Kinta Tin Mining Museum, Kampar

Kinta Tin Mining (Gravel Pump) Museum, also known by its shorter name of Kinta Tin Mining Museum, is a place of interest in Kampar new town (Bandar Baru Kampar). It was established in 2012 to document the tin mining industry when tin was one of the main pillars of the country’s economy.

Kinta Tin Mining (Gravel Pump) Museum, Kampar

The brainchild of tin mining tycoon Tan Sri Hew See Tong, who as a miner himself knew the ins and outs of mining, by name, this museum is supposed to be about gravel pump mining but it’s more than that.

Available is a trove of information on gravel pump mining, besides explanation about open-cast mining operated by tipped wagons, hydraulic mining, underground mining, as well as dredging through suction and bucket. Information boards are mainly in three languages (English, Malay, Mandarin) or at least two (English & Mandarin).

the arrival of Chinese tin mine labourers from China to Malaya

It is apt that a museum designated to tin mining is built in Kinta Valley, one of the areas with the highest tin deposits in the country which contributed to Malaya’s (subsequently Malaysia’s) position as the world’s leading tin ore producer. Tin deposits were first discovered in Kinta Valley as early as the 1880s, with active mines operational until the 1980s when the world price of tin ore plunged, signalling the end of a glorious era after a century.

a replica of the boat that Chinese migrant workers travelled to Malaya

Much time has been put into the research and curation of Kinta Tin Mining (Gravel Pump) Museum. Therefore, visitors, especially those interested in mining besides learning about the life and times of mining labourers, as well as those who made good from tin ore prospecting, should allocate enough time in the museum to thoroughly absorb the information displayed.

Some of the tin tycoons highlighted here are Yap Ah Loy (1837 – 1885), Chung Keng Quee (1821 – 1901), Leong Pi Joo (1857 – 1912), Loke Yew (1846 – 1917), Foo Choo Choon (1860 – 1921), Yau Tet Shin (1859 – 1915), Eu Tong Sen (1877 – 1941) and Leong Sin Nam (1880 – 1940). This list isn’t exhaustive. You can read more about tin mining tycoons of Perak in our Facebook post.

Exhibition areas are indoors and outdoors. The indoor section is air-conditioned and separated into two sections. The first floor of the building is utilised as a photo gallery about Kampar town. You can view more photos of Kinta Tin Mining Museum in our Facebook photo album.

one of the exhibits - a Mercedes Benz 4500 SEL — one of the exhibits – a Mercedes Benz 4500 SEL

mine workers having a meal in the kongsi

Kinta Tin Mining (Gravel Pump) Museum in Kampar is open to visitors daily from 9am until 5pm. The entrance fee (ticket) is RM5 for visitors above 17 years old, RM2 for those 6 to 17 years old and free-of-charge for those below 6 years of age.

Video: Kinta Tin Mining (Gravel Pump) Museum, Kampar

If you are in Ipoh, you might want to check out another tin mining exhibition at Han Chin Pet Soo. It focuses on the tin mining era in Kinta Valley by Hakka miners, rightly so as Han Chin Pet Soo was the Hakka tin miners’ clubhouse since 1893.

Kinta Tin Mining (Gravel Pump) Museum
Add: Lot 126026, Jalan Batu Karang, Taman Bandar Baru, 31900 Kampar, Perak.
Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/YFsfs2E23TBdEjPV9
Opening hours: 9am until 5pm daily
Admission fee: RM5 (17 years and above) & RM2 (6 – 17 years old)