m JN ! ,/\'iv I )( )'V TN476 M2 D69 1879 (LC)* I ----------------------------1 " YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARYTl N "WORKTIN MINING IN LARUT BY PATRICK DOYLE, C.E., F.S.S., MEMBER OF THE EOTAL ASIATIC SOCIETI AND OF THE STRAITS BRANCH; MEMBER OF THE SOCIETY OF ENGINEERS OF LONDON; OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF MINING ENGINEERS, AND OF THE NORTH OF ENGLAND INSTITUTE OF MINING AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERS, ETC. ETC. LONDON: E. & F. N. SPON, 46, CHARING CROSS. NEW YORK: 446, BROOME STREET. 1879. 32Ettf) iftapg, plates, anti jAotcs.PREFACE. The following pages have been recently contributed to, and are reprinted, with additions, from the’Mining Journal. They are the results of notes made, in rather restricted intervals of leisure, of the author’s observations and investiga- tions, which his position in connection with the mines afforded him the means of making, supported by those of others, drawn freely from every authentic source within his reach, particularly the Journal of the Indian Archipelago, and the Records of the Government of Perak, besides obtaining data from the most reliable of the mine owners in Larut. He has endeavoured to connect and arrange multifarious facts, consti- tuting the chief novelty and recommendation of the work, which, he is fully aware, is capable of extension and improve- ment. P. D. Thaipeng, Lartjt, Pebak, January, 1879.TIN MINING IN LARUT. The tin industry is fast developing, under British protection, in Larut, and bids fair to eclipse, in a period far from remote, the productions of the other parts of the Peninsula and islands of the Archipelago. There is no exaggeration in the statement that its deposits (which exceed in richness those of any other tin-producing country in the East), if worked with British capital and enterprise, with appliances of modern machinery, would surpass the production of any other part of the known world. Before proceeding to describe the geological features of the country, and deal with its mineralogical productions, a brief historical Summary, by way of introduction, will not, it is presumed, be devoid of interest or unacceptable to readers. Every now and again, some great catastrophe arouses our attention, and forces us, in spite of ourselves, to search more carefully the distant locality in which the event has taken place. It is not long since the murder of Mr. Birch, a represen- tative of the British Government in the State of Perak, drew the attention of Englishmen more immediately to the Malay Penin- sula. On the west coast of this tongue of land, which stretches nearly to the equator, lies the rich territory of Perak, once ruled over by a Sultan and his petty chiefs. Larut, the sub- sidiary district of Perak, was under an enterprising man, appointed by the then reigning Sultan before 1855, and from the revenue of its large tin mines afforded him the opportunity of privately enriching himself. This man kept the Chinese— who comprise the bulk of the population—under control, but on his death, and the succession of his son, these split up into B2 TIN MINING IN LARUT. two rival sections, and began a series of disturbances, and sub- sequent piracies, which led finally to the necessity for British interference in self-preservation, since the contagion of dis- affection was spreading to Penang, Malacca, and Singapore. British [Residents and Assistant Residents were sent to the Court of the Sultan to help him to preserve peace in his dominions. It would be out of place here to dwell on the treachery of the Sultan and his chiefs, which culminated in the assassination of Mr. Birch, their punishment, and the new regime as a British Protectorate. It will suffice for our purposes to mention that, as regards Larut, considerable success has all along attended British intervention in the affairs of this subdivision of the State, and that the social and political condition is on a par with that of the adjoining British settlements, of which it will become, it may be safely presaged—as an inevitable result of the existing policy—a valuable component. Readers desirous of becoming acquainted with every interest- ing point of information about this rich and wide-spreading country—“ so mild in climate, so luxuriant in vegetation, so regular in the succession of refreshing rains, so unvisited by storms that prevail in the East ”—are referred to Major McNair’s recent valuable work,* which will amply repay perusal. The geological formation of the Peninsula has been described as granitic, overlaid most generally by sandstone, and fre- quently also by laterite or cellular clay ironstone, and to the north by limestone. A granitic mountain chain runs along the whole length of the Peninsula, and on both sides of it, but particularly on its western one, or that sheltered by Sumatra, there are extensive alluvial plains little above the level of the sea. The prevailing metals are iron, tin, and gold. Iron ores are found everywhere, and tin in all parts where it is sought. There is a striking resemblance in the mineral characteristics of all parts of the Malayan Peninsula—particularly as regards the unvarying general conditions under which the deposits of tin are found throughout the full extent of the Malayan tin * ‘ Perak and the Malaya,’ “ Sarong and Kris.”TIN MINING IN LARUT. 3 field, stretching, as it does, over 17 degrees of latitude and 10 of longitude, from Tenasseram (Tavoy) in the north to Banca and Billeton in the south; and the observations of Messrs. Logan, Horsfield, and others, in different parts of this area, have been verified in a corresponding identity with those recently noted in Larut. Perak is the second Malay state of the western side of the Peninsula, counting from the north, and Larut, its chief pro- vince, is an irregular strip of country about 70 miles in length, varying from 10 to 25 miles in breadth, bordering on the coast. The physical aspect of Larut is level from the sea-shore to some ten miles inland, where the mountain ranges rise to an altitude of nearly 5000 feet above the level of the sea, and run in an almost unbroken line in a north-westerly direction, with detached hills at intervals at their base. The whole of the land lying along the base of the Larut ranges is more or less stanniferous. This strip is in length about 50 miles, with an average breadth of six miles. The level of this belt is even now undergoing a change by the alluvium brought down from the hills by a rainfall exceeding 150 inches throughout the year. All the ore heretofore worked has been found in the alluvion or detritus of ancient mountains—what is called in mining lan- guage “ stream-works ”—obtained by washing the soil in the same manner as, for the most part, gold in Australia and California. No ore has ever been obtained by mining the rocks containing veins of it, although it has been traced to them. The tin beds are composed of debris of granitic rocks, mixed with the ore, which—exemplifying the various stages of progres- sion from the lode in the hills to tbe dust on the plains, the fragments becoming smaller the further they recede down and from the hills, and proving beyond a doubt, that attrition of enormous power has at some period of the earth’s history been brought into play—varies in size of crystal (peroxide of tin) from that of fine sand to that of an ordinary quartz pebble. Conflicting geological speculations exist regarding these de- posits of tin ore. There are evidences in favour of an alluvial4 TIN MINING IN LARUT. origin, which many circumstances strongly support. Tho earlier waste of the hills before alluded to, which consists of a coarse granite in which the tin-stone united with ore is enclosed in veins, appears to have produced, by a slow decomposition of the rock itself, successive layers, in which the secondary tin is now found. This process, but, as would be expected, in a much modified form, demonstrating how deposits have been spread over large areas during long periods, is in active operation at the present day. Further, the embedded remains—including the trunks of trees in varying stages of decay—frequently met with in the workings, all tend to prove that some of the deposits may be appropriately designated as “ recent.” Sections of the mines show that the strata under the soil con- sist of alternate bands of sand, with sometimes high admixtures of dark clay of different colours. There is something singular in the appearance of these strata, which exhibit strikingly the agitation of water at the period of stratification. There is also striking evidence of the operation—visible in the arrangement of the superior strata—of a powerful cause in the effect produced on the separate fragments comprising the last layer which con- tains the ore of the tin. These substances are almost silicious, composed of quartz, felspar, mica, and schorl, among which are found occasionally masses of clay, but they appear to have been subjected to a power, which in many cases has completely dissolved their union or the adhesion of their particles: most of them are so loose in their texture that they cannot be handled without separating and crumbling to pieces. The regular striated surface which appears bn some of these fragments is highly characteristic of their original composition—the particles of quartz have re- mained and show themselves on the striae, while the felspar separates as a white powder. Many of the fragments possessing more solidity, have rounded angles, and their surfaces marked with numerous intersecting lines show them to belong to those silicious rocks occurring in extensive veins in different parts of the country.TIN MINING IN LARUT. 