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Gold Mine

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Opening days: Daily

Opening hours: 08.00 - 17.00

Gold Mine Located at Ban To Mo, Phu Khao Thong Sub-district, Sukhirin District, Narathiwat Province Only 800 meters from the Malaysian border, the mineral resources are in the evergreen forest in the middle of the valley Locals call it Khao To Mo and Khao Licho. which is part of the Su-ngai Kolok mountain range It was a dense valley packed with big trees. It is humid and humid with rain almost every season.

Until the origin of the Licho creek which is a branch of the Saiburi River And along the river that meanders down from deep forests and mountains, where gold powder is mixed in, villagers rely on "liang", a wooden pan tool. pan-like shape scooping up the rubble under the water to pan for gold especially during the rainy season when the water will flow down from the hill blowing gold flakes down and sinking to the bottom of the creek.

For a long time, the villagers' gold panning has been going on for a long time. A Chinese named Hue Sinjew, who trades in Thailand-Malaysia, led around 50 people to dig for gold by panning down the river from Ban Kalu Bi upwards upstream.

Until almost the Malaysian border They found that the closer they were to the watershed, the greater the amount of gold trapped at the bottom. As this news spread, many people flocked to this land to seek their luck. It is estimated that there were more than a thousand people. And those pilgrims can pan for gold up to 1-2 dimes a day.

When news of the discovery of gold at To Mo became more and more popular The Thai government has entrusted "Afad", son of Hu Xin Jew. who inherited the gold mining job from his father is the one who protects the benefits of the government by collecting taxes from villagers who go in search of gold Afad was likened to Tomo's sheriff in those days.

Later was given the royal title as "Luang Wiset Suvarnabhumi", he is the father of Chatchai Wisetsuvarnabhumi or Phanomthien and the mystical southernmost lands. It's in the To Mo mine where grandfather and father are pioneers. It was part of the inspiration for the famous adventure novel. "Phet Phra Uma" and Hu Xin Jiew are the progenitors of the family. Wiset Suvarnabhumi

This land of mountains and deep forests that grew with gold. It was converted to a mine for the first time in 1930 by the British to install gold mining machines for a while. But not as successful as it should be, so the business was discontinued. Before the gold mine was systematically and seriously implemented in 1932.

When a French company called Societe d'Or de Litcho came in to investigate and found deep in the soil of the Tomo and Litcho mountains. which is in the Su-ngai Kolok mountain range There is a lot of gold Importantly, the gold content has a high percentage. therefore asked for a concession from the Thai government to mine gold for 20 years.

The French company had a large number of immigrants as miners. The business continued until World War 2, and the gold mine had to be shut down. French return home The history of Tomo Gold Mine opens a new record. by the action of the Thai government but can't do it for long was facing a shortage of materials and equipment.

Because during the war, the mines had to be closed. The once bustling gold mine turned into an abandoned mine. Along with the news that communist Chinese thieves (JCC) came to ambush and live in this region. and used as a force to attack and harass the British who still dominate Malay Later, the government gave concessions to private companies. Running the business for a while before quitting.

At present, the community has established a Tomo Mining Museum for interested visitors to visit the area that used to be a residence. Rafting point and gold panning equipment.

Category: Nature and Wildlife