Tin

[GWR]

http://www.japanvisitor.com/jc/tin.html
The History and Use of Tin in the Far East - Ruth Clegg
Since the discovery of tin in Thailand over two millennia ago, it has helped to shape the world as we know it, not only as material for tools and utensils but also as an important part of our spiritual and cultural make up.

The earliest mining of tin ore (SnO2) was performed in the Kathu district of Phuket in Thailand. Master craftsmen in the Far East discovered that by smelting a small quantity of tin with copper, great advantages ensued. The new metal that was created was called bronze and not only was it hard and strong, it was also immune to corrosion. This compound was very useful, and was used to make weapons for use in battle, such as spearheads, swords, arrows and axes.

http://www.phuket-rooms.com/phuket-tin-mine.htm
Phuket had an abundance and readily accessible tin veins in the Far East. Since the 16th century it meant money and royalties for the Ayutthaya kingdom. It also meant invasions, migrations, riots and the sacking of towns.

The possession of tin was an important commodity, in the old days. Between the 16th and early 19th centuries, tin smelting meant power, especially for the making of spear tips, swords, body armor, muskets and bullets. Thus, it is an important mineral for the European and Oriental powers.

In 1511 the Portuguese captured Malacca, in the Malaya peninsula and established themselves as a major power in the region. In 1518 the Portuguese, won permission from King Rama Thibodi II of Ayutthaya to set up a tin trading station in Phuket.

Tin was shoveled from vertical pits, sorted, and crudely smelted in small furnaces. The resultant tin ore was 70-75% pure. Weaponry as a result was often defective.

By King Narai's reign, 1656-1688, French ambassador Chevalier de Chaumont noted the importance of Phuket tin for Ayutthaya's royal exchequer. Tin mines were also opened in neighboring Takua Pa ("lead forest") in Phang Nga, and in Ranong.

The temptation of tin was too much for the warring Burmese. They invaded Phuket four times 1785-1812, prompting a refugee exodus to eastern Phang Nga.

The invaders, however, couldn't consolidate their gains due to advancing Thai troops and instability at home. With lower Burma falling to the British in 1824, peaceful trading expanded into the Andaman especially during the reign of King Rama III 1824-51. With better tin mixtures from alchemical processes, demand for tin and related alloys boomed. Bangkok needed it for coins and roof tiles. Industrializing Europe wanted it for anti-rust coatings, foils, tin cans and electronics.

To solve labor shortages in Phuket tin mines, thousands of impoverished Chinese migrated to Phuket in the mid 19th century. Many mines were European owned. Tin mining techniques were crude and labor intensive.

In 1876 the miners rioted. They were aggrieved about work conditions, their violence fuelled by secret sect rivalries among themselves. An orgy of rape and mayhem broke out. With 25,000 migrant Chinese on the island Thais were outnumbered. As the violence raged the clans called on reinforcements from Penang. Order was finally restored at Wat Chalong when the local people rallied behind by two temple abbots and the rebellion blew over.

By the turn of the century labor intensive tin mining was in decline. The first offshore tin dredger arrived in 1906, captained by Australian Edward Thomas Miles.

Ground sluicing, hydraulic pumps, giant excavators and 40 ton furnaces were also installed, the latter burning at 1,350 Celsius to produce 99.9% pure tin.

As the century progressed global oversupply caused low prices. Most Phuket mines ceased operation. As foreign concerns left, land owners switched to rubber plantations, latex sheet smoking factories, brick making, and para wood processing. Chinese laborers shifted to the plantations or became commercial workers in Phuket town. Government legislation forced Chinese integration with Thais through education and language policies.

