It is known that tin was discovered a couple of millennia ago in the Kathu district of Phuket and was mined until 1992 when the last mine on Phuket closed. Cassiterite (the principal ore of tin) was found in abundance in Phuket and the neighbouring Andaman coast (noteably from KhaoLak to TakuaPa).
In the Ministry of Primary Industries(which mining was) and Mines the campus which houses the current offices, has in it’s grounds these old machines which were used during the mining in the 20th Century.
Fascinatingly even steam engines sit aside the giant wheels and cogs of these machines, their belts and pulleys long gone!
But it has been tastefully done and was a joy to see on my photographic journey around Phuket.