TIN MINING 
■ . ' ' j IN THE 
» FEDERATED MALAY STATES. 
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Alluvial tin mining is the principal industry of the Federated Malay States (see table of exports). 
About three quarters of the tin supply of the world comes from Malaya. In 1902 the output was 
46,459 tons. A diagram showing the progress of this important industry will be found in the Court. 
The revenue of the States is mainly derived from an export duty on tin, amounting to about 13 per 
cenc. of its value. The charges for mining land are nominal, only one dollar per acre per year. 
The mines are mostly in the hands of the Chinese. In only a few instances have Europeans been 
successful either as mine owners or mine managers. 
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Chinese Mining. —On the wall at the back of the Court is a series of photographs which 
•give a good'idea of the Chinese method of mining. The tin-bearing earth, known as -‘wash dirt,” 
usually forms a layer of varying thickness on a bed of white china clay (kaolin). Above it is earth, 
sand or gravel containing little or no tin, which is known as “overburden.” In mining the 
“overburden” is dug up and carried away in baskets slung by means of a yoke over the shoulders of 
the Coolies. This work is generally done by contract, at so much per “chang” of 50 cubic yards. 
'I he “wash dirt” is then dug up, usually by day work, and is heaped near the washing boxes. A 
long coffin-shaped box, set at a slight incline, with a stream of water flowing through it. is used for 
washing the tin-bearing earth. The tin ore, which is very heavy, remains in the box but the earth 
is washed away. W hen a considerable amount of ore has accumulated it is removed and placed 
in a wooden tub and is subsequently further washed, either in a washing box or round shallow 
wooden trays. It is then ready for sale to the smelters. 
Hydraulic Sluicing. — Where the “overburden” is very thick the “wash dirt” is removed 
by sinking shafts and driving tunnels. Hill land is worked in many places by means of hydraulic 
sluicing. This method, introduced by Europeans, very much reduces the cost of mining, though 
the expense of bringing the water to the mine is often considerable. Pipes are laid to the water 
supply, which should be from 200 to 600 feet above the mine, and at the lower end there is provided 
a moveable nozzle, called a “monitor,” by means of which the high pressure jet of water is directed 
against the bank of earth to be mined. The force of the jet breaks this down and it is carried by 
the water into troughs and ditches where the tin is separated from it. 
v— * . oj.wc ai^tricts gold dust is associated with the tin. This necessitates a further 
process for its recovery. The tin sand is re-washed by hand in very flat wooden dishes and the 
gold is left in the dish while the tin sand passes off into a large tub. In some of the mines of 
Batang Padang the gold is more important than the tin. 
In this case are shown typical samples of tin sand, varying from very fine-grained ore to quite 
large lumps. It will be noticed that there is a considerable range of variation in the colour of the ore. 
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