Tin mining on Phuket has now all but ceased. There are only three tin dredgers left in Phuket Bay. Tin exporting countries like Thailand now agree to limit exports in order to bolster low global prices. Real money is now made from selling old tin mine sites as real estate for hotel or housing developments. In Bang Tao, the former slurry pits now do service as water sport lagoons and cat fish farms.

http://www.earthsci.org/mindep/depfile/tin.htm#anchor208033

The modern commercial production of tin in Thailand began in about 1870, but it was not until the early part of the 20th century that the country became a significant producer. Most of the tin produced in Thailand has been produced in the southern provinces in the Malay Peninsula. The major ore reserves are cassiterite but substantial quantities of columbite and tantalite also occur.
Thailand was the first country to employ the dredge for offshore tin mining in 1907 and onshore and offshore dredging still accounts for about 27 percent of total production, by the late 1980s. Gravel pump mining became much more important during the 1950s and 1960s as new power-driven machinery replaced the older inefficient recovery systems.

[GWR]

http://www.photius.com/countries/thailand/economy/thailand_economy_mining.html
The existence of tin in the area of present-day Thailand was known at least by the thirteenth century, when it was alloyed with copper in casting bronze images of the Buddha. In the 1980s, major workings were located in the southern peninsula, although deposits were also found and worked in several other parts of the country. The ore was obtained from onshore alluvial deposits, weathered and disintegrated formations, river beds, and offshore deposits along the seacoasts.

Production of tin concentrates averaged over 29,000 tons annually in the early 1970s, dropped to about 22,000 tons in the mid-1970s, and then rose to 46,000 tons in 1980. By 1985 tin production had dropped to about 23,000 tons as a result of export controls imposed by the International Tin Council and the indefinite closing of a major offshore mining company. The actual output of concentrates in the 1980s was believed to have been at least 10 percent higher than officially reported. The additional quantity represented tin concentrates smuggled from the country to escape payment of both business taxes and the statutory royalty deducted from the price paid to the seller by the foreign-controlled Thailand Smelting and Refining Company (THAISARCO). The export of tin ore and concentrates was banned by the government after THAISARCO began smelting tin in 1965 at a newly constructed plant on Phuket Island. Most of the smuggled concentrates originally went to Penang, but this trade had been largely halted by the Malaysian authorities; in the 1980s, the illegal ore was sent to Singapore for smelting.

Since the mid-1970s, the tin-mining industry has generated a large amount of political controversy, social unrest, and illegal activity that continued into the mid-1980s. Onshore mining operations were carried on mostly by small miners who were predominantly Thai. Offshore operations included a number of large dredges owned by both Thai enterprises and foreign firms, as well as thousands of suction boats. Both kinds of operations were supposed to be registered with local provincial authorities. The tin fields had attracted large numbers of the unemployed or persons seeking fortunes, however, who mined illegally. Reports of a new tin strike brought thousands of individuals to the area, resulting in such attendant social problems as claim jumping, forged registration certificates, frequent violence, and the like. In 1975 the government-owned Offshore Mining Organization (OMO) was set up to replace large offshore oil concessions owned by foreign corporations and ousted Thai government leaders. A substantial amount of illegal dredging was also reported in the OMO concession area, whose size and restrictions of exploitation to subconcessionaires had created strong resentment among independent small operators, even though the OMO had given concession rights to a considerable number of them. In late 1979, a group of nonconcession-holding small dredgers pressed the provincial authorities of the area to urge the central government to revoke all restrictions on mining in the OMO holdings. The overall magnitude of illegal operations appeared in the early 1980s to be beyond the ability of the local authorities to control. Official action, moreover, was often deterred by public sympathy for the poor person struggling to eke out a living.

Thus, illegal mining was an important source of employment in the southern peninsula and, in conjunction with related illegal operations, created numerous ancillary jobs. From the national viewpoint, however, a great loss of natural wealth occurred because of haphazard and inefficient exploitation. Onshore miners, legal and illegal, tended to take out only the readily accessible richer ore, leaving varying amounts of lower grade ore that, mined separately, was uneconomic. Large numbers of small dredges sent divers down to find rich spots that were sucked up, avoiding large nearby areas containing ore that was costly to mine. Many of the dredges also had poor separation equipment, and considerable quantities of ore were lost in the tailings. Because of potential political problems, decisive action by the central government (or provincial governments) to resolve this problem did not appear imminent in the late 1980s.

