The provinces of Perak, Selangor, Pahang, and Negri Sembilan, in the Federated Malay States, produce tin. The following table shows their relative importance.
Table 61.—Production of Tin in the Federated Malay States in 1917
| Metric tons | |
|---|---|
| Perak | 25,075 |
| Selangor | 10,595 |
| Pahang | 3,750 |
| Negri Sembilan | 1,055 |
In Negri Sembilan, quartz veins in decomposed pegmatite are worked by hydraulicking and the mixed tin-tungsten concentrate obtained is further separated by magnetic machines. The principal mines are near Titi and Seremban.
Pahang, on the eastern side of the mountains, has many widely scattered tin deposits, both lodes and placers. The chief workings at present are in the mountains near the Selangor boundary, at Bentong, Tras, and Machi. Some mining is also done at various places along the Kuantan River and its tributaries. Transportation is a serious item in working tin mines in Pahang.
Kuala Lumpur is the center of the more important tin-mining operations in Selangor. Both decomposed lode-stuff and gravels are being worked. Near Serendah soft greisenized granite is worked by monitors. Near Tanjong, Malim, and on the Kalumpang and Selangor rivers in the northern part of the state both gravels and decomposed vein materials are worked.
The Kinta district, in the State of Perak, is the most important tin-producing area in the Federated States. A structural valley eroded in soft limestones between granite ridges is the location of most of the workings. The valley is filled with clays and boulder clays carrying tin, and the present stream channels are also stanniferous. Mining is in progress around 15 or more settlements in this district; much of the mining is by open cuts and dredges, but some lode mining is done on pipes in limestones. Next in importance to Kinta is the Larut district, northwest of the former. Placer deposits are the chief source of tin in the district but lodes are worked at Selama and Blanda Mabok. In the south of Perak, at Bruseh, stockworks in schist are worked by hydraulicking, yielding about three-fourths of a pound to the cubic yard of material worked.
Development of the tin deposits in the Protected Malay States has been hampered by transportation difficulties. Until recently the alluvial tin was won by crude native methods. The principal producing comes from the states of Johore, Kedah, Kelantan, Perlis, and Trengganu.
Near Setul, in the State of Perlis, peculiar gravel-filled caves in limestone have been mined for tin. Some of these caves have been followed for four or five miles. In the State of Trengganu, lode mining under European management is under way. The lodes seem to be decomposed stockworks in granite.
An insignificant amount of tin is mined from the beach deposits on the Island of Malacca, Straits Settlements. The tin was derived from schists intruded by granite in which there are many stanniferous veinlets.