5 The termination of the tin stratum is indicated by a pecu- liarly white clayey substance, which becomes friable by drying, and is called Kongtay by the Chinese. The Kong is everywhere of precisely the same quality—sometimes yellow, sometimes white, or somewhat of a bluish colour, and consists of Kavlien, sometimes mixed with fine quartz sand, which is a decomposed product of felspar. Borings through the Kong taken to a depth of 20 feet yielded nothing but the same, with more or less quartz sand. Differences of opinion arise as to whether this white (porce- lain) clay will be found invariably underlying the stanniferous deposits. In the Larut field, it may be considered as the general mode of occurrence, the only exceptions to the rule being where the tin stratum rests upon sandstone. Even in these instances opinions vary as to the possibility of this being another form of the silicate of alumina with a large admixture of the quartz sand before adverted to. The following are sections of the mines in different localities, giving a very fair criterion of the district:— I. Feet. Vegetable mould.......... 1 * 25 Loam .................... 1 • 00 Sand .. .. 4*00 Bluish clay................ 3-50 Darkish clay ............ 3‘75 Stratum of ore .......... 6 ■ 00 II. Mould soil..................3-00 Varying shades of clay, from dark yellow to whitish grey.......................12-00 Light gravelly drift .. .. 3-00 Stratum of ore ..........6 • 00 III. Mould soil................ 4-00 Shades of sand from white to brown................ 4-00 Dark grey sand........... 6-00 Stratum of ore .......... 4'00 Pipe-clay ............... ? IV. Feet. Red loam ................. 2 ■ 00 Sand drift ............... 5-50 White grey clay........... 4-50 Black clay (containing trunks of trees) ............. 2-00 Stratum of ore ........... 5-00 Pipe-clay ................ ? V. Red loam ................. 4*00 Sand drift ............... 8‘75 Whitish grey clay .. .. 9-25 Stratum of ore ........... 6'00 Sandstone ................ ? VI. Red earth loam............ 5-00 Whitish grey clay .. .. 3-00 Drift sand ............... 8 • 50 Stratum of ore ........... 8-00 Sandstone ................ ?6 TIN MINING IN LARUT. Some idea of the irregular and confused stratification of this tin field may he derived from the fact that in an excavation (working) of less than 100 feet square, the details of the sec- tions of no two of its sides were similar, although of course, all agreeing generally. The depth at which the stratum of tin-ore is obtained, and its thickness depend upon position and locality. The mines cover an area of nearly four square miles—or less than a tenth of the accessible tin land—divided into three sections, viz.:—Assam- Kumbang, Kamunting, and Topai—in the order of their existing size and importance. The variations of depth and thickness of the ore layer may be seen from the following statement:— Sections. Depth. Thickness. Remarks. Mean. Range. Mean. Range. Assam-Kumbang 16-0 10 to 25-5 3-0 2 to 5-0 Derived from 15 mines. Kamunting 9-9 4 „ 21-0 4-9 2 „ 7-5 n 43 „ Topai 18-2 12 „ 25-0 51 3 „ 7'0 „ 21 „ There is probably no working of a greater depth than 30 feet, or deposit of a greater thickness than 10 feet, which figures may, therefore, be safely taken in these respects as the maxima for the field. At present the extensive mining operations in Larut are carried on entirely by Chinese, which nationality also probably forms nine-tenths of the population. There have been various estimates framed, all more or less based on uncertainties, as to the Chinese population in Larut. It is exceedingly difficult to determine the number even approximately; scattered as they are, and so irregularly distributed—1400 may be taken as the limit, the mines affording occupation for fully a half of this number. There are 80 mines in operation in Larut, owned by 40 kongsees or firms, with an average of nearly 86 men per mine, distributed as follows:—* * This statement is entirely derived from unofficial sources.TIN MINING IN LARUT. 7 Sections. Number of Mines. Number of Men. Range. Remarks. Assam-Kumbang 38 3827 20 to 210 To these might be added 96 “ Lampan ” workings on the Kamunting 30 1809 15 „ 300 hills, at various elevations, on which 355 men are en- Topai 12 1207 60 „ 210 gaged, either singly or in small gangs, ranging up to, Total .. 80 6843 15 „ 300 but seldom exceeding, six shares. The four largest and richest mines in the Assam-Kumbang section belong to one firm, the Hap Seng Kongsee, which employs upwards of 600 coolies. But the largest mine of any in the country is owned by the Kong Loon Kongsee, in Kamunting, under the direction of an enterprising Chinese gentleman, Captain* Ah Quee, whose appreciation of European appliances is evinced by a centrifugal pump and engine, in supersession of the cumbrous, and comparatively useless, Chinese water-wheel (of which more hereafter). There are 300 coolies employed on this mine, which is the highest number of all the workings. The health, social mode of living, and prosperity of the miners in Larut are—comparatively with those of the neigh- bouring States—good, due undoubtedly to their more profitable labour. They appear to understand the benefits of co-operation, and in many of their industries there is an association of labour as well as capital; capabilities for organization and self-govern- ment being a national characteristic. The Chinese remain Chinese in whatever nation or place they may be,-the worst feature being their clannishness—their national individuality. They are slaves of custom, doing everything by precedent, being disdainfully averse to improvement, which their peculiar religion and excessive superstition greatly aid and abet. They are proverbially industrious and enterprising, their constant plodding and dogged perseverance leading to progress “ slow but sure.” They are regular in their habits, eating and resting each day at regular hours—there being no variation in their conduct. Honorary rank, accorded from courtesy.8 TIN MINING IN LARUT. Gambling appears to be tbe besetting sin of the Chinese in Larut as elsewhere, and its prevention being impossible, the Government has very wisely licensed the vice, bringing it better under control and restricting its action, besides affording a remunerative source of income to the State. It is practised universally among the Chinese, and they go about it with a recklessness which does not accord with their usual safe business habits. Is is a rare and a curious sight to see a drunken China- man, none drinking enough to be called drunkards. But the habit of opium eating and smoking, more particularly the latter, among them is almost as universal as that of gambling. Many partake of the drug moderately, finding relief from the day’s labour in the opium-pipe at night. These negative traits of character would necessarily be incomplete without a reference to the sanguinary encounters -which sometimes ensue when rival factions of the Chinese come into hostile contact, during which it is said that John Chinaman’s celestial face is transformed into the visage of a demon! Before concluding this long, but not altogether unavoidable, digression, it may be well to mention that these people arrive at all ports of the Archipelago in vast numbers every year, and there can be no doubt that the “ celestial ” will be an important factor on the Pacific Coast lines wherever hard, earnest work, by human hands has to be performed. It is only necessary to allude to the influence which they have already exercised in California and Queensland in depreciating European, or rather “ white ” labour—leaving the political aspects of the “ Chinese Immigration Question ” to statesmen.