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The Ombilin Coal Mine (formerly PT Tambang Batubara Ombilin (TBO)) is a coal mine near
Sawahlunto Sawahlunto ( Jawi: ) is a city in Western Sumatra province, Indonesia, and lies 90 kilometres (a 2-hour drive) from Padang, the provincial capital. Sawahlunto is known as the site for the oldest coal mining site in Southeast Asia. Sawahlunto is g ...
,
West Sumatra West Sumatra ( id, Sumatra Barat) is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the west coast of the island of Sumatra and includes the Mentawai Islands off that coast. The province has an area of , with a population of 5,534,472 at the 2020 cen ...
, Indonesia. It is located in a narrow valley along the Bukit Barisan mountains, among the Polan, Pari, and Mato hills, approximately northeast of
Padang Padang () is the capital and largest city of the Indonesian province of West Sumatra. With a Census population of 1,015,000 as of 2022, it is the 16th most populous city in Indonesia and the most populous city on the west coast of Sumatra. Th ...
. Coal was discovered in the mid-19th century by
Willem Hendrik de Greve Willem Hendrik de Greve (15 April 184022 October 1872) was a Dutch geologist. He was known for his discovery of the coal mine in Sawahlunto, Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). Biography Willem Hendrik de Greve was born in Franeker, Netherland ...
, and mining began in the area in 1876. The mine is the oldest coal mining site in Southeast Asia.


History

Coal was discovered there by Dutch engineer
Willem Hendrik de Greve Willem Hendrik de Greve (15 April 184022 October 1872) was a Dutch geologist. He was known for his discovery of the coal mine in Sawahlunto, Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). Biography Willem Hendrik de Greve was born in Franeker, Netherland ...
in 1868. Mining started at the open-pit mine in 1892 after the construction of a railway. In the pre-independence period, coal production peaked in 1930, at more than 620,000 tonnes a year. Prisoners/Kettingganger (Dutch for people in chains) from Java and Sumatra who were transported to the mining site with their legs, hands, and necks chained up, were the main miners. Coal production fulfilled 90 percent of the Dutch East Indies’ energy needs. In 1942–1945, the mine was controlled by Japan, and the mine declined. From 1945–1958, the mine was managed by the directorate of mining and in 1958–1968, by the bureau of state mining companies. In 1968, it became the Ombilin production unit of the state coal mining company. Production peaked in 1976 at 1,201,846 tonnes per year. Until 2002 it operated as an open-pit mine. After that, only underground mine continued. In recent times, CNTIC has invested $100 million to the mine.PT BUKIT ASAM TO EXPLOIT COAL IN OMBILIN WITH CHINESE FIRM.
April 7, 2003
By 2008, the mine had estimated reserves of about 90.3 million tonnes of
coking coal Metallurgical coal or coking coal is a grade of coal that can be used to produce good-quality coke. Coke is an essential fuel and reactant in the blast furnace process for primary steelmaking. The demand for metallurgical coal is highly coupled ...
, of which 43 million tonnes were mineable. The mine is owned by PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam (PTBA) and operated by the China National Technology Import-Export Corporation (CNTIC). The mine produces about 500,000 tonnes of coal per year. As of 2019, PT Bukit Asam coal mine company had halted operations in Ombilin.


Attraction

The mining area continues to bring benefits to local residents through reforestation and conversion into a tourist destination. A well maintenance pit with sufficient lighting and air supply attract local and foreign tourists mainly from Malaysia and Singapore. The Ombilin Coal Mining Museum at Ombilin Coal Mine Complex presents the history of the company and the tools that were used for mining. Original relics such as the Mbah Soero tunnel, workers and mine workers housing (Tangsi Baru and Field Land), coal filtering, railway factories, government offices, settlements, municipal government are preserved. The mining site has been transformed into a zoo, lake and horse-riding track.


References


External links


Infomine
{{Commons category, Ombilin Coal Mine West Sumatra Tourist attractions in West Sumatra Coal mines in Indonesia World Heritage Sites in Indonesia Tourist attractions in Indonesia