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Tin mining
Tin is an important metal used as a solder in tablets and smartphones. Four smartphones contain around the same amount of tin as an entire car. Tin is contained within the crust of the earth and extracting it involves clearing and ploughing land, or dredging the seabed.
About one-third of the global tin supply comes from the Indonesian islands of Bangka and Belitung. Large-scale deforestation to make way for the mining threatens to leave up to half of Bangka's forests arid, and previously fertile ground and water aquifers have acidified.
Purchase electronics goods from companies that are open about where they source tin from, acknowledge the damage tin extraction has caused in Indonesia, and support the introduction of sustainable mining practices. Friends of the Earth Netherlands has assessed major electronics companies based on their transparency and support for sustainable mining
See Friends of the Earth's three part documentary: Mining for Smartphones