* The mine holdings vary in extent from 1 to 20 orlongs,f the boundaries of which are continually changing from the irregular and unsystematic mode of working adopted by the Chinese, coupled with the fact that no “ register ” has ever been kept of the limits or extent of the allotments. Further, the existing system of granting metalliferous land in Larut for mining * Since this was written the subject has been ably discussed in an elaborate article in ‘The Nineteenth Century’ (No. 19, September, 1878), entitled, “ Tbe Chinese as Colonists,” by Sir Walter Medhurst. f An orlong is as near aB possible 1-jj acre, being 80 yards square.TIN MINING IN LARUT. 9 operations is very unsatisfactory as regards the tenure under which such lands are held. The system for a long time in operation is a “ pass,” supposed to be renewable yearly, which offers no security of any value in the money market, and it is satisfactory to record that Mr. Low, H.B.M.’s Resident, is exerting his best endeavours to rectify the defect by the in- troduction of leases, as a security to encourage the expenditure of capital, leaving the revenue that would as a consequence accrue to the State aside. The form of lease which he suggests, and which is most likely to be adopted, requires and provides for a certain number of men to be constantly and steadily employed in working the holding—21 years being the period judiciously selected for the duration of the lease. The liberty which had been granted to Chinese miners of choosing the ground for their work, has caused a large quantity to be unfit to be worked hereafter. There having been no regulations regarding the opening and abandoning of a mine, the finest localities were not unfrequently converted into pools, and thus for the most part entirely lost to Government. In conse- quence also of the want of system and proper supervision which had until very recently prevailed, much valuable tin-bearing land has been covered up by the neighbouring workings, and is now comparatively inaccessible, and left untouched among the abandoned workings. The method of starting a mine in Larut is somewhat as fol- lows :—The “ undertaker,” after obtaining a claim-licence, is frequently unable to provide more than the kongsee and smelt- ing-houses, tools, and pumping machinery, besides, of course, collecting or importing the gang of coolies. In such cases, he has to resort to an “ advancer ” for the working expenses, including the food and necessaries of his coolies. The condi- tions under which the advancer agrees to supply these require- ments vary very much, but are, in some form or other, embodied in the following :—(1) Obtaining a tenth of the gross proceeds of the mine, in addition to a certain fixed high rate of interest— frequently 36 per cent, per annum—on the value of the articles supplied. (2) Receiving the privilege of taking over the out- put of the mine at $2 per bhara, equivalent to about 4 per cent.,10 TIN MINING IN LARUT. below the ruling market rate, with an enhancement, corre- sponding with the interest mentioned in (1), on the bazaar rates of provisions and necessaries. (3) Purchasing the speculator’s claim, but keeping his interest alive in the working for a tenth of the yield, making his own arrangements with the coolies, and appropriating the residual balance, if any. It sometimes, how- ever, happens that the undertaker and advancer are one and the same individual, which, of course, tends greatly to simplify matters. All payments to coolies go through the hang kong, or head cooly, who is the middle man. As might be expected, the coolies’ wages are paid differently, according to circumstances; some by share in the results, others by petty contract or task, and some few by monthly wages. Individual earnings range from $6 to $8 per mensem, food and necessaries costing $3 to $4, leaving apparently a comparatively large balance, but, from the objectionable custom in vogue of only adjusting accounts once a year, the unfortunate cooly is compelled to exist on supplies advanced at an enormous increase on the bazaar prices, and as a consequence receives very little, if anything, at the final settlement. The miner’s dietary is very simple, and generally consists of rice, with a little dried fish, and a small quantity of vegetables, with pork on feast days. This is the usual “ messing ” provided for them at the kongsees, which are supplied with any additional luxuries from the stores in Thai- peng, Kota, and Kamunting; the articles most in request being opium, shamshu (spirit distilled from rice-wine), cakes, fruits, &c. In some few of the kongsees there is a shop on the pre- mises, and in, round, and about the workings small vegetable garden plots have sprung up; a pleasant relief to the monotony of 6poil-bank and pit of which the mining area is composed. The following are the current bazaar prices in Larut, which may possibly interest English readers:— $ c. Opium, per ball of 3 catties .............. 18 00 Salt fish, small, per picul................... 6 00 Kice, per picul .............................. 4 20 OU „ 16 00 Trousers, each ............................... 0 50 Coals „ ......................... 0 65TIN MINING IN LARUT. 11 The mine prices being from 30 to 70 per cent, in advance of these. There can be no doubt that the advancer’s profits are great; but the risk which he has to undergo at times is also very great in proportion. The exact relation between under- taker, cooly, and advancer has never been defined, and is alto- gether in a very unsatisfactory condition—the custom varying in different mines, and even in the same mine at different times. The system of paying regular wages to the coolies is gradually but surely coming into force, and the towkays (headmen), with few exceptions, appear to think that it is the best plan of work- ing after all—Government being powerless for good under any other system. It cannot, however, entirely supersede the system of trucking, by which the advancer, as a rule, enriches himself by despoiling the cooly: there will evidently be less liability to the complications which always bewilder the poor cooly, who will have more control over his earnings, and be left to his option as to the store which he may be inclined to patronize for supplies, or the disposal of his money generally. It has been correctly remarked by one who knows the Chinese, and has seen them work, that more than any other nation it is necessary they should have a personal interest in their work. The nature of the ground in Larut precludes the universal adoption in the mines of the system in force in Europe and elsewhere of letting out the work in small portions. Besides, an insuperable difficulty would be that the Chinese would not undertake such work without an advance; and if they found that they had miscalculated a contract, they would not work at all. A “Mines ^Regulation Act” would, by no means, be a premature measure to introduce into the country. The extension of mining interests at the present accelerating rate will before long render it absolutely necessary. By some former rules for the working of mines—more honoured in the breach than the observance—the hours of work- ing were fixed at 6 to 9 a.m., and 1 to 4.30 p.m. ; but this time was neither adhered to nor enforced. The working day varies from six to eight hours, according to agreement, the coolies having the option of working overtime outside these hours, but under the restriction of selling the outget to the advancer,12 TIN MINING IN LARUT. besides giving him a fifth of the result for the use of implements, or rather mining tools and plant. This rule being evidently unfair, open to abuse, and in other respects objectionable, is fast dying out, being avoided by special agreement. There are sixteen privileged holidays sanctioned by custom in the Larut mines. Although the Chinese in general are largely experienced, active, and indefatigable in working their mining grounds, their mode of operation is still very imperfect, and susceptible of great improvement. The modus operandi of Tin Mining in Larut may be presented under four heads—I. Excavating, or getting the tin ore. II. Pumping, or keeping the excavation free of the water, which would otherwise retard progress. III. Washing, or separating the ore from the earth, clay, sand, and pebbles with which it is found embedded; and IY. Smelt- ing, or the reduction of the ore to the metallic state. The first operation in “ getting ” is to remove the superin- cumbent earth. The Chinese miners in Larut generally take one side of the pit, and carry it (a vertical face) before them in no fixed direction, only following that which gives them most tin with least labour, irrespective of ulterior consequences. The tools employed are the universal chaukol or hoe, and for hard ground a sort of pickaxe. The “ spoil ” is carried across and laid on the opposite side till the ore-bearing stratum is reached. This is a most tedious operation, the earth being conveyed in baskets suspended from the ends of a stick resting on the shoulder, up notched beams (Chinese ladders) to the sur- face, and then along to the place of deposit. The quantity carried does not average more, each trip, than a cubic foot of clay soil. The “ pay ” or “ wash dirt ” is taken in a similar way to the place where it is to be washed. The plan of stripping in stages of descending level ahead of the working face may now in a few instances be seen since European super- vision has become something more than a name in the workings. Government control is also exercised in preventing the forma- tion of “ spoil-banks,” on unworked land (to which objectionable practice a reference has been already made in a preceding para- graph), and insisting on the filling-in of the excavation behindTIN MINING IN LAKUT. 