As we drove through several provinces in northern Thailand on an extended camping trip we had marked a halfway point to stop and stay. With little knowledge other than Mae Moh was a huge mine, somewhat abandoned and with wild camping opportunities we thought it might be an interesting place to stop.
As I drove, my girlfriend researched the area and the mine. It turned out that Mae Moh Mine in Lampang province was Thailand's largest open cast mine and South East Asia's largest lignite mine.
Lignite was first discovered and mined here in 1953 but it wasn't until 1978 that the first large power plant generators were installed onsite. We also learnt that the entire mining project would begin total decommission in the coming years - as soon as they find suitable ways to regenerate the environment and put in place a viable plan to transition the 7000+ workers into new jobs.
Arriving by one of the many offroad detour side routes, we found ourselves in Mae Moh and soon realised we had unintentionally avoided the main entrance - which was closed to all visitors due to Thailand's latest COVID19 wave (late Dec 2020). We passed many vehicles and large mining machinery and we also passed lots of guard posts but were never stopped! Perhaps they assumed we couldn't be tourists for the simple fact, the main entrance was closed or because my truck kind of blended in with all of the other vehicles driving around - a large fleet of Toyota Hilux's in either white or silver, offroad tyres and LED light bars were their staff get-around trucks!
Although the top road we were driving went on for many kilometers, we had yet to see the actual open cast mine. We had however seen, explored and photographed some of the huge mining equipment. Pretty amazing!
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I have no idea what this machine is called but can guess it's used for digging, scooping up rock/coal/lignite after a blast before dumping it into a giant dumper truck.
The bucket was huge and was built to withstand anything. The teeth/forks! and bucket looked as if they were made from pieces of solid steel inches thick with an immense amount of reinforcement and welding. It would made small work of my truck and made my rear bumper look like it was made from tin foil in comparison!
On a side road that led directly into the huge mine were several more large diggers! Perhaps lined up for mechanical problems or maintenance. I thought the mining roads couldn't be far, after all, the huge tank-tracks that drove them wouldn't be driven on tarmac surfaces for long distances.
We turned around and set off to try and find where they had come from. We didn't have to go far until the earth just dropped away into the largest hole i'd ever seen!
Every level and every corner of the lignite mine was at work. Shades of colour clearly changed as you looked deeper into the mine but it was hard to get any sense of scale for what we were looking at.
Giant mining trucks looked tiny driving around but trying to focus on the quicker moving but much much smaller dots on the same tracks we could see the 4x4 Hilux trucks - barely visible to the eye from where we were.
On a slightly worrying note, the amount of pollution in the air was really high and it was very noticeable. Later research online told us that the mine was a huge polluter to the environment.
I suppose mining suching a dirty and highly polluting natural resource on this scale - supplying North Thailand with 50% of its electricity, 30% for the central region and almost 20% to the Northeast would do that.
Mae Moh currently produces 2,400 megawatts of electricity a year but at the same time contributes to 150 million tonnes of CO2 as well!!
Looking out into the distance to the mountains on the horizon, Google Maps allowed us to measure that they were almost 10km away. 10km isn't that far, but it is pretty massive when you consider the only thing standing between you and the mountains 10km away is man made hole!
Google Map Screenshot
Having one quick look down the very tempting track that led all the way into the mine, we thought we'd better not and would only be asking for trouble if we entered.
After viewing the mine in all its glory we headed to the campsite. We had heard that there were some opportunities (if lucky) to wild camp but that they also had an official campground that had good views. We thought a toilet block might also be a nice addition so headed to the mines campsite.
Our arrival brought quick attention as this was part of the mine that only tourists go, so it was obvious why we were there. Some friendly questioning by the guards and a clear refusal to stay, we were out of luck. We backed up and parked to check the map to see where we could wild camp. We didn't want to make this known but felt we really didn't have much choice as we were a long way from anywhere.
Meanwhile, while we were scanning places to stay, the campground guards had radioed the main gatehouse - who were on their way!
Fortunately for us, the 2 main gate staff who came to talk to us couldn't have been friendlier. They understood our predicament but explained that the mine tourist facilities (campground, toilets, shops, museums and restaurants) were all closed - as of just 2 days prior.
They asked what equipment we had for camping and what we needed. They liked our roof top tent set up and we told them we had everything we needed - apart from a spot to park. A couple of minutes later and a few radio calls back and forth to someone, somewhere, he said they would allow us to camp at the Mae Kham Reservoir, an old part of the mine that had been turned into a water supply for the current mine.
They kindly escorted us there and said "You can camp where you like, just don't leave any rubbish, fires need to be contained in a stone circle and there's no charge!"
Before leaving, they told us that at the end of the reservoir wall was a break in the barrier and that we could get down on some of the dirt tracks that led out on spits of land into the lake.
A short dirt track opened up and we were looking for a spot to set up camp before sunset. We couldn't have been more pleased with this campsite. Sunset was off to our far right, so we were expecting a great sunrise somewhere to our front left.
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Just as hoped, the morning sunrise did not disappoint. Our dog was first up and eagerly listening to the birds on the water's edge and trying to work out what lived under the water to cause so many random splashes!
As we waited for the morning dew and condensation to evaporate and dry from the tent before packing up, we had a morning visitor. She was scared, shy but very hungry.
While we soaked up the morning sun and watched the mist over the reservoir, we planned where to go next...
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All content is original: the photos, the writing and the adventure!
Shout out to pinmapple for showing me this one. That cover image could be a poster on every kids wall.
Yeah, it's not often you get to park up close like that or even walk around them. Pretty cool
Mae Moh isn't usually on people's Thailand travel list! Good to see it again, even virtually. You only realize when you drive it how darn big Lampang province actually is. Loads of lignite mining down Kamphaeng Phet way too.
Commenting from my front porch office here in Saraphi, Chiang Mai. Swing by for a coffee and a hive chat sometime.
Yes it wasn't on my places-to-go list either until I saw that huge scar on Google Maps and though it looked interesting.
Thanks, I definitely would have had a coffee and chat if it had been a few weeks back. I'm back at work now in Chonburi but we did head up to Chiang Mai and Rai shortly after Mae Moh. Good to meet you anyway.
lord knows when we will next be allowed near Chonburi, and CNX locking down. urgh. But keep me on your coffee list for next time. 😆
!ENGAGE 25
Will do - it might be a while considering lol, thanks
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That excavator bucket makes your Hilux look like a toy!
I'm 6ft and could stand inside the bucket too lol... And probably nowhere near the largest machine they have there.
I love that stuff, big engineering and all. We have a uranium mine here in South Australia, Roxby Downs, and I've been down it...Incredible. there's some big shit down there.
Yeah, it's like a kids dream to see all those things at work. We were told they had trips and tours usually but because of the COVID closure, they had stopped them!
Bloody covid! I feel a rant coming on...
Hiya, @lizanomadsoul here, just swinging by to let you know that this post made it into our Top 3 in Daily Travel Digest #1083.
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