The last ten years has been notable for the large number of Gold-Mining Propositions which have been placed before the public, a great portion of which appear to have been purely speculative, and the present collection of statistics and data relating to gold-mining companies has been formed and arranged with the view to assist those who may be inclined to invest in gold-mining to discriminate between purely speculative propositions and those which present the elements of commercial success.<br><br>The nominal capital of the companies interested in gold-mining appears to be over four hundred and fifty million pounds sterling, and the success or failure of a business of this magnitude cannot but be of considerable importance to the public generally.