however, the industry faced an acute financial problem. It was a period of
high inflation. Moreover, mining was taking place at ever-greater depths,
the ore was of low grade, and the price of gold was low. One factor stood
out in the industry's balance sheets: the cost of white labor. The wages of
white workers 'werefifteen times those of black workers, who could easily
have performed the semiskilled operations. The Chamber of Mines thus
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