The historic Tanjung Tualang TT5 tin dredger is a majestic sight you should not miss when you go to Ipoh for food. I always wondered what is and what goes on inside a tin dredger, so yeah.... so glad to be able to visit this unique, fascinating museum.
Tanjung Tualang Tin Dredger No. 5 museum is just 30km south of downtown Ipoh.
A quick history.
According to legend, tin was accidentally discovered in Perak in 1848. Che Long Jaafar's pet elephant Si Larut went missing and was found three days later.
When found, Si Larut's feet were covered with mud. When Che Long Jaafar washed away the mud, Si Larut's feet were covered with gleaming tin ore.
Once word got out about the discovery of tin in Perak, the mining industry grew rapidly from hand panning to high pressure water jets to gargantuan iron and steel tin dredgers (like TT5).
Malaya was the world's largest tin producer in its day. Tin mining was so lucrative that Perak became the wealthiest state of British Malaya and its capital Ipoh was nicknamed "City of Millionaires".
The golden days of tin mining came to a grinding halt in the 1980s following the collapse of global tin prices (no thanks to the advent of plastics).
The once iconic tin dredgers, pride of Perak and Malaya were scraped for metal. TT5 is the only one spared the sad fate of the scrapyard but it was a rusting hulk sinking into the mining pool.
Fortunately, TT5 was refurbished at a cost of RM8.5 million from 2015 to 2017. Today, it serves as a monument, artefact and museum for the history of tin and tin mining in Malaysia.
Tin dredger TT5 weighs 4,500 tonnes, its floating dock measures 75 metres in length and 35 metres wide.
The massive contraption felt like a battleship.
During active service, seventy workers ran the tin dredger in three shifts round the clock.
These giant steel buckets scooped up tin ore bearing mud from the bottom of the mining pool. Each bucket can scoop up 1.5 tonnes of mud. The dredge has about 115 such buckets.
A tin dredger in action in the 1970s.
When in operation, the tin dredger made a huge din that could be heard all around it for up to 8km away.
The processed mud extracted of its tin ore were spat back into the mining pool via these giant chutes (behind me).
TT5 museum offers guided tours of the tin dredger. Just ask for it at the ticketing counter.
Also at TT5 museum, there is a love-shaped Maze Park.
The museum grounds include a petting zoo and The Can Tin cafe which serves dim sum and Ipoh white coffee with a scenic view of the mining pool and tin dredge.
TT5 is well worth a visit when you are travelling in Perak. It makes a fun and educational day trip from Ipoh. A trip to Ipoh is more than its excellent food 🤭
After TT5, drive another 30 minutes south and enjoy some incredible Tanjung Tualang giant river prawns.
Most of these dredgers were shifted to do offshore mining in Indonesia, at least 1 made it to Alaska but unfortunately it's operating life was limited under cold harsh conditions. These were bucket dredgers primarily designed for alluvial mining.
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