have little better to offer than the information
given to me by the natives of the country, always
vague and uncertain. The tin formation
consisting, I believe, always of granite, and which
is well ascertained to pervade the whole Malay
peninsula, even from within a few miles of
Cape Romania, the most southern extremity of
the continent of Asia, extends through the
Siamese territory as far on the coast of the bay
of Bengal as Tavoy, in about .the fourteenth
degree of North latitude, and on that of the
Gulf of Siam as far as Cham-pon, in about the
eleventh degree. The ore found within this
wide range, as far as has been ascertained, is
always common tin-stone, or oxide of tin, occurring
in alluvial formations, technically called
“ streams.” The richest mines of Siam exist in
the island of Junk Ceylon, and here the ore
is found in precisely the same situation as in
the island of Banca, and the mines are probably
not inferior to those of the latter in fertility.
The other places in which mines are wrought are
Sungora, Mardilung, Ligore, Cham-pon, Ma-ya,
and; Tavoy.
Gold, which appears in the Malay peninsula
to have as wide a geographic distribution and
a similar geognostic situation with tin, is also
found under the same circumstances within the
Siamese territory. The places in which, according
to my information, gold is obtained, are
Bang-ta-pan, and Ra-chan. A t the first place,
which is in about the twelfth degree of North
latitude, the ore is said to- be above nineteen
carats fine. The whole quantity produced, however,
is not sufficient for the consumption of the
country, owing to the quantity expended in gilding
temples and images ; in consequence of which,
quantities are imported from the Malayan countries.
Iron however, of all the metals, occurs in the
greatest relative abundance in Siam. The mines
of it all existing at a great distance from the capital,
we had no means of determining what particular
ores of it were used for smelting; but that
the mines were fertile, appeared sufficiently evident
from the low price at which the metal itself
is sold at Bangkok, and which for cast-iron does
not exceed a dollar and a half the picul, nor for
malleable iron above double that amount. The
most productive mines of iron are in the districts
of Pi-si-luk, La-kon-sa-wan, Ra-heng, and Me-
tak, all situated on or near the Menam.
Copper, lead, zinc, and antimony, are also found
in Siam, which, from the list now given, will appear
to be no less distinguished for the variety
and abundance of its mineral, than it is acknowledged
to be for its vegetable productions. Copper
mines were attempted to be worked by the
French in the time of Louis XIV., and lately to
a small extent by the Chinese. The mineral is