[GWR]

http://www.thaiwave.com/benjarong/images/banner-tin.jpg http://www.thaiwave.com/benjarong/variety/refinedtin.htm

[soi_surfer]

metallurgy (sp?) is far from an area of my training & is not an topic that I have studied.

I've read that Thai bronze from Ban Chang utilized tin ..3- 4000 years before the 2 millenia cited in the post.
the 2 millenia is several millenia after Ban Chang bronze age.

the Ban Chang bronze / tin referance I cite is from a rather goofy 'thailand's history' site.

[GWR]

No metallurgist or geologist either; although I could tell you a few minor things about the geology & mining of the Forest of Dean, South & West Wales. But no tin in those areas; apart from the once massive tinplate industries of Llanelli & Swansea.

This article about the history of the industry in Malaysia is also worth a look:-
http://www.american.edu/projects/mandala/TED/tin.htm

[soi_surfer]

from:
http://www.guidetothailand.com/thailand-history/beginning.htm

"At this early date the Khorat smiths were doing better work than their Mesopotamian counterparts; by 3000 B.C. they figured out that the strongest bronze alloy is made by mixing 1 part of tin with nine parts of copper. They were probably helped by a geographical advantage: Southeast Asia is the world's richest source of tin. Tin is uncommon in the West, and before the Mesopotamians discovered it, they made bronze by mixing copper and arsenic, with brittle and sometimes hazardous results."

the indigenious Thai's early bronze age culture, seems to me, ought to be important ..
+ Pottery equally old, near Korat.
both 2 millennia ( I like my new word! ) pre T'ai & Indian influences

from the same site above:
"Traditionally it was believed that the Middle East is the only cradle of civilization, and distant centers of civilization like India, China and Central America somehow learned it from their elder brothers in Egypt and Iraq. The discoveries mentioned above bring this theory into question. Did the Middle East invent everything first?"

[GWR]

Well I suppose it’s important to remember that ‘The Bronze Age’ followed ‘The Stone Age’ and preceded ‘The Iron Age’. It does seem rather remarkable that late Stone Age Man was able to master the process of alloying tin & copper to create bronze; especially since other metals may also be included in this alloy (as 'tram 1 has noted).

David K. Wyatt ‘Thailand – A Short History’ (2nd Ed, 2003, Silkworm Press, Chiang-Mai) tells us that:-

'Sophisticated metallurgy also developed in SE Asia as early as anywhere in the world. Copper and bronze working is attested by the excavation at a site in what is now northeastern Thailand of a mold in which bronze axes were cast, dating back to more than 5,000 years ago. There was also iron working in the same region around three thousand years ago as well as pottery-making technology.'

It’s worth noting that ‘The Bronze Age’ didn’t arrive in some areas of Europe until the middle of the Second Millenium BC. Presumably, Wyatt is referring to Ban Chiang here, as on the next page he pictures an ancient example of Ban Chiang pottery.

[airlana]

Tin Mining in Phuket is a subject dear to my heart.

Back in 1920's a very wealthy Melbourne industrialist Achlen Palfreyman invested with others in Tin mining in the Phuket area. Later in Malaysia and also had interests in rubber plantations.

Palfreyman was related to my family on Dad's side. "Uncle Ak" was also a founder of Henry Jones Pty Ltd makers of the famous IXL brand of tin fruits and jams. I clearly remember visiting Ak in his Melbourne office in 1953 as a kid of 8 with my Auntie who dressed up in all her best finery for the occassion, best gloves, best hat etc - which was how things were done in those days. Ak's office was HUGE with king size desk and the best of fittings. Best part of the visit was when Ak gave me a TEN POUND note - a bloody fortune then - for being a "fine young lad" and just like my Dad who was one of Uncle Ak's favourites.

Anyway back to tin mining.

There's an excellent article

"Diggers and Diplomats: Australian Mining Entreprenaurs and the Evolution of the Australian-Thailand Bilateral Relationship, 1903-1941"

which was for some time on the The Australian Studies Centre (ASC)
at Kasetsart University website.
[happy to email a copy to anyone who's interested]

Hopefully more information will be forthcoming on this interesting subject via this thread.

