The article discusses the actions of the Russian government to provide gold mining companies with working capital for the acquisition of necessary tools, industrial supplies and other materials in preparation for the upcoming work on gold mining, as well as their delivery to the location of mines. The government entrusted the realization of this assistance to the State Bank. However, the specifics of work of gold mining companies did not allow them to spend large sums of money in a relatively short time to ensure the upcoming work. Although the average net profits of the companies were high, they differed significantly depending on the mining conditions. Thus, in the 1890s, the average net profit of gold mining companies was about 23 %, or varied from 6,7 % to 33,8 %, depending on the mining location. A significant part of the expenses was incurred in the period before the beginning of metal mining. In particular, the companies spent about 18,5 % of all gold mining expenses on the purchase of foodstuffs for workers, up to 21 % on the construction of outbuildings and the maintenance of working livestock, and 8,5 % on the purchase of equipment and technical costs. The labor remuneration of workers accounted for up to 35 % of all expenses, some of which were required during the period of preparatory work. The funds from the State Bank allocated to the needs of gold miners could not satisfy even a tenth of the companies’ need for working capital. This forced them to turn to third-party institutions for lending.
Lizunov et al. (Wed,) studied this question.