High in the mountains of South Kivu Province, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a Congolese miner caked in sweat and dust hacks at rock in search of precious minerals.
Some of his fellow miners in the region look for coltan, a mineral used in the manufacture of mobile phones. Others search for gold.
This man is using an iron stake and a simple shovel to dig for cassiterite, or raw tin.
Much of the final product from the efforts of cassiterite miners like him ends up as the microscopically-thin layer of tin which lines metal food and drink cans.
