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THE ALLURE OF TIN UNDER THE SEA
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.
The huge expansion, coupled with reports of illegal miners targeting offshore deposits, has heightened tension with fishermen, who say their catches have collapsed due to steady encroachment on their fishing grounds since 2014.
Fisherman Apriadi Anwar 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," said Apriadi, 45, who lives in Batu Perahu village.
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.
Indonesian environmental group Walhi has been campaigning to stop mining at sea, especially on Bangka's western coast, where the mangroves are relatively well-preserved.
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"The mangrove is an ecological fortress for the coastal area," said Jessix Amundian, executive director with Walhi Bangka Belitung.
In a statement, Timah said it communicates with fishing communities to improve their catch, adding it had built artificial reefs to help restock the sea in line with regulations.
Authorities have cracked down on the tin industry from time to time, particularly illegal mining, and remaining land reserves are often hard to access or require heavy machinery to exploit.
Still, rising tin prices are an incentive to overcome these obstacles.
Amri, an unlicensed miner in Bangka, said he had restarted his land operations after a 14-month hiatus when tin prices rose due to tighter global supplies. ($1 = 14,260 rupiah)
