The Rubber Working Account shows a profit of $137,728.23 for the past financial year, which amount has also been transferred to general Prot and loss account.
At the last annual meeting I me formed you that certain negotiations were in progress with the Bataatsche Petroleum Maatschappi} with a view fo increasing the production from our Darat Field. The upshot of the negotiations was an offer by the Bataatsche Petroleum Mij. to pay us a lump sum in leu of the royalty to which we were entitled, but I egret to state the sum offered was such as your directors could not Fecommend the shareholders to ace cept. Owing to the dimeulty of negotiating by correspondence, we have asked Mr. C. Grumitt, a direc for of the company, and a partner in the firm of Messrs, McAuliffe, Davis and Hope, auditors, who has recently yone on home leave. to interview the authorised representative of the Bataatsche Petroleum Mini). further discuss the matter on our following are comparative of Oil Production during the Year Tons Guillders_ In Dollars wwo1/2 tan. Fizson $22.08108 Wooas 469 F1¢008 Se 8004 iaaa/a 136 Fi3gas §24 570.00 neo Concessions I am glad to be able to inform you that since the end of the fnanil year under review we have ceived encouraging reports from our engineer-in-charge on our concession at Rantjah Sirang, The following information was received by tele raph from Borneo, and was published in the local press:
information has also been received from the resident engineer that a clear White diamond of 13% carats has been Yecovered, and that in his opinion. the main' lamond™ channel "has been Further, T cannot do better than quote the' comments of our engineer-in-charge in a letter we received dated April 25, 1935, under the head~ ing of recoveri ror the week we have treated some 880 crile metres of gravel for a recovery fof 884 diamonds, weighing 174.70 carats And 320 grams of wold. There is also This was followed by a letter dated May 4 in which T wish to draw your special attention to following lines:
"You will T am sure realise that taking only the high-grade gravel this mine has a wonderful future Tt is very gratifying to me personally to know that our enterprise in Borneo appears yo have such a bight outlook. AS you are all aware I have spent, not without anxiety, a great deal of my time during the last three years in ar~ ranging the affairs of this concession.
More Dimeulties in Way With regard to the future development of our concession, we have. still considerable ditieultics to over come. In this part of Borneo where physical and climatic conditions have to be contended with, progress is naturally slow, and T have to ask you, gentlemen, to be indulgent. Dur-ug the year under review we have experienced frst of all great dim-culties in mining our to the unusually tough clay, and a method of puddling the clap had to be devised. Dificulties were also experienced through our striking unexpected sheets of laterite, which "seriously hampered and damaged our monitors. Added to this, the coils of the electrical equipment of our dressing plant failed us badly by continually burning out. The suppliers of the equipment now admit that the damp climatic conditions of Rantjah Sirang are the cause of these serious breakdowns. 'They have made an offer to replace the, defective equipment, but this does not satisfy our engineer, as he of the opinion that satisfactory' screening up to the capacity ay which we wish the plant to operate, will not be obtained by accepting' their offer.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.