13 as its extension progresses forward. It has been ascertained that 100 men steadily employed can work 2 or 3 orlongs of tin land in a year, and—which may be verified from succeeding paragraph—produce 250 bharas * of metallic tin. Water is the great agent in the mining operations in Larut. Without water, or with only a limited amount, a claim that would have been otherwise highly productive, may either become valueless, or only capable of affording very irregular returns. It would be impossible to cleanse the tin-ore (sand) from the different earthy materials with which it is associated, or to turn the clumsy water-wheels by which the pits are drained, without this essential requisite, and it is the chief and a very fertile cause of dispute among the miners. Its want was at one time considered such a great difficulty in the working of the mines that the apprehensions of Government were carried into the form of a proposal for the construction of reservoirs for a supply to meet certain contingencies at a cost of 25,000Z. It was fortunate for the country that no funds were available for carrying the scheme into execution, and the project has now been consigned to the limbo of a good many official ideas of interest and importance; all alike more or less purporting to benefit the community and remunerate the State! The mining area has since the idea was first entertained, in 1874, increased largely and is still increasing; the outget also increasing, as will be seen subsequently, in a much more favourable proportion. The difficulties regarding water supply arise more from waste and indiscriminate working than actual want, and, all things considered, the only remedy available, consistent with a non- interference with existing rights and the extension of the work- ings—is steam pumping-machinery, to the advantages of which the present head of the Administration (Mr. Low) is fully alive. The rainfall (already mentioned) is distributed throughout the year, which, coupled with the physical aspects of the country and its position with the zone of perpetual deposition, all place * One bhara = 3 piculs = 100 catties. The foreign or Chinese catty is equal in weight to 22 dollars, or 1^ lb. nearly. The Larut or Malay catty is equal in weight to 24 dollars, or 1£ lb. nearly.14 TIN MINING IN LARUT. beyond the possibility of doubt that the anticipations of periods of long-continued droughts were raised on very insufficient grounds. When a sufficient quantity of “ tin-dirt ” has been collected near the washing-place, the operation—which corresponds with the Cornish “ huddling”—commences. The appliances for this purpose in Larut are much the same as some of those once in use in the placer-washings of Australia and California, but more particularly the “ Tom ” or “ Long Tom ” of the latter, which is a very close approach to the sluice-boxes universally employed in the Larut washings. These boxes are little else than a trough or gutter, formed of three planks of from 20 to 30 feet in length, having the channel from 2 to 3 feet wide, and from 1 to 2 feet deep, and placed at varying grades, dependent upon length, but the inclination never exceeding an angle of 10°. It is obvious, also, that the water supply available for washing should be an important consideration in regulating the cross section and fall of the channel; and the Chinese appear to be fully aware of the fact, the object being to obtain such a velocity that the water after disintegrating the “ dirt ” in flowing down will carry on with it the gravel and earth, leaving the heavier tin-sand to sink in the trough behind “riffles” or cross-slats, of which there are only two; one about 5 feet from the upper end, and the other 2 feet above the lower end. After a sufficient quantity of tin-dirt is thrown into the gutter, and a stream of water turned on, three men travel in the box with chankols or hoes, by which the puddle is kept constantly stirred, and one man is employed with a rake, removing the large stones, and throwing back against the current such portions of the wash-dirt is require further disintegration. Three men are necessary for clearing the tail of the small stones and sand which gradually accumulate at the bottom, while a fresh supply of tin-dirt is continuously shovelled in at the head of the trough. The Chinese, as a rule, always work with a heavy stream of water, and, no fork being used as in Australia and California, the stuff is either carried through before it is sufficiently washed, or the force of the water carries off much of the finer particlesTIN MINING IN LARUT. 15 of tin-sand, which are thus practically lost to the undertaking. Great improvements might be made here with a view to prevent at least a part of the loss which attends these operations. That this loss is high, and perhaps excessively so, is proved by the circumstance that in some of the workings a second washing is frequently considered necessary, and in others, the more indus- trious of the miners find it worth their while to devote their leisure hours to the same purpose. The yield of tin-sand varies from 1 to 2 per cent, of the tin-dirt. The cost of “ washing ” is generally included with that of “ getting,” and correct observa- tion, coupled with careful inquiry, show that it requires gene- rally 900 units of a miner’s ordinary working day, to produce 32 piculs of tin-sand, the range being between 800 and 1000, and rate, quarter-dollar per unit. This will be reverted to in the statistics of labour and cost of production, to follow here- after. On the termination of the washing, the ore, in the form of a black, heavy, fine-grained sand, is taken to the smelting- house. It may not be out of place to mention that the Chinese miners believe the tin-ore to be under the guardianship of demons, whom they anxiously endeavour to propitiate by offerings. Formerly they would not permit anyone to cross the ore- streams, but now they are constrained to confine this prohibi- tion to persons with shoes going down into the pit where the ore is lying. The only known instance of an attempt being made to intro- duce the European methods of working in the extraction of the tin-ore in the Larut mines was that made by an Australian miner, Mr. William Scott, from Melbourne (under the writer’s superintendence), and the following results of one of the experi- mental adit levels driven into the face of one of the pits, may possibly interest those connected with the tin industry else- where. Section of working : H = 4'6” W = 3'9". Length, on the clear, 24 feet ( = 7 sets, 4'0" from centre to centre).16 TIN MINING IN LAHUT. Timbering : 7 sets, each set including side, cap and sole pieces, requiring 16 running feet of timber = 112, at 4 cents a foot = $4 48c., and 4 top and 2 side laths between each set = 36, at 8 cents a lath = $2 88c.; labour in making and fixing, 2 car- penters for 10 days = 20, at 60c. a day = $12 ; total cost of tim- bering, labour and materials, $19 36c. or 80 cents a foot driven. “ Getting ” : 3 men for 10 days = 30, at 40c. a day = $12; 5 men for 6 days = 30, at 30c. a day = $9 ; 8 coolies on occa- sions, at 25c. = $2; total cost of getting, including removing 382 *5 cubic feet of tin-wash or dirt, $21, or 87c. a foot driven, otherwise 18 cubic feet a dollar, or averaging nearly 6 cubic feet per man per day. This result is unreliable, as a great deal of the labour was dissipated in baling. Washing: 1 overman, at 40c. a day; 10 men at 30c. a day = $3 ; total cost of washing 382 ■ 5 cubic feet tin-wash or dirt, $3 40c., or a little less than lc. a foot, otherwise nearly 1£ cubic yard per man per day. The quantity of tin-dirt or wash extracted, 382'5 cubic feet, yielded 4 • 58 cubic feet, or 1 ■ 2 per cent, of tin-sand, weighing ’571 catties, affording a “ specific gravity ” of 2*66, or a little over one-third of that of the white metal. The causes which necessitated the abandonment of the working were—(1) an obstruction, and (2) frequent floodings; both of which would have entailed unnecessary expenditure by a con- tinuance of the operations; the latter being a disadvantage (from the contiguity of a sump) which might have been avoided, but the former (fallen drift timber of a bygone period) is a con- tingency which might be expected in alluvial (tin) ground any- where in Larut. The undertaking was financially successful, for the 571 catties of tin-sand, the outget of the working, was sold (at 8c. a catty) for $45 68c., and thereby covering the working expenses, which aggregated $43 76c., besides leaving a margin of more than 4 per cent, to profit in less than a fortnight’s operations. The further the working extended the proportionate cost would have decreased, leading only to one inference—that under more favourable conditions, backed by recent experience in similarTIN MINING IN LARUT. 