Tin rush takes its toll on Indonesia's Bangka Island

A worker repairs a pumping station in the Pemali mine, the biggest legal mine in Bangka operated by PT-Timah. It produces 60 tons of tin per month. Indonesia is the world's biggest tin producer. The element is used as solder to bind components in electronics such as tablets, computers and smartphones.

Irwan, 25, has been a diver on an improvised offshore tin mining platform near the fishing village of Reboh for five years. Miners dig for tin by sucking the sand from the sea floor with machines. Irwan can dig up 15 kilos of tin sand per day. These mines destroy the seabed, coral reefs and kill the aquatic fauna.

A house is balancing on the edge of an illegal tin mine in Reboh. Working conditions in mines like these are extremely difficult and dangerous. Landslides are common as mines are dug out everywhere: in backyards, in the forest, on the side of the road, out at sea.

Makeshift rafts on the Indian Ocean are used as mining platforms near the fishing village of Reboh. Sometimes the mining is done illegally, with locals using small boats or rafts called unconventional floating mines.

Miners sift sand in search of tin in an illegal mine on Bangka Island. The tin rush is a direct consequence of the success of smartphones and tablet PCs. Due to exposure to toxic elements and the danger of cave-ins and landslides, approximately 100 to 150 miners die every year.

Here, a miner works in a huge illegal tin mine in Batako, Tunghin. The mine has completely devastated the once green landscape of the island.

"It's a dangerous job, we know that. But I have to earn a living to support my family," a 57-year-old miner by the name of Abuy told DW.

Santo, 30, a tin miner, digs in his own garden. He manages to collect up to 3 kilos of tin per day. This illegal tin mine is the only source of income for his family in Mapur. Environmental organisations continue to warn of the consequences of tin mining: the pollution of the soil, the rivers and the sea with heavy metals and the damage done to underwater wildlife and flora.

Miners work in a huge illegal tin mine in Batako, Tunghin. Due to the toxicity of the chemicals used in the mining process, some species of fish have already disappeared. Fishermen are obliged to fish far away from the coast in the hope to catch enough fish. Hotel owners complain about a decline in tourism because of "dirty sea water and noise pollution."

Yoyok, 55, pictured here in the illegal tin mine in Reboh, has been working as a tin miner since 2000. Like the illegal "blood mineral" mining in South Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Bangka is evidence of the indirect consequences of the commercial success of big technology players who refuse to take responsibility for the environmental damage caused by mining.