SUNGAI LIAT, Indonesia, (MILLAT+APP/AFP) – Deep
beneath the murky ocean, Paci breathes through a thin plastic tube as he dredges the seabed for tin, a vital component inside smartphones and tablets that’s brought riches and ruin to his island home.
One-third of the world’s tin comes from the Indonesian islands of
Bangka and Belitung, where thousands risk serious injury and death in the mines.
Demand for the metal ore has soared in recent years, driven by a
voracious consumer appetite for the latest electronics gadgets.
In Bangka, the result has been a free-for-all — both inland and now
offshore. Many miners are unlicensed, sailing out in repurposed fishing boats in the hope of finding new deposits with little experience, and no protection.
Paci, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, earns USD$15 for a
day’s work beneath the seas. Clad in goggles and a swimming cap he rakes a powerful hose across the sea floor, sending violent torrents of mineral-rich sand shooting to the surface.
“It is very dangerous work, and the risks are huge,” he told AFP
after surfacing, as the mining crew panned the dark sediment to separate fragments of tin.
“But what are you going to do? It’s my life, and this is my job,” he
added.
He’s not alone. Dozens of dredging crews trawl off north-east Bangka,
the same stretch of coastline where a 23-year-old miner drowned in October.