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Very rare foundation map for the Rio Tinto Company issued in the original prospectus for the sale of shares to the public on 8th July 1873. We have been unable to locate another example in any institutional collection or that has appeared on the secondary market. Since antiquity, a site along the Rio Tinto (River) in Huelva, Spain, had been mined for copper, silver, gold and other minerals. Around 3000 BC, Iberians and Tartessians began mining the site, followed by the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Visigoths and Moors. After a period of abandonment, the mines were rediscovered in 1556 and the Spanish government began operating them once again in 1724. However the mining operations were inefficient, and after a series of financial losses, the Spanish government decided to sell the mines at an auction held on 14 February 1873. The availability of the mines was brought to the attention of Matheson & Company, the London-based agent for the Far Eastern merchants Jardine Matheson, by Heinrich Doetsch of Sundheim & Doetsch, a general merchant of Huelva. The buyers of the mine were led by Hugh Mathesons of Matheson and Company, which formed a syndicate consisting of Deutsche Bank 56% ownership, Matheson 24%, and the civil engineering firm Clark, Punchard and Company 20%. The conditions of the auction also specified that Spain would permanently relinquish any right to claim royalties on the mines production. The mines sold for ESP 92.800.000 £3.680.000. The syndicate launched the Rio Tinto Company, registering it on 29 March 1873 and a prospectus for the Rio Tinto Company Limited, was issued 8 July 1873. The new company was floated on the London Stock Exchange with an issued share capital of £2 million and debentures valued of £600,000. Hugh Matheson was appointed as first chairman of the RTC with Heinrich Doetsch as his deputy. Following the purchase of the Rio Tinto Mine, the syndicate constructed a number of new processing facilities, innovated new mining techniques, and expanded mining activities. From 1877 to 1891, the Rio Tinto Mine was the world's leading producer of copper. Prior to the acquisition of the mines Hugh Matheson commission David Forbes, a mining engineer of considerable repute, to report on the potential of the Mines. Forbes spent a little over a week at Rio Tinto towards the end of March 18 7 3.40 His report of 25 April formed the basis for the financial projections published by the new enterprise in its prospectus of 8 July 1873.41 In assessing the Mines and drawing up plans for their future working Forbes relied heavily on the data and recommendations provided by the Government Commissioners, who in turn were largely informed in their judgements by the report of the Commission of 1867. His scheme, which can be seen on the lower map, departed from those models in a number of important respects. Seller Inventory # EU SPAIN RIO
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