been obtained by fraudulent means, or if the situation and