About the town » Sawahlunto, Kabupaten Sijunjung, West Sumatra, Indonesia

Kota Sawahlunto or Sawah Lunto is a town in West Sumatra, Indonesia, 90 kilometers from Padang. This town covers 5.86 km² and has a population of 15,279. Sawahlunto is one of the mining towns in West Sumatra. It was first established as a town in 1882 by the Dutch along with the coal mining operations during that time. Coal was discovered in the mid-19th century by Ir. de Greve. It was then suggested to the Dutch to mine coal in the area as it was much needed for the development of the industry and transportation at that time. Since the discovery of coal, the area has been frequently visited by geologists. Coal mining was pioneered in this area after the eventual "surrender" of the area to the Dutch in 1876. In 1888, the Nederland Indies initialized many coal mining facilities, train trackage is built in 1894, and the first coal mining tunnel is built in 1898 at Air Dingin, Lembah Segar, but is closed in 1932 and re-open in June 2007. Mining was initiated in the country after its independence and was named PT Tambang Batubara Ombilin (TBO). TBO was later liquidated to be a subsidiary of PTBA (Bukit Asam) which is located in Southern Sumatra. Ever since the reformation, the area has experienced a growth in the mining community as the people felt compelled to participate in coal mining. Coal mining was not only restricted within the boundaries of the community but also extended to the land owned by PTBA TPO. The mayor at that time was Ir. Amran Nur, with Erizal Ridwan S.T. as his representative.