I would be very grateful for ANY information on Achlen Palfreyman or his offsider Raymond Vincent Moore re their activies in Thailand or Malaya.

airlana

[soi_surfer]

"Well I suppose it’s important to remember that ‘The Bronze Age’ followed ‘The Stone Age’ and preceded ‘The Iron Age’."

must have been quite the process to jump from stone to metal .. possibly a camp fire melted some ore containing rocks?
not sure where farming fits into the stone, bronze, iron, kow cart order of things

to me, the indigenious Thai discovering rice cultivation for the rest of the world is equally impressive .. going from berry picking hunters & gathers to farmers is as important to the progresion of man as metal implements

the author cited in my previous post makes the point that western history has attributed Mess-o-potamia (Iraq) as the "Cradle of Civilization" ..
& states such a title might be not 100% globally accurate.

which came first the kow or the cart?
could it be that the first soi kow cart also appeared in Issan earlier than any where else on this planet. :-o)

[GWR]

which came first the kow or the cart?
could it be that the first soi kow cart also appeared in Issan earlier than any where else on this planet. :-o)
Looks like I put my foot in a Kow Pat there!

[GWR]

Tin Mining in Phuket is a subject dear to my heart.

Back in 1920's a very wealthy Melbourne industrialist Achlen Palfreyman invested with others in Tin mining in the Phuket area. Later in Malaysia and also had interests in rubber plantations.

There's an excellent article

"Diggers and Diplomats: Australian Mining Entreprenaurs and the Evolution of the Australian-Thailand Bilateral Relationship, 1903-1941"

I would be very grateful for ANY information on Achlen Palfreyman or his offsider Raymond Vincent Moore re their activies in Thailand or Malaya.

airlana

I'd be glad to get a copy of that article, if it is at all possible please:-
nehtrawihr@yahoo.co.uk
And I wonder if your relative has anything to do with the account below. I've also posted this link in the string on 'Hat-Yai History'. 'Tongkah Harbor' is still listed on the Thai Stock Exchange (SET), although I suspect that their business portfolio has changed somewhat over the years. There's also a lot of other interesting info in this article on how Hakka Chinese in Penang, Trang, Phan-nga, Phuket, Takua Pa and Ranong co-operated to gain a collective monopoly in the Tin trade:-

http://www.penangstory.net/docs/Abs...Songprasert.doc
The whole site is worth checking out too:-
http://www.penangstory.net
The Implication of Penang Connection in Southern Thailand
Phuwadol Songprasert,
Department of History, Faculty of Social Sciences
Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand

The Penang Story – International Conference 2002
18-21 April 2002, The City Bayview Hotel, Penang, Malaysia
Organisers: The Penang Heritage Trust & STAR Publications

Furthermore, the Koh Guan Co. also introduced its Australian partners to operate the offshore mining for the first time in southern Thailand. By doing so, the Tongkah Harbour Tin Dredging N.L., the Tongkah Government Compound Concession N.L. and the Tongkah Compound N.L. were floated in Australia during 1906-1909. Moreover, the introduction of dredging methods marked a new era in the mining industry of the region because there had never been any trial of sea dredges in Asia before the operations of Tongkah Harbour Tin Dredging N.L. Within few years, this group became the most powerful and successful one in developing the tin mining industry of the south. Also, it was unlikely that any British companies would be able to compete with this group in Thailand because it had tremendous power and was fully backed by the Thai authorities. As a consequence, the names of Khaw members both in Penang and in the south were very popular among Australian entrepreneurs. Moreover, the word "Tongkah" entered the Australian vocabulary as a slang for "good luck" before the emergence of World War I. 20

Any truth in this last statement. Or is it just a 'Tonka Toy'? [Whingeing Pom expression for 'something lacking in resilience'; as derived from a well-known brand of (supposedly) durable children's wheeled 'construction site' toys.]

