TINH TUC TIN MINE

The “Tinh Tuc Tin Mine” site, which located in the Tinh Tuc town, Nguyen Binh district, is in  the western route of Non Nuoc Cao Bang geopark-Experience Phia Oac-The Mountain of Transformations. At this site, visitors might experience the French footprint of mineral exploitation and history of “the first child of Mineral and Mentalgury exploitation sector of Viet Nam.    

This open cast mine was first worked at the end of the 19th century. In 1902, under French possession, the company “Société des mines d’etain de Cao Bang” (Cao Bang tin mine) began exploiting the mine until Vietnam’s independence. Tin and other minerals there after are mined at Tinh Tuc and adjacent areas until today. The development of this group of mines has strongly influenced the formation and development of Tinh Tuc Town and resident cluster at the beginning of and during the 20th century.

A view of Tinh Tuc tin Mine.

Similar to other mineral deposits around the Pia Oac granite massif, the gas-rich hot magma that intruded (c.85-95 million years ago, Cretaceous period) into the limestone (containing Crinoids, formed under shallow and warm marine conditions c.360-270 million years ago, Carboniferous-Permian period) had resulted in tin and other related minerals.

Tin is of high economic value. It is a silvery-white metal that is soft, malleable and fairly resistant to corrosion. Its extraction and use can be dated to the beginnings of the Bronze Age around 3000BC. When first used it was mixed with copper to produce bronze, which is a very resistant metal. After that, because of its low toxicity, tin was used for houseware manufacture (plate, pots etc.). Today alloys made from tin are used in varying applications, such as soldering and in magnets and superconductive wire. Tin is also used to help produce glass and weather-resistant coatings for windows and windshields.

Coming to Tinh Tuc mine, visitors will also be able to find evidence of mining activities during the French time, along with many other unique geologic features e.g. planation surface at 1,200m asl, karst sinkholes etc.