17 undertakings, better results must be a consequence more tban possible, if not an absolute certainty. In concluding tbe part of the subject relating to the extrac- tion of the tin-ore, a few words may be added regarding a very good, and at the same time extremely simple, test for the detec- tion of this substance from among the many varieties of black sand with which it is likely to be confounded. It may not be generally known, and it will doubtless surprise many to learn, that if a few grains of the crystals of tin-ore be first crushed with a hammer, and afterwards ground down in a glass or agate mortar, the resulting fine powder will be of a nice pink colour. Foreign adventurers prospecting for tin invariably apply this method, which is stated to answer well; in fact, they carry a sort of diamond mortar, expressly constructed to facilitate its application. Iron-sand will be found to be irreducible under the pestle, and will not change its black colour. The spring level of the country may be taken at a depth of 6 feet below the surface of the ground; and accordingly, when the excavations have reached about this depth, and water Is struck, it is then only that the miners’ difficulties may be said to have commenced. The percolation of water into the workings from the com- paratively porous soils which overlie the ore stratum is very great indeed, which is in a great measure due to the numerous watercourses intersecting the workings, as well as to the high rainfall, and other causes. The mines being entirely quarries or open excavations, the effects of a tropical downpour may be easily imagined. The abandoned or disused mines also become so many pools, or, as it were, reserves, from which water oozes into the neighbouring workings. There is one continued struggle between the miner and this element for supremacy, in which the “Heathen-Chinee ” rises superior to the difficulty, by bringing his proverbial ingenuity to the rescue; the result being the “ chin-chia ” or chain-pump, where the element is turned against itself, and water utilized to overcome water. The reader will now commence to understand that the term “ want of water,” as applied to the Larut mines has only a local18 TIN MINING IN LARU’f. signification, implying a deficit in the streams which proceed from the higher grounds into the mining area, and are there used for turning the water-wheels which work the pumps engaged in draining. The subject has been adverted to before, but its importance will be the only excuse for reiterating that steam-pumps are indispensably necessary for the development of the tin industry in Larut, and it would amply repay any invest- ment made in this direction. The chain-pump in use by the Chinese in the Larut mines is only a modification of appliances long known in Europe and the East.* It consists of a wooden gutter or working barrel, placed at an angle which seldom exceeds 20°. A fair average of the existing grades is 1 in 6. The gutter or trough is from 12 to 16 inches high, and from 4 to 6 inches wide, and of lengths ranging up to 100 feet, composed of three single planks. A few inches above, and supported by framing attached to the sides, a fourth plank or platform runs for the full length parallel to the trough. An endless wooden chain, with wooden blades, about a foot apart on each side of the link, is exactly fitted to and works in the wooden channel, passing over two pulleys, or, more correctly, sprocket-wheels, one at the upper and one at the lower end. The upper pulley is on the axle of an overshot water-wheel, driven from the tail race of the mine higher np, or directly from the head race, and the pulley at the lower end of the pump, which is submerged, guides the blades which travel down the platform and up the trough, the water drawn up by the floats being discharged into a channel at the head. In some of the smaller workings the pump is worked by coolies, by means of a treadmill on the shaft of the upper pulley, and, in a few instances formerly, buffaloes are said to have been the motive power. The water-wheels f in the Larut mines are from 4 to 5 feet * The Californian wheel and Persian wheel are on the same principle. f Eighty-four in all, distributed as follows:— Assam-Kumbang...............19 Kamunting...................40 Topai ......................25 Total............. 84TIN MINING IN LARUT. 19 diameter, and from 2 to 3 feet breast. The fall at each pump, its lift, and performance vary, and the following statement supplies all useful information on these heads :— Discharge. Trough. No. Fall.] Lift. Cubic Feet per Minute. Gallons per Hour. Ratio Effect. Power. Inclina- tion. Length. 1 feet 5& feet 14-0 9-57 3588-75 •18, or nearly a • 43, or over f •125, or a degrees 10 feet 85 2 5 13-3 7-63 2861-25 10 84 3 5iV 5* 9-0 4-17 1563-75 17 91 4 20-5 4-27 1601-40 • 36, or over a 13 92 5 H 13-0 4-46 1672-50 •0974, or • 13, or nearly a 10 84 6 5* 10-5 8-04 3015-36 7 84 Means 5* 13-4 6-36 2385-00 • 22, or over a n 87 Remarks.—These pumps were selected indiscriminately from the As9am- Kumbang and Topai sections, and the measurements were taken on a morning succeeding a night of heavy rain, when the wheels were working under favourable conditions. The great waste of power is, no doubt, due to the very great friction necessitated by the construction of the machine. The advantages claimed are: (1) original cost, which is about $250; and (2) attendance, requiring only two men (one day, one night), at $8 per mensem, to look after and regulate it; but, on the other hand, the wear and tear of machinery is very great; the frequent renewals and repairs costing fully $150 per annum. The Chinese furnace in Larut for smelting the tin-ore (which, as mentioned, is in the form of a black sand) is open, and made of brick lined with a luting of clay. In shape it is more inclined to the cylindrical than funnel form. It is generally 5 or 6 feet high, and 3 or 4 feet in diameter. The tuyere is made from a peculiar clay, and it is generally imported from Palembang, Sumatra. It is placed about 2 feet from the bottom of the nozzle, inclining towards the bottom of the furnace, at an angle of 45°, which position and direction appear to answer well. The furnace, after every cooling down, receives new lining and a new tuyere; no tuyere lasting more than a night. The smelting20 TIN MINING IN LARUT. operations are carried on all the year round, but only during tho night; a custom which appears to have been introduced from the adjoining countries, where the difference of temperature is very great, being fully 20° between the day and night. There is a vent-hole in the bottom of the furnace, always kept open during the operation of smelting by a long sapling, to prevent it from being choked up with slag, to admit of the molten tin running into a well, from which it is ladled and poured into the moulds.