Coal was discovered in the mid-19th century by Willem Hendrik de Greve, and mining began in the area in 1876. The mine is the oldest coal mining site in Southeast Asia.
■ History
Coal was discovered there by Dutch engineer Willem Hendrik de Greve in 1868. Mining started at the open-pit mine in 1892 after the construction of a railway. In the pre-independence period, coal production peaked in 1930, at more than 620,000 tonnes a year. Prisoners/Kettingganger (Dutch for people in chains) from Java and Sumatra who were transported to the mining site with their legs, hands, and necks chained up, were the main miners. Coal production fulfilled 90 percent of the Dutch East Indies’ energy needs. In 1942–1945, the mine was controlled by Japan, and the mine declined. From 1945–1958, the mine was managed by the directorate of mining and in 1958–1968, by the bureau of state mining companies. In 1968, it became the Ombilin production unit of the state coal mining company. Production peaked in 1976 at 1,201,846 tonnes per year.Until 2002 it operated as an open-pit mine. After that, only underground mine continued. In recent times, CNTIC has invested $100 million to the mine. By 2008, the mine had estimated reserves of about 90.3 million tonnes of coking coal, of which 43 million tonnes were mineable. The mine is owned by PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam (PTBA) and operated by the China National Technology Import-Export Corporation (CNTIC). The mine produces about 500,000 tonnes of coal per year. As of 2019, PT Bukit Asam coal mine company had halted operations in Ombilin.
■ Attraction
The mining area continues to bring benefits to local residents through reforestation and conversion into a tourist destination. A well maintenance pit with sufficient lighting and air supply attract local and foreign tourists mainly from Malaysia and Singapore. The Ombilin Coal Mining Museum at Ombilin Coal Mine Complex presents the history of the company and the tools that were used for mining. Original relics such as the Mbah Soero tunnel, workers and mine workers housing (Tangsi Baru and Field Land), coal filtering, railway factories, government offices, settlements, municipal government are preserved. The mining site has been transformed into a zoo, lake and horse-riding track.

SE 1.2Km	Nurul Islam Great Mosque
NE 2.6Km	Sawahlunto
NW 26.1Km	Lake Singkarak
NW 29.0Km	Pagaruyung Palace
NW 31.6Km	Fort van der Capellen
SW 43.5Km	Lake Diatas
SW 51.3Km	Andalas Grand Mosque
NW 51.9Km	Payakumbuh
SW 52.2Km	Grand Mosque of West Sumatra
SW 53.4Km	Ganting Grand Mosque

vTourMap サワリントのオンビリン炭鉱遺産 Ombilin Coal Mine 翁比林煤礦 Tambang Batu Bara Ombilin

vTourMap サワリントのオンビリン炭鉱遺産　 Ombilin Coal Mine　翁比林煤礦　 Tambang Batu Bara Ombilin