'File No. 14/5 MINERAL DEPOSITS IN DHOFAR'

Content

The file comprises telegrams, despatches, correspondence, memoranda, and notes, relating to prospecting for coal and other minerals in Dhofar. Issues discussed include terms of a concession, technical mining issues and assessments of commercial viability of mining the coal seams and ore.

The file contains correspondence with representatives of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company on desired terms for a concession and a draft agreement (ff 6-8) relating to coal. Also discussed in the file are the unsuitable conditions for prospecting, such as the hostile reaction of tribesmen in the Qara mountains.

Included in the file is a handwritten letter (folio 35) in Arabic (with English translation on folio 36) from the Sultan of Muscat and Oman [Sa‘īd bin Taymūr] to the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. , Muscat, concerning a possible concession for mining coal. Correspondence (folio 30) from a representative of the Government of Muscat and Oman also discusses the significance of the discoveries by Harry St John Bridger Philby and Bertram Sidney Thomas in Dhofar and their possible connection to the 'gold mines of Ophir'.

The file features the following principal correspondents: the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. , Muscat (Trenchard Craven William Fowle); the British Consul, Basrah (Francis Edward Crow); the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. (Percy Zachariah Cox); the Secretary of State for the Colonies; and the Financial Adviser to the Sultan of Muscat (Reginald George Evelin William Alban).

Extent and format

1 file (55 folios)

Arrangement

The papers are arranged in rough chronological order from the front to the rear of the file.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 57; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.

Written in

English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script

Type

Archival file

Access & Reference

Original held at

British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity.

Access conditions

Unrestricted

Archive reference

IOR/R/15/6/438

Former external reference(s)

File 14/5

History of this record

Date(s)

18 Jun 1911-30 Mar 1933 (CE, Gregorian)

Subjects

Coal mining

Places

Dhofar

People & organisations

Political Resident, Persian GulfSecretary of State for the Colonies, United KingdomSultan of Muscat and Oman, Āl Bū Sa'īd Dynasty

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'File No. 14/5 MINERAL DEPOSITS IN DHOFAR', British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/6/438, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100000000881.0x0000d5> [accessed 25 April 2024]

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