YIELDS ON MINING SHARES.
I need scarcely remind intending purchasers of gold shares that in the first place they would do well to keep to the shares of the leading well-proved mines, and that in addition it is important to remember that in those cases where the yield is still a very high one that inquiries should be made as to the estimated life of the mine. An investor purchasing, say, some Government stock redeemable in about ten years at par knows very well that if the price of the stock stands at a high premium he has to allow for this redemption at par when calculating the yield. In the case of a gold-mining proposi- tion it is not a case of the ordinary capital being redeemable, but of the life of the mine itself ending, and therefore it remains for the investor receiving the high dividends to make his own sinking fund to recompense him when the yield from the mine ceases entirely. If, however, careful allowance is made for these facts there is still a certain scope for the general investor in the best class of gold-mining shares, though, of course, there are always the usual mining risks to be remem- bered, and also the fact that present profits are based on an abnormally high price of gold. At present, however, there seem to be few indications of a material set-back in the price of the metal.
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