TIN SMELTING 
IN THE • 
FEDERATED MALAY STATES. 
Mode of Occurrence. —The tin ore occurs in alluvial clays, sands and gravels at depths 
varying from a few feet to, in some cases, over ioo ft. As may be seen by inspecting the specimens, 
the “wash dirt,” i.e. the earth which contains the ore, varies greatly in character, as does also 
the tin ore itself. [A further series of specimens and more detailed information will be found fn the 
adjoining case.] 
Washing. —In mining, the barren earth or “overburden” is removed, the “wash dirt” (No.i) 
is raised to the surface and washed in long narrow boxes in a stream of water. The earthy parts 
are carried away by the water while the heavy tin ore (Nos. 2 and 3) remains in the upper part of 
the box. The ore is then further cleaned to separate the iron sand (Nos. 4 and 5) with which it is 
generally mixed. The cleaned ore (No. 6) containing about 72 per cent, of tin is then ready for 
smelting. 
Chinese Smelting. —This is done by the Chinese in small blast furnaces made of fire-clay 
(No 18 the fuel being wood charcoal (No. 7). The ore and the charcoal are fed into the top 
of the furnace and the metallic tin and slag trickle out of the bottom. The slag (Nos. 8 to 13) is 
remelted about five times, by which time most of the combined tin is extracted from it. The slag 
is then pounded up (No. 14) and washed to separate the remaining globules of metal (No. 15). 
The refuse slag (No. 17) is throwm away. The metal is cast into ingots (one of which is exhibited 
in the lower part of this case) and is then ready for export. 
European Smelting. —In the European smelting works reverberatory furnaces are used 
with coal (No. 19) for fuel. Anthracite ^No. 20) and scrap iron are used as fluxes. During the 
smelting, slag known as “front door slag” (No 21) is scraped off the charge through the front door 
of the furnace, and “glass slag” (No. 22) runs out from the side when the charge is withdrawn. 
Tkese slags are remelted with scrap iron to extract the combined tin, and the resulting slag is crushed 
and washed to separate any globules of metal. This alloy of iron and tin, called ‘hard head,” is 
further treated to liberate the tin. Refining is done by melting the metal in large cauldrons and 
stirring it with poles of green wood, the dross being skimmed off as it rises. The refined tin is 
finally cast into ingots, one of which, from the Taiping Smelting Works, Perak, is shown in the 
lower part of this case. 
