Atjeh coal exploration (1885-1929)

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tagsevent, coal, colonial, atjeh, exploration
aliasesCoal exploration in Atjeh, Atjeh coal survey, Atjeh coal explorations 1885-1929

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The Atjeh coal exploration of 1885–1929 is the documentary-history sequence that begins with Rinaud’s 1885 survey of the coal seams of the West coast of Atjeh — the earliest systematic colonial-era observation of Atjeh coal — and continues through the early-20th-century surveys of Philippi (1918), Hengeveld (1918/1919), Fryling (1921), Zwierzycki (1922) and Van Loheezen (1929). The sequence culminates in Zwierzycki’s 1922 consolidated inventory of Atjeh coal localities, which is reproduced — with only minor additions — as Table 13 of the coal chapter of Van Bemmelen’s *Geology of Indonesia* (1949).

The 1885 Rinaud survey

The 1885 Rinaud survey is the earliest systematic printed description of Atjeh coal occurrences, and the earliest evidence of the colonial state’s scientific penetration of the Atjeh coastal zone after the military consolidation of the early 1880s. Rinaud’s survey recorded three West-Atjeh Paleogene coal localities: the Krueng Kluet (No. 13, “very thin seams”), South of Tapatuan (No. 14, “Seam 3 ft thick… 10 places”), and NW-Krueng Teunom (No. 15, “Seam 2½ ft thick”). For the full account see the entry on Rinaud.

The 1918-1929 surveys

The early-20th-century surveys of Philippi, Hengeveld, Fryling, Zwierzycki and Van Loheezen extended the Rinaud record to the East-Atjeh Paleogene coal localities (the Langkat-residency localities of Besitang River (No. 5), Lepan (No. 6) and Sarangan (No. 7), with the analytical data of Hengeveld 1918/1919 and Fryling 1921) and to the West-Atjeh Neogene coal localities (the Krueng Raja (No. 16), Krueng Antjong (No. 17), East of Peureu Moue (No. 18) and Near Simpane Peust (No. 19), recorded by Zwierzycki 1922). The sequence of surveys is:

  1. Rinaud (1885): West-Atjeh Paleogene coal seams (Krueng Kluet, Tapatuan, Krueng Teunom).
  2. Philippi (1918): Coastal-region coal occurrences south of Atjeh (Ajer Padang, Ajer Lais, etc.).
  3. Hengeveld (1918/1919): Langkat-residency coal localities (Besitang River, Lepan, Sarangan).
  4. Fryling (1921): Additional Langkat and East-coast data.
  5. Zwierzycki (1922): The consolidated inventory.
  6. Van Loheezen (1929): Later supplementary observations.

For the individual surveys see the entries on the respective geologists.

The 1922 Zwierzycki consolidated inventory

The 1922 Zwierzycki consolidated inventory is the canonical record of Atjeh coal occurrences. For the East coast of Atjeh, the inventory lists: Ajer Djambu Batang (No. 1), Pendens River (No. 2), Mouth Woini Orong (No. 3, “Seams a few inches thick”), Ajer Baturong (No. 4). For the West coast of Atjeh, the inventory lists the three Rinaud Paleogene localities (Krueng Kluet No. 13, South of Tapatuan No. 14, NW-Krueng Teunom No. 15) and the four Zwierzycki Neogene localities (Krueng Raja No. 16, Krueng Antjong No. 17, East of Peureu Moue No. 18, Near Simpane Peust No. 19). The inventory is reproduced as Table 13 of the coal chapter of Van Bemmelen’s Geology of Indonesia.

The 1909 Kinandam-Sumatra mining leases

The only documented colonial-era coal-mining concessions on Atjeh-relevant territory are the 1909 mining leases granted to the Kinandam-Sumatra Mijnbouw Mij. for the Bukit Durian, Bukit Pulai and Sarik concessions in the Painan district of the Westkust van Sumatra (immediately to the south of the Atjeh border). The Kinandam-Sumatra company’s modest production — 2,000 tons over the decade 1917–1927, all for use at the company’s own Salida gold mine — represents the entire recorded colonial coal production for the West-Atjeh/Painan coal zone. For the full account see the entry on Kinandam-Sumatra Mijnbouw Mij..

The disappointing results

Van Bemmelen’s summary judgment on the Atjeh coal exploration is unambiguous: “Several explorations for coal have been made in the northern part of Sumatra (Atjeh and Dependencies) but the results were disappointing, as large quantities of coal have not been discovered.” The West-Atjeh Neogene coals “to the present, seem to be of no or little economical importance”, and the closure of the Salida gold mine in 1927 and the subsequent return of the Kinandam-Sumatra coal-mining rights to the Government (1934 and 1941) accordingly mark the end of the colonial coal-mining industry in the West-Atjeh/Painan region.

Significance

The Atjeh coal exploration of 1885–1929 is significant for the encyclopedia of Acheh history because it is the documentary sequence that established the colonial-era record of Atjeh coal occurrences — a record that, despite the substantial investment of geological field-work over four decades, concluded with the disappointing judgment that “large quantities of coal have not been discovered”. The exploration is also the documentary context for the only colonial-era coal-mining concessions on Atjeh-relevant territory (the 1909 Kinandam-Sumatra leases at Bukit Durian, Bukit Pulai and Sarik), and for the only recorded colonial coal production in the West-Atjeh/Painan region (the 2,000 tons of the 1917–1927 Kinandam-Sumatra operation).

See Also

Source

The Geology of Indonesia, by R. W. van Bemmelen, Vol. II: Economic Geology (The Hague: Government Printing Office; Martinus Nijhoff, 1949), pp. 49–56 (coal in Sumatra, Table 13 and surrounding text).

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