Hendra, a 51-year-old tin miner, sits on a wooden boat with other miners as they head to their pontoons off the coast of Toboali, on the southern shores of the island of Bangka, Indonesia, May 1, 2021. "On land, our income is diminishing. There are no more reserves," said Hendra, who shifted to work in offshore tin mining about a year ago after a decade in the industry. "In the ocean, there are far more reserves." REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan
An artisanal tin miner uses a plastic tub to check the sand of tin ore while working on a pontoon off the coast of Toboali, southern shores of the island of Bangka, Indonesia, May 1, 2021. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan
Amirudin, 43, a field supervisor of the state tin mining company PT Timah, rests on a makeshift hammock, on a tin pontoon off the coast of Toboali, on the southern shores of the island of Bangka, Indonesia, May 1, 2021. Timah has been ramping up production from the sea. Company data shows its proven tin reserve on land was 16,399 tonnes last year, compared with 265,913 tonnes offshore. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan
Fish lie inside a jerrycan in Batu Perahu village, in Toboali, on the southern shores of the island of Bangka, Indonesia, May 2, 2021. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan
Sudarmadi, 40, a local fisherman, carries his catch off the boat in Batu Perahu village in Toboali, on the southern shores of the island of Bangka, Indonesia, May 2, 2021. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan
Fishing nets and buoys lie on a boat belonging to Apriadi Anwar, 45, a local fisherman in Batu Perahu village in Toboali, on the southern shores of the island of Bangka, Indonesia, May 2, 2021. Apriadi said in the past his family earned enough to pay for his two younger siblings to go to university, but in recent years, they have barely scraped by. "Never mind going to university, these days it's difficult to even buy food," he said. Apriadi says fishing nets can get tangled up in offshore mining equipment, while trawling the seabed to find seams of ore has polluted once-pristine waters. "Fish are becoming scarce because the coral where they spawn is now covered with mud from the mining," he added. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan
Sacks of tin sand are seen guarded by an armed police officer during the checking and weighing process, at the shore in Toboali, on the southern shores of the island of Bangka, Indonesia, April 29, 2021. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan
An aerial view shows wooden pontoons equipped to dredge the seabed for deposits of tin ore off the coast of Toboali, on the southern shores of the island of Bangka, Indonesia, May 1, 2021. Picture taken with a drone. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan
An artisanal tin miner pulls a rope while working on a pontoon off the coast of Toboali, on the southern shores of the island of Bangka, Indonesia, April 29, 2021. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan
An artisanal tin miner rests as children swim near a pontoon off the coast of Toboali, on the southern shores of the island of Bangka, Indonesia, April 29, 2021. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan
Dimas Putra Hermawan, 17, and other artisanal tin miners prepare washed glittery black sand of tin ore while working on a pontoon off the coast of Toboali, on the southern shores of the island of Bangka, Indonesia, April 29, 2021. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan
Artisanal tin miners install a suction pipe on a pontoon off the coast of Toboali, on the southern shores of the island of Bangka, Indonesia, May 1, 2021. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan
An aerial view shows a lake known as Kulong Biru (blue lake) in Koba, on the island of Bangka, Indonesia, May 2, 2021. Deposits in the mining hub of Bangka-Belitung have been heavily exploited on land, leaving parts of the islands off the southeast coast of Sumatra island resembling a lunar landscape with vast craters and highly acidic, turquoise lakes. Picture taken with a drone. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan
An abandoned fishing boat sits on Sampur Beach in Pangkal Pinang, on the island of Bangka, Indonesia, April 30, 2021. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan
Children walk past tin pontoons parked on the shores of Toboali, on the southern shores of the island of Bangka, Indonesia, April 29, 2021. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan
Hendra, 51, a tin miner, shows the sand of tin ore on a pontoon off the coast of Toboali, on the southern shores of the island of Bangka, Indonesia, April 29, 2021. "On land, our income is diminishing. There are no more reserves," said Hendra, who shifted to work in offshore tin mining about a year ago after a decade in the industry. "In the ocean, there are far more reserves." REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan
Hendra, 51, a tin miner, stands on top of his pontoon while monitoring the mining operation off the coast of Toboali, on the southern shores of the island of Bangka, Indonesia, May 1, 2021. Hendra operates six pontoons, each manned by three to four workers. He is among scores of artisanal miners who partner with PT Timah to exploit the state miner's concessions. The miners are paid about 70,000 to 80,000 rupiah ($4.90 to $5.60) per kg of tin sand they pump up, and a pontoon typically produces about 50 kg a day, Hendra said. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan
Smoke from diesel generators rises from pontoons off the coast of Toboali, on the southern shores of the island of Bangka, Indonesia, May 1, 2021. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan
An aerial view shows wooden pontoons along the shore of Toboali, on the southern shores of the island of Bangka, Indonesia, April 29, 2021. Picture taken with a drone. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan
Jessix Amundian, Executive Director of the Indonesian environmental group Walhi Bangka Belitung, shows an area of offshore tin mining on the island of Bangka, during an interview with Reuters in Pangkal Pinang, Bangka Belitung province, Indonesia, April 28, 2021. Walhi has been campaigning to stop mining at sea, especially on Bangka's western coast, where the mangroves are relatively well-preserved. "The mangrove is an ecological fortress for the coastal area," said Jessix. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan
An artisanal tin miner holds a suction hose as he works on a pontoon off the coast of Toboali, on the southern shores of the island of Bangka, Indonesia, May 1, 2021. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan
An artisanal tin miner pulls a rope while working on a pontoon off the coast of Toboali, on the southern shores of the island of Bangka, Indonesia, May 1, 2021. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan
Dimas Putra Hermawan, 17, and another artisanal tin miner prepare a rope while installing a suction pipe and hose on a pontoon, off the coast of Toboali, on the southern shores of the island of Bangka, Indonesia, April 29, 2021. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan
Dimas Putra Hermawan, 17, an artisanal tin miner, washes glittery black sand of tin ore, as he works on a pontoon off the coast of Toboali, on the southern shores of the island of Bangka, Indonesia, April 29, 2021. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan
Mining tin from the sea