What do they do with sulfur in Indonesia? Hell of a job

When you first see the amazingly beautiful crystals of bright yellow, lemon or honey color, you may mistake them for amber. But this is nothing more