* The cold-blast is used by the aid of a bellows, formed from the trunk of a large tree, hollowed out and fitted with a piston. The air is discharged from both ends down a separate channel running outside and along the cylinder to the centre, whence it is led into the furnace. The wooden cylinder is placed hori- zontally behind the furnace, and the average is 14 inches dia- meter and 12 feet stroke, having in each end cover a 4-inch square clack-valve, which admits air, and closes on the return stroke of the piston. The piston is also of wood, with paper or feather packing; the piston-rod and stuffing-box are also of the same material. The motive power is three coolies, grasping the wooden cross-head on the piston-rod, and walking rapidly towards and from the cylinder (two full blows and two quarter blows at a time). These men are relieved every hour. Charcoal from the neighbouring jungle is used, but nothing in the shape of a flux is considered necessary. After the furnace is filled with charcoal and the requisite heat obtained, a shovel- ful of ore is sprinkled upon the top of the fire, then a basket of charcoal is laid upon that, and soon, alternately, layers of ore and charcoal. In this manner of smelting there is great loss, both from the finer ore being blown away, and from the partial oxidation of the tin. There is great room for improvement here; but all efforts to introduce a better mode of reducing the ore is looked * The ingots or slabs beiDg cast in a peculiar form, made up of a rect- angular block, 14 inches by 6 inches by 2 inches, attached to the flat face of a semi-cylinder, 10 inches long and 14 inches diameter, and weighing from 50 to 60 catties each.TIN MINING IN LARUT. 21 upon with suspicion and distrust. These open furnaces consume much charcoal, and at the present rate of consumption a diminu- tion in the supply of this article must ensue; and, with the recognized affinity between rainfall and forest, the anticipations of this becoming a considerable cause for perplexity in the future are not entirely unfounded. It is almost unnecessary to add anything further to what has been already said on the superstitious practices of the Chinese miners, but 4hey form an integral part of every smelting opera- tion, more particularly on the first smelting of the ore from a newly-opened mine, which is an occasion for great feastings and sacrifices. The cost of smelting is comparatively great, and differs according as the ore is either smelted by mine-owners in their own furnaces at the kongsee houses, or by the storekeepers in the smelting-houses in the townships; being in favour of the latter, as the necessaries for smelting form a part of their stock- in-trade, and, consequently, cost them much less than they would the miners, who are their customers. The subjoined statement gives the comparative cost of each operation:— Particulars. Kongsees. Town- ship. Remarks. S c. $ c. Charcoal, 18‘58 piculs .. 35-67 31-96 Two relays of three coolies 6-00 5-40 iThis is the average number | usually employed. One tindal or overman .. 1-50 1-20 Moulder and salt .. 0*30 0-20 ("Salt being customarily mixed \ with the mould earth. Crackers, candles, and! j Crackers and candles for the 0*30 0-25 < Teligious ceremony, which [ is always performed. 10 catties of rice .. 0'45 0-40 Vegetables and shamshu 2-00 1-50 Strange combination! Total cost of smelting 321 piculs of tin ore .. .. / 46-22 40*91 JThe ore used being from the \ Assam-Kumbang section. Besulting metallic tin-! 19-20 19-52 piculs / 22 TIN MINING IN LARUT. It is very difficult to obtain satisfactory information regarding tbe percentage of tin obtained from tbe ore—32 piculs of tin- sand smelted by the Topai kongsees at the same cost ($46 22c.), only yielded 18‘56 piculs of metallic tin. Further, the Chinese are very indifferent to these sort of calculations, and from the process not being continuous and carefully conducted, no certain results can be obtained. A mean deduced from a large number of statements—all ranging between 58 and 62—gives 60*7 as the average per- centage of metal obtained from the ore. It is stated that speci- mens of clean tin-ore from the Malayan Peninsula, sent to England, yielded from 75 to 82 per cent, of the metal; but this was, doubtless, by a process with which the rude native methods could never hold comparison. In the Report from the British Consulate at Batavia anent the Tin Mines of Banca, it is men- tioned that the greatest part of the stream tin-ore, when properly washed, contains from 75 to 76 per cent, of tin, out of which 73 per cent, is secured by smelting; and sometimes qualities of ore are found which only contain 60 per cent., or even less. In the year 1860 Cornwall and Devon produced 10,500 tons of ore, which yielded 6700 tons of tin, equivalent to 63*62 per cent., and in the year 1874, the United Kingdom produced 14,039 tons of tin-ore, which yielded 9942 tons of metal, equivalent to 70*82 per cent. These facts and figures go to support what has been already said regarding the richness of the deposits of tin- ore in Larut; particularly if it be remembered that the greater part of the Cornwall tin is lode-tin, tbe ores of which have, in most instances, to be crushed and roasted, and otherwise purified, prior to smelting. There can only be very inconsiderable difference, if any, in the ore from the different parts of the Malayan tin-field, and any difference in the quality of the metal can only be chiefly derived from the greater or less care with which the process of smelting is conducted. A great deal, if not all, of the Larut tin is re-smelted in Penang, which is the only port to which it is exported. The greater demand or higher selling price in theTIN MINING IN LARUT. 23 market of Banca tin (sometimes a dollar a picul more than Malayan tin) can only be attributed to the fact that it contains, less foreign impurities, due, no doubt, to the operations of tin- producing in Banca having been carried on for a long time on a large scale and under European supervision. As according to Makins all English commercial tin retains small traces of im- purity, amounting in the finest kinds to about • 3 per cent., the following analysis of Siak (Sumatra) slab-tin, by Mr. Backer Over beck, a Dutch chemist, will create some surprise:— Tin ................. 99-966 Iron ................ 0-004 100- and sulphur in quantities too small for weighing. The exports of tin from the Straits Settlements in 1877 was 195,483 piculs, of which 53,639 piculs were from Singapore, and 141,844 piculs from Penang, there being hardly ever any shipped direct for export from Malacca. Penang receives all the Larut tin, and its imports for the same year showed 157,431 piculs, of which 40,725 were from the Malay and 116,706 from the Siamese States. The exports of tin from Larut to Penang were 39,996 piculs, and if the higher weight of the Larut picul he considered, the conclusion is that all the tin imported into Penang from the native States of the Peninsula comes from Larut. The following analysis of the exports of tin from Penang will show better than anything else, the markets in which there is a great and increasing demand for Malayan tin:— Piculs. India ..................................... 28,648 China ......................................48,113 United Kingdom..............................39,218 Singapore, for transhipment to all three .. 25,865 Total ..................141,844 The following is a statement of the exports of tin—being the24 TIN MINING IN LARUT. produce of the mines—from Larut during a period of nearly five years, showing the amount of duty levied:— Period. Quantity. Duty. Remarks. Years. Months. piculs dollars 1874 Feb. to Dec. 11,035 70,227 IFrom the commencement of the \ British administration. 1875 Jan. to Dec. 29,599 30,576 158,171 1876 133,221 1877 39,996 140,292 (The produce of the other half- 1878 Jan. to June 19,738 71,691 ] year has been estimated at ( 25,000 piculs. It will be perceived that the exports of tin contribute largely to the revenue of the State. The highest tax levied on tin was $19 per bhara, including royalty and export duty. It has been successively [reduced to $15, $12, and now stands at $10, with what beneficial effect on the development of the industry the above figures clearly prove. A tax exceeding one-third the value of the article was more than enough to cripple and even destroy any staple, and it speaks favourably of the remunerative value of the mines, that they survived the impost. The average production of the Government tin mines in the island of Banca during the ten years ending 1876 has been 68,607 piculs, the amount of labour used being 7000 Chinamen, or 9 • 8 piculs = 3 ■ 27 or 3\ bharas * per man per year, which is a very high result; for in the Larut mines the same number of men (according to a previous statement) only produced 40,000 piculs, or 5 ■ 7 piculs = 1 ■ 9 or 2 bharas per man per year. The Chinese mine undertakers estimate their produce at 2 catties per man per working day, or 7 piculs 2^ bharas per year. The Larut system of labour is free, and that of Banca enforced, and, if anything, the difference should be in favour of the former. If Mr. Paul’s (late H.B.M.’s Assistant Resident) estimate of the mining population—5202—be accepted as correct, and there * The reader should note that foreign is always a twelfth less than Larut weight, unless otherwise mentioned.TIN MINING IN LARUT. 