THE THEORY OF GOLD SUPPLY. WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE PROBLEMS OF THE WITWATERSRAND (1939)

This uncommon volume deals directly with the factors which govern the supply of gold. It considers the conditions in which gold-mining enterprise operates, and examines the complications of grade, while using, as a background throughout, the theoretical concepts of marginal revenue and marginal cost. The theory is applied to the South African industry, while special attention is paid to the effects on mining policy of different forms of taxation.

Content:

I. Introduction;
II. The Valuation of Mining Property: The Speculative Rate;
III. The Valuation of Mining Property: The Income;
IV. The Rate of Gold Supply;
V. The Determination of the Grades of Ore Worked;
VI. The Influence of Taxation on Grade;
VII. Gold-mining Profits and South African Income Taxation;
Appendix I. Gold Production;
Appendix II. Legislation on Taxation;
Appendix III. Rates of Income-tax in 1936;
Appendix IV. Redemption Allowances;
Appendix V. An Example of the Benefits Expected From Air-Conditioning Plant Index.

"In this volume, Dr. Busschau has used a special knowledge of South African conditions in the investigation of some problems of investment as applied to gold-mining. Here matters of theory and principle have still a distinct practical interest, since departures from the gold standard are not yet so complete and final as to have lessened the importance of the question of the future supply of gold. It is with the conditions of the enterprise on which that supply depends that the first part of this book deals. The opening and preparation of a mine involve a complex problem of valuation, and the use of a speculative rate of discount; and, in his discussion of these factors, Dr. Busschau makes plain the mutual assistance which economics and accountancy may render to each other in determining the conditions of enterprise...

The problem of grade is the bridge between the general question of gold-mining enterprise and a matter that is special to South Africa - the influence of the system of taxation on the mining industry. Not only his South African readers, but all who are interested in the future output of gold as a monetary question not yet disposed of, will note Dr. Busschau's conclusion that income taxation in South Africa is so administered as to tend to cause a shift from gold-mining to other activities...

For the general economist, as well as the specialist in South African questions, Dr. Busschau's study is one of at once method, material, and results."

(from the "Foreword" by D.H. MacGregor)

Original publisher's orange cloth; Text in English; Collation complete - Title page, [x], 193 pages, tables; Binding is strong, tight and firm, extremely well preserved with no special marks or faults, only a minor bumping to the extremities and a slight partly discolouration. Front free endpapers neatly excised. Pages/text block perfectly preserved, clean and bright, no foxing or markings, seems that the volume has never been opened. A clean copy, no marks of foxing throughout.

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