17 MARCH 1939, Page 40

CONSOLIDATED MINES SELECTION

Consolidated Mines Selection holds an important portfolio of investments in the gold, copper and diamond-mining industries and draws good dividends on its holdings. Like other mining-finance houses, it also adds to its profits by share transactions in the companies in which it is interested. Mr. S. S. Taylor, who presided at the meeting on Tuesday, showed that it was the second source of revenue which had fallen short last year. Share dealings had yielded £49,825, against £156,057, while the dividend income showed a drop of only about £14,000. It is therefore market conditions, rather than the intrinsic merits of the holdings, which account for the fall from £229,694 to £110,083 in the net profit.

Moreover, Mr. Taylor, whose opinion as a mining expert carries great weight, had no difficulty in showing that many of the holdings have attractive prospects. He intimated that there is a most promising future for the South African Land and Exploration Company, that Grootvlei Proprietary is ex- pected to make its first dividend payment this year, and that a dividend from Yukon Consolidated Gold Corporation is possible late in 1939. He spoke very hopefully of the copper interests in Anglo-American Corporation of South Africa and in Rhokana, in which Consolidated Mines Selection is inter- ested through Rhodesian Anglo-American. J. D. M.