Long before Thailand became a hub for industries like auto manufacturing, tourism and healthcare, it was a global hub for tin. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the mining of tin along the Andaman Sea coastline created wealth for Siam.
Tin became a key commodity as the world industrialised, bringing Chinese workers and British engineers to southern Thailand. The tin industry closed down here decades ago. It left an imprint, however, on local culture in the South. Ranong province, for example, still has valuable "industrial heritage" like mining architecture and artefacts.