[GWR]

http://www.pktcoms.com/resources.htm
The picture of the old dredge can only be viewed in the article itself.
By the turn of the century labor intensive tin mining was in decline. The first offshore tin dredger arrived in 1906, captained by Australian Edward Thomas Miles.

[GWR]

Sorry Airlana! I appear to have edited your last post under the impression I was 'quoting' it only. Could you repost that link to the article about Australian involvement in the Tin Industry please. Too Good to lose!

[airlana]

Sorry Airlana! I appear to have edited your last post under the impression I was 'quoting' it only. Could you repost that link to the article about Australian involvement in the Tin Industry please. Too Good to lose!


No worries GWR. Am still getting over a heavy night on the 'turps' and saw this thread and thought 'bloddy hell, I'm still p*ssed" because I didn't post that.

I'll put the link back up over the weekend

cheers
airlana
.

[GWR]

The previous post dealt with the 'Adventures of Khaw Sim Bee in the Tin Trade'. Shift over to the 'Para' Rubber thread to find about his role in government circles and how he brought the first rubber seedlings to Thailand:-
http://www.angkor.com/2bangkok/2bangkok/forum/showthread.php?p=5941#post5941

[airlana]

The article referred to in post No.8 is no longer available on the original site, however I have placed a copy here at

http://www.members.optusnet.com.au/airlana/Chapter2.htm

Certainly worth a read for anyone interested in the history of tin mining in Southern Thailand

airlana
.

[GWR]

History of Khaw Sim Bee's father, KHAW SOO CHEANG, the Governor of Ranong. (written in 1985 by Khaw Cheng Joey, presumably a present day clan member):-
http://www.ranong.go.th/english/khaw.html
Khaw Sim Bee seems to be Bottom Right:-

http://www.ranong.go.th/english/korzu/khaw1.gif

[annabela]

First of all, a message to Airlana - I have a little information on "Uncle Ack" but more on Isaac Hardcastleman, and "Uncle Than". Email me at annabela@velocitynet.com.au if you are interested to receive.

Second I have some information about the tin mining in Siam. It comes from an article about Sir Henry Jones. Information is at bottom of this message.

Third, I recall that the losses suffered by the Tongkah Dredging Company during the second world war (when the mines were expropriated by the Japanese?) formed part of the Australian Government's demand for reparations from Thailand at the end of the war. Unfortunately, I read this many years ago and did not retain the documents, but it would be an interesting area to follow up.

The article is by John Reynolds and its title is "Sir Henry Jones KB". It was published (in 1998 from memory) in the Tasmanian Historical Research Association, Vol 20 at pages 31-32

Start quote - “Jones’ most profitable investment was in the Thailand tin dredging industry. Jones and his immediate friends became investors in a wealth producing mine through an almost accidental association with its promoter, Captain Edward Thomas Miles, Hobart born seafarer, China Seas trader, politician and State Minister of the Crown, a man whose autobiography provides rich material for the adventure film writers. After a stormy career in the Tasmanian parliament (where he had acquired the cruel, unwarranted sobriquet “Teddy the Wrecker”), this bearded man of nearly fifty returned to one of his earlier trading haunts, the Straits of Malacca.

According to his friend Malcolm Kennedy, when he saw Miles before he sailed for Penang, said “let me know if you find any tin mines during your travels”; Kennedy was a keen mining investor. Whilst this paper was in preparation an event occurred which results in obscure information about Miles’s activities in Thailand becoming public property. The Hobart Mercury published an article in the column “Roundabout by Brad” which was illustrated by a photograph of the “Milestone - an ornate piece of sculpture erected at Phuket, Thailand, to mark more than sixty years of tin mining by dredging”. The Milestone, dedicated last year, bears the inscription “To mark the dawn of the new era of tin mining in Thailand when Captain Edward Miles and his sons launched the tin dredge at this site in December 1907.”

In Penang Miles found a market for the old steamers and met influential Chinese shipowners who brought him into contact with some of their countrymen who were interested in tin mining on the west coast of Thailand (then Siam). Visiting the sea port of Tongkah, he was surprised by seeing how primitive were the methods of the Chinese miners employed to recover rich tin bearing sands from the sea floor. Dredging was not new to him, he had witnessed it in north east Tasmania, at mines in which Jones and Kennedy held substantial interests.