25 are no reasons for believing it otherwise, the result is a nearer approach (and possibly to the truth) to that of Banca, being 7-7 piculs = 2;6, or a little over 2^ bharas per man per year. But statistics of this description are very intricate, and it serves no useful purpose to generalize from inadequate data. The following may be taken as very fair limits of the range of the cost of production in Larut, which has been extracted and deduced from previous paragraphs:— Particulars. Minimum. Maximum. Tin-sand extracted (piculs) 32 32 Getting and washing above, from 800 to 10001 coolies at 25 cents / $200-00 250-00 Smelting the same, in township or kongsee .. 40-91 46-22 Total cost ‘240-91 296-22 Resulting metal (piculs) 19-52 19-20 Price per picul $ 12-32 15-43 The mean of the above results of the cost of producing a picul of Larut tin—$13 88c.—agrees very nearly with the ruling in the local (Larut) market, which is $40 90c. per bhara, or $13 67c. per picul. It may be well to mention that there is much more of the cheap tin produced than the Costly, the latter being only obtained from the scrapings of the pit and re- washings of the sluice. Further, the last are only the figures on the advancer’s book—very little of the money leaving his hands, most of the payments being made in kind, where he amply pays himself. The advancer, in turn, makes over the tin at this price, plm the necessary attendant charges, to his agent in Penang, from whom he draws his supplies (it is said at prime cost), and by the time the latter receives it into his warehouse it costs him fully $53 40c. per bhara, or $17 80c. per picul, detailed as follows:— Larut value...................$40 • 90 „ duty...................... 10’00 Transport and shipping .. .. 2*50 Total cost........$53140 per bhara Equal ............ 17’80 per picul26 TIN MINING IN LARUT. This is somewhat below the average of the Penang market rates, which is $18 20c. per picul. The difference would go to defray re-smelting and other trifling charges; the agent solely relying for profit on the advantage of -jij-, or 9 per cent, ad valorem, in the difference resulting from purchasing at Larut, and disposing at Penang weight. The following are deductions of the average cost of produc- tion in Larut:— Working and extracting one picul of tin-sand, $7 * 03 ; smelting one picul of metallic tin (from 1 • 64 tin-sand), $4‘98; one man works and extracts catties of tin-sand per working day, or, more correctly, 1225 catties per year of 350 working days = 747 catties of metallic tin = 2 • 49, or 2£ bharas. Tin-sand is purchased from the natives on the opposite (Sumatra) coast for 20 florins a picul, which reduced to Larut weight and currency is $7 27c. per picul. The total cost of production in the Government mines of Banca, including work- ing and extracting and smelting, only comes to this amount— 20 florins, or $7 27c. per picul of metallic tin—the cost of smelting being so low as 2 ■ 50 florins, or about a dollar a picul, showing what can be effected with improved methods of working under the guidance of Europeans. There is also a large quantity of tin produced in the other districts of Perak, averaging 1000 piculs per mensem. The tin- sand from Batang-Padang and Gopeng has been recently pro- nounced, by a gentleman qualified to give an opinion, to contain a comparatively large quantity of gold; the fact, however, of the Malayan tin-sand being more or less auriferous has been for a long time pretty generally known. The country is an “ El Dorado ” of mineral wealth, and in the preceding pages an attempt has been made, by describing the native method of working and its results, to afford informa- tion and data, which, while attracting the attention of capitalists, will give them opportunities for determining how undertakings might be effected, and the probable returns which may be ex- pected on investments made in a locality which, in this respect, has never met with the publicity it deserves.TIN MINING IN LARUT. 27 NOTE I. (p. 3). Rainfall. The following are Meteorological Memoranda relative to the wettest month of an unusually wet year. Thaipeng, Larut, Perak, lat. 4° 50' N., long. 100° 45' E. October, 1878. The total fall during the month was 22 ’87 in., of which the greater part, 21182 in., nearly all, fell during the day between the hours of 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., but chiefly in the afternoon, the remainder, only 1*05 in., falling during the night. There was no rain on 5 days, and also none on 20 nights of the 81. The greatest interval without rain during the month being 72 hours— i. e. from the evening of the 21st till the afternoon of the 24th. The greatest falls were on the afternoons of the 16th, 20th, and 28th, when the gauge yielded 2‘74, 2‘24, and 2‘76 in. respectively. It is inter- esting to note that on the 16th afternoon as much as 2*65 in. fell in less than an hour. Diameter of receiving funnel .. .. ,. = 8 inches. Height above ground ............... =1 foot. Height above mean-tide level .. .. = 79 • 5 feet. NOTE II. (p. 3). De La Beohe’s Theory of the Formation of Deposits of Stream-Tin. In the preceding pages the deposits of tin-ore, with their associated gravel, sands, and clays, have been attributed to an alluvial origin; but the diluvial theory has many supporters, and readers acquainted with the characteristics of the stanniferous formations of Larut on perusing De La Beche’s Geology of Cornwall (ed. 1839, chap, xiii.) cannot but conclude that the conditions under which the stream-tin of Cornwall is found are almost identical with those described as occurring in Larut, and that the explanation which is given there to account for the forma- tion of the deposits in one locality may be equally applied to those of the other. The diluvial theory has considerable claims to attention,28 TIN MINING IN LARUT. and is therefore reproduced here, slightly modified and condensed, from the work mentioned. The geological age of the valleys in which stream-tin is found, is a subject of considerable difficulty. It by no means follows, because there is a very general resemblance in the character of these valleys, they have all been contemporaneously formed; on the contrary, it can be readily supposed that they may have been produced by the operation of similar causes over various times. Under any circumstances, they have probably been much modified by the action of the waters which have drifted the tin-stone pebbles. The presumption is that they were above the level of the sea, as they now are, and that the drift of transported matter covered the lower parts in the manner now seen. If the stream-tin occurred in frequent layers and was irregularly dis- persed in the mass of detritus now found in the valleys containing it, it might be supposed that rivers, running over ground traversed by strings or lodes of tin, brought down pebbles of tin-ore when in flood, distributing them here and there according to circumstances, while at other times they merely carried forward the ordinary and less pon- derous detritus. So far from the tin-stone pebbles being thus dispersed through the mass of gravels and sands in the valleys containing them, they are found at the base of the whole, resting upon the subjacent rock, commonly termed the shelf, forcing their way, particularly when the tin-stone grains are fine, into all the chinks and crevices on its surface. The stream-tin is always moreover found in greater abundance where we may suppose that eddies would be produced in a volume of water pouring down the stanniferous valleys, these having the general forms they now possess. It appears as if any previous detrital contents of the stanniferous valleys, should such contents have existed, had been fairly washed out by a mass of water rushing over the land, rolling and driving various loose materials before it, and allowing the tin-stone, from its greater specific gravity, to be strewed along the bottom, where circumstances permitted. It so happens that the valleys and lower grounds, rich in stream-tin, generally proceed from and lie near granitic hills traversed by a multitude of branches and strings of oxide of tin ; and the inference is, that a body of water rushing violently over these hills, would remove the decomposed or disintegrated crust, and carry it down the valleys, first distributing the tin-stone pebbles, as now found, into the chief inequalities, while lighter bodies were carried forward. An hypothesis of this kind—requiring that prior to the production of sfream-tin, a mass of decomposed granite existed, and that a body of water was driven violently against and over it—is what the evidence of the diluvial theory, in favour of a sweeping inundation, is based on.TIN MINING IN LARUT. 