World's lust for tin tears a tropical island apart

From: China Daily | Date: June 4, 2007 | Copyright information

SUNGHIN, Indonesia: The coconut palms on the tropical beaches of the Indonesian island of Bangka open up to reveal a landscape so devastated by mining that it bears an eerie resemblance to the surface of the moon.

Deep craters as big as football fields pockmark the land. Smaller craters filled with turquoise water glitters deceptively in the tropical sun. The water is highly acidic.

Welcome to the tin mines of Bangka where miners dig deep into the earth in search of tin ore - the raw material for the metal used in coating soft drink cans and solders for computer chips.

Battling with malaria ...

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