With the aid of friends, Miles secured a concession to dredge for tin sands from the sea floor of Tongkah Harbour. Hurrying back to Hobart, Miles put his bold scheme before Jones with whom he was acquainted. Jones was quickly convinced of the value of the scheme, and lost no time in forming the IXL Dredging Syndicate to finance the preliminary operations. He was joined by other like-minded Hobart friends William H. Burgess (Merchant), Harry G. Gray (sawmiller), Malcolm Kennedy (master mechanical engineer) and his colleagues Achalen Palfreyman and Alfred Ashbolt. As cables told Jones of the immediate success of the venture, a strong public company was formed which provided capital and management for large scale operations; the Tongkah Harbour Dredging Company is still based in Hobart. Another company, Tongkah Compound, was formed to treat other tin bearing lands in the area, and the two concerns earned almost unbelievable profits for the lucky shareholders for many years; the mines continue in production to pay dividends.

The word “Tongkah” entered the local Hobart vocabulary for many years as an adjective denoting good financial luck; those favoured by any turn of fortune received the nickname “Tongkah Smith, Brown, or Robison” &c. Whilst Miles remained in Thailand personally directing for many years, Jones guided the difficult business and financial operations from Hobart. It is recorded that on two occasions during the early years of the venture Jones’ astuteness and influence in Australian financial circles succeeded in preventing a “raid” by a strong Melbourne group of mining financiers to seize control of the highly profitable company. Jones’ share of the Tongkah profits made him a wealthy man and independent of the fluctuating fortunes of the fruit preserve and allied industries." End quote

annabela

[GWR]

Indeed, I believe it is still listed as a mining operation on the Stock Exchange of Thailand.

The following report from 2003 discusses their major redevelopment plans for parts of Phuket. One wonders if & how these plans have survived the Tsunami:-

http://www.andaman.com/Trade/PhuketBay.asp

Phuket Bay - a 100 billion baht project in the making
Phuket Bay is to become one of the largest development projects in Thailand and South East Asia in the coming years. The plans are to create a world-class tourism destination, marina, deep-sea cruise port, convention centre, IT centers and office buildings.

- Our project is aimed at strengthening Phuket's position as a world ecotourism destination and yacht marina, putting the island on the map as the 'Hawaii of Asia', says Managing director Ronald Wai Choi of listed company Tongkah Harbour.
Listed mining company Tongkah Harbour Plc, in a consortium with local and foreign partners, is preparing to bid for a 100-billion-baht reclamation project in Phuket to create a world-class tourism destination and marina.

``We are ready to start construction work within three months on the 3,800-rai Phuket Bay, which is part of our existing 16,000-rai tin mining site, if the government endorses the project,'' Mr Choi said yesterday at the company's shareholders' meeting.

Mr Choi said Tongkah was working closely with the Tourism Authority of Thailand, the Immigration Bureau, the Port Authority of Thailand and the Customs Department on the project.

The scheme envisages a commercial complex, a national convention centre, international exhibition centre, cyberport, duty-free shops, world-class deep-sea cruise port and a marina.

The project requires up to 100 billion baht to reclaim coastal areas along Phuket Bay and build infrastructure as well as facilities and a deep-sea port.

Under the initial joint-venture agreement, local investors would hold a combined 51% stake in the project with Tongkah Harbour holding the majority, and the remaining 49% would be allowed for foreign partnerships."

Bangkok Post, 30 April 2003

From 'Wright Reports':-

http://wrightreports.ecnext.com/coms2/reportdesc_COMPANY_C76459010

Tongkah Harbour Public Company Limited. The Group's principal activities are offshore tin mining, gold exploration and mining, igneous rock quarrying and property development and management. The tin mining operations are in Phuket Province, andesite mining operations are in Saraburi Province and gold exploration and development are in Loei Province.