29 NOTE IIL (p. 7). European Appliances in the Larut Mines. In the model mine of the country, viz. that of Captain Ah Quee, at Kamuntin, already often referred to, the extension of the working rendered the introduction of an additional steam-pump, to the one working, very necessary to provide against accidents, particularly break- downs, and heavy falls during the rainy weather. The mine is situate in a valley, of half a mile at its widest part, and immediately at the foot of a range of hills with their tops buried in clouds. The rainfall in this particular place may he safely taken at from 3 to 5 inches in from one to two hours, the average being probably an inch a day during the N.E. monsoons. The percolation through the superficial detritus or silt of the valley is also very great. The excavation covers nearly 2 acres, with a working face of 10 chains (660 feet), and affords employment for fully 300 miners. Two of Gwynne’s centrifugal pumps with 6 and 8 inch suction pipes, lift 25 feet, and each driven by an engine working up to 10-horse power, are able to drain the working, under the most unfavourable circumstances, in six hours, and afterwards one of them could easily maintain it dry all the year round. ; The establishment and other attendant expenses required in any month for working the Government engine at Topai are as follow:— Establishment— One engineman ................... .. .. $20*00 „ „ .................................. 16*00 Three coolies at $7 21*00 ------- $57*00 Fuel— 30 days at 900 billets of wood = 2,700 billets, at 9 cents .................... 243*00 • 243*00 Other charges— Oil, cocoanut, for lamps, 30 days at £ catty = 15 catties at 14 cents.................. 2*10 Oil, castor, for machinery, 30 days at 1 bottle = 30 bottles at 25 cents .. .. 7*50 Sundries, including packing and tallow, &c. 5 * 00 Repairs to wear and tear of plant and machinery.................................10*40 ------- 25*00 Total $325*0030 TIN MINING IN LARUT. Or, allowing for the saving in fuel that would be effected on days that the engine might be laid up for repairs, the monthly working expenses of the engine would be fairly represented by $300, which may be taken as the cost of maintaining any ordinary steam-pump in the mines. NOTE IY. (p. 15). Richness of the Deposits of Tin-Ore. The percentage of tin-sand or grain-tin in the ore layers depends, of course, on the conditions under which they have been originally de- posited. The ore stratum which underlies the metalliferous area in Larut is frequently traversed by streams or bands of richer deposit than the general average, and in certain places where eddies doubtless existed in the body of water carrying the. stream-tin and its associated gravel, the ore layer is found unusually rich in tin-sand. The upper portion of the deposit of tin-ore is generally very poor, the lowermost being richest, the change being progressive from top to bottom—often ranging from 0 to 6 per cent. The following are results recently obtained in washing a bucket of wash-dirt ” from the last foot of an 8-foot ore layer in what is con- sidered by the miners “ very good ” ground :— Contents of bucket = 1813 cubic in.; yield of tin-sand on washing, 106 cubic in., or 5 "85 per cent. The 106 cubic in. of tin-sand weighed exactly 11 (Larut) catties = 15*6 lb., affording a specific gravity of 4*07, or over a half, and nearly two-thirds, of that of metallic tin, but this tin-sand having been obtained by careful washing in a tray for the experiment, would contain less foreign substances than if obtained by the usual sluice-washing—the tin-sand from which only yielded a specific gravity of 3‘4. It may be stated as a 6afe rule, that, generally, the specific gravity of tin-sand from the Larut mines is a half of that of the white metal, which, according to Brisson (quoted by Hunt), is 7-291. NOTE Y. (p. 21). Superstition of the Chinese Miners. The extent to which this is carried may be further exemplified by a recent occurrence in Larut. Ah Quee (the “ Capitan Cheena,” before adverted to, p. 7), being desirous of extending his mining operations, resolved upon employing Klings (natives of India, chiefly Madrassees,TIN MINING IN LARUT. 31 Tamils), as a substitute for his more expensive countrymen, who hap- pened at the time to be scarce, in great demand, and consequently, at a high premium. Arrangements had been completed, and everything ready to commence, when an unexpected difficulty intervened—an element heretofore omitted in the calculations — nether ga/rmentsl “ Laotse,” the guardian spirit of the mines, had been offended at the proposed desecration of his abode by semi-nude strangers—to wit, the Klings, who dispense with the lower garment, and, if possible, reduce their apparel to a minimum. The enterprising Chinaman, being disin- clined to offend, and not being able to overcome the prejudices of his countrymen, yielded to the force of public opinion, and abandoned the idea. There might, probably, be something more in the above than mere superstition—John Chinaman being notorious for “ clever practices ” in the Far East—it having been suggested that, in this instance, the demon was a myth, a spirit raised as required, and very convenient to scare away a rather troublesome, and what would have become, in course of time, serious competition. Speculation was at one time rife as to whether the leather prohibi- tion, mentioned in the text, might be only a politic measure on the part of the miners to exclude Europeans from inquiring too much into their affairs. But Mr. Logan mentions that the Sambas Chinese gold miners would not allow anyone with a payong, or umbrella, to approach the mines.; and more recently, it may be added, that the miners on the Batang Padang River, in a different part of Perak, nearly 100 miles from Larut, strenuously opposed and would not allow Mr. Low, H.B.M.’s Resident, on any account access to their mines; there, as elsewhere, Chinese superstition being the great obstacle to mining research. NOTE YI. (p. 22). Mineral Statistics of the United Kingdom, 1877. The following information relative to the value of tin-ore, of the pro- duction of metal obtained from such ore, and the value at the place of production, as well as the average market prices, and the imports and exports, is extracted from ‘ The Engineer ’ of October 11, 1878:— Tin, Ore and Metallic — White Tin.—This industry is one of the oldest in the kingdom, and is confined exclusively to the counties of Cornwall and Devon, where the tin-ore is invariably found in the crystalline and metamorphic rocks, in several forms of deposit, the most82 TIN MINING IN LAEUT. important of which is in fissures, or veins, or lodes, and from such the great bulk of tin contained in these counties is derived. It also occurs in the form of stream-tin, i. e. in small grains and nodules, deposits in alluvial sands and gravels, the result of the disintegration of the primary rocks of the neighbouring hills. Many of the mines of these western counties have been in operation, with occasional interruption, for nearly a century. In the year 1877, the ninety-eight mines selling ore produced 14,142 tons, of the value of 572,7632.; and yielded of metallic tin 9500 tons, of the value of 695,1622., the average prices of tin-ore and metallic tin being respectively 402. 10s. and 732. 3s. 6c2. per ton, while in 1872, the ruling prices gave tin-ore 872. 7s., and metallic tin 1522.15s. per ton, prices in themselves telling unfavourably for the successful development of tin mining. The depth of some of the Cornish mines is considerable, that of Botallack, now worked as a tin-mine, having excavations under the sea to a distance of 816 yards. These, however, were abandoned towards the end of the year 1875. The imports of tin in 1877 were 275,236 cwt., valued at 961,3302., compared with 304,448 cwt., valued at 1,148,1642. in the previous year. The exports of British tin being respectively in 1877 and 1876, 122,202 cwt. and 99,217 cwt., valued at 449,6552. and 392,7002. From Sydney, Melbourne, and other Australian ports, the imports amounted to 181,860 cwt.im s Furnace and Bellows.The “Chin Chia” or Waterwheel and Pump.GAM PONG J A N A H ISVI LEE V J J TIN MU IN MINE ^*y,_ENG LOW SAW TUPAI, ASSAM KUMBENG SING GUAN [Si FAT TE LOON TEO W^il° 0 TIN MINI KAMUNTING MINING DISTRICTS CHOU LI ;0 KONG Lo< kongsee CHINESE f TEMPLE Ty-^A ^SUNG CHEONG If /> ' A>V^\SUNG Cheong H 'Y'Af KONGSEE SING TEKHU Chinese templi Chong sing P A 0 K L I /A N TIN MINE HUP SING Sing gee Sing Q Q GED LEE ° KONGSEE B U K / T Tin) mine B U L U Chong lee Kongsee CENTRAL VEE FOH KONGSEE Residence \ ACHOI jSk-vKONGSEE iSlNGjOH^Oo TIN MINE* JVr. B. Disuusedy jruuzes or abcm-dorLecd workings cure, denoted^ thus —■v. GHANG^~YfXy, y \ tL^He tin Mine mine 7 {)\ U ^^TMJNNJO ENGINE BUJWK Sing , \Tui mine -j- tin yi/NE ; KONGSEE ASSAM a ^XyZ ShT;