Phukets gruvmuseum

Discover the tin mining era of Phuket

Phukets gruvmuseum (eller Kathu Mining Museum) byggdes med ovanlig storhet på en avlägsen och isolerad plats bakom Loch Palm Golf Club of Kathu, någonstans i kullarna före Patong. Phukets museer är inte just livsrum där konstnärer ställer ut sina skapelser, men det här ger dig en ganska bra bild av vad Phuket var känt för under tenngruvtiden.

Att köra genom Phukets gruvmuseum massiv dubbelbågsport och längs sjön leder dig till en monumental kinesisk-portugisisk rosa byggnad. När du närmar dig kan du börja ha höga förväntningar, och det hade skaparna förmodligen också när de tittade på de många shoppingkartarna som är övergivna runt parkeringen.

Designers lägger mycket kraft på att återskapa känslan av gruvtiden genom hela arkitekturen och utställningarna, vilket utan tvekan är imponerande. Likaså är föremålen som visas i de flera rummen ett resultat av lång forskning, men en stor del av museet är för specialiserat för att fånga uppmärksamheten om du inte också brinner för gruvhistoria.

The third part is more entertaining with a small reproduction of an old Phuket town with barges, shops, workshops and even some scarier wax full-size figures smoking opium on a bed behind a door. A bit creepy, but I was alone. There was no one but me in the entire museum.

One of the three highlights in the Phuket Mining Museum is the scaled model of a mine with a hundred figurines at work, probably the most photographed part of the museum. The second would be the caves with prehistoric wax men hidden behind corners, perhaps to scare you.

Gruvtekniker

Shaft mining

Shaft mining (Drifting) is an underground mining technique for placer deposits with a thick overburden and no ores at an overburden depth. It uses workers to open a small square shaft padded with wood plank liners and install it with a man-powered derrick to lift up soil and rock-ore mixture onto the ground level. Underground tunnels were being constructed while air ventilation shafts were built simultaneously to allow adequate air circulation in the mine. Mine workers may light candles in the tunnels to monitor the oxygen level for labourers to breathe.

Open-cut mining

Open-cut mining, also known as surface mining or open-pit mining, is a surface mining technique/ open pit mining technique used for placer deposits located in the nearby hillside. A surface soil layer is drilled or exploded to allow access to the ore-containing soil layer, then using workers, backhoes, mine loaders, and trucks to haul ore-containing soil into the ore cleaning process in an ore processing plant. Ore-containing rocks must be ground into pieces using an ore-grinding mill before being conveyed to the wooden trough to wash and collect the ores.

Hydraulisk gruvdrift

Hydraulic mining is an open pit mining technique used with placer deposits using a hydraulic elevator to pump ores into a palong or into a “jig”, mineral processing equipment, utilising water retained in a water reservoir on the high ground to give the power needed for ore-containing soil pumping instead of using a gravel pump. Hydraulic mining has a significantly lower operating cost, but it needs a high investment cost to build a weir and water piping system.

Ground sluicing

Ground sluicing is an open mine technique used for residual deposit sites or hill sides using human power or pumping water through monitors to break the mine front and let mineral-containing soil flow along with water through ditches through palongs. This kind of mining was often seen in operation during the rainy season and was suitable for investors who had a small fund.

När du väl går genom hela Phuket Mining Museum-byggnaden, som inte tar lång tid trots sin storlek, kan du utforska parken och titta på några andra gruvrester och maskinreservdelar, samt en vacker utsikt över de närliggande kullarna.

Overall, it may not be impressive, but the history is interesting, and you must admire the effort that went into making it. However, despite being open since 2008, the venue has failed to attract tourists, and signs of neglect have started to show. Building closer to patong might have made this place more successful, but even the road leading to the Mining Museum is in bad shape. I would, therefore, recommend it to those passionate about Phuket’s past times and history or on your list of Things to Do in Phuket when it rains for a long time.

Immigration of the Phuket population

Before it became a tourist city, phuket was a town that prospered from the tin trade. Tin demand worldwide triggered a flood of immigrants looking for an opportunity in the mining business, especially Fujian Chinese people (called Hokkien people by Thai pronunciation) from both nearby countries like Singapore and Penang, or from China itself. These Chinese people made their settlements in phuket and blended their own culture into the local culture that provided uniqueness in this region, such as Chino-Portuguese architecture, local cuisines, local garbs, and local tradition and culture that the locals love and hold dear, inherit from one generation to another thus resulting in its magical charm today.

More photos of the Phuket Mining Museum

Mer om Kathu

Kathu – Vad ska man göra i Kathu?

5 bästa hotellen i Kathu

Kathu vattenfall

Elephant Jungle Sanctuary Phuket

Andamanda Phuket

Phuket Wake Park 🏄