It appears they also own the Toh Moh Gold Mine in Narathiwat; although one wonders if it is operating in the current difficult circumstances.

Another very recent report in the Nation indicates that Tongkah are interested in a Phuket Casino project:-

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2005/10/20/national/index.php?news=national_18923726.html

Phuket outlines plan for casino complex

Published on October 20, 2005

A Bt130 billion development plan for Phuket Bay – which reportedly includes a casino – is in the pipeline, and a number of overseas companies have already shown interest in investing in the project, Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura said yesterday.

Once the plan gets the Cabinet’s in-principle approval, the province will move to forge agreement among the government agencies involved, including the Finance Ministry and the National Economic and Social Development Board, and seek a consultant company to work on the details of the project’s Terms of Reference (TOR), Udomsak said yesterday.

The budget for the project will come entirely from the private sector, necessitating a high level of communication between all the parties involved, he said, adding that a public hearing on the project would be the next step in ensuring this. A number of overseas companies from Japan, Singapore and China have expressed interest in the project as well as Ital-Thai Co Ltd and the current concessionaires of the land earmarked for the project, Tongkah Harbour Public Co Ltd, whose lease runs out in 2008.

The Company seems to be listed on some sites as a 'troubled company'.

Their quarrying operations are near Kaeng Koi Junction in Saraburi. There, they appear to waiting with the rest of 2Bkk for the onset of further large railway projects, as they figure heavily in the production of ballast & sleepers for SRT.

[GWR]

I was looking for an account of this riot months back. It seems to be a subject no one wants to talk about. Could that be because it was an incident which stopped an industrial project dead in its tracks? The plant was later built in MapThatPhut instead. The protesters even threatened to boycott the General Election of that year.

A current TRT big cheese , Veera Musikapong, was apparently one of those who encouraged the mob to burn the tantalum plant:-

http://www.american.edu/TED/TANTAL.HTM

In late 1985, the Thailand Tantalum Industry Corporation began
building a refinery to produce tantalum, a valuable metal
by-product of tin-processing that is used in aerospace, computer,
and nuclear components, in a residential neighborhood on the island
of Phuket. Phuket residents had long been subjected to the
environmental degradation caused by a thriving local tin industry,
watching helplessly as their livelihood, the sea, itself, was
ruined by zealous corporate mining tactics. However, this new
refinery planned to make great use of hydrofluoric acid, a
poisonous chemical used in the production process, which posed a
serious threat to air and water quality.

Residents' fears continued to mount as construction of
the refinery progressed. In early 1986, local residents formed the
Committee to Coordinate Action Against Pollution in response to the
growing environmental threat from the new refinery. During April
and May of 1986, a Japanese videotape of the Bhopal accident was
anonymously circulated throughout the island of Phuket, further
enflaming local apprehension. The nuclear accident in Chernobyl
only added to the mounting resistance Phuket residents showed
towards the tantalum refinery construction.

June 1, 1986 was marked by a demonstration of 50,000
people asking the government to halt construction of the refinery.
Government opposition leaders presented a petition signed by almost
65,000 people who promised to boycott the coming general elections
if construction was not stopped. On June 23, 1986, Industry
Minister Chirayu Isarangkun na Ayuthaya arrived in Phuket to meet
with representatives of local opposition groups. More than 70,000
angry residents were on hand to greet the Minister. Chirayu was
unprepared for such a large, emotional welcoming committee and fled
the island, leaving the 70,000 to quarter the island, searching for
some release of fear and anger.

The rampaging mob, angered by corporate abuse of their
environment and government neglect of their concerns, sought the
most visible target for their rage. By the end of the evening, the
almost-completed refinery was in flames, suffering more than $25
million in damages. Angry rioters prevented any kind of police or
fire rescue response to the arson, blocking access to the burning
refinery and even overturning fire trucks as the new plant went up
in flames and was destroyed.

[GWR]

This article contains a bit more detail again. It also highlights the fact that newspapers were loathe to cover the incident as an environmental issue:-

http://www.lehigh.edu/~kaf3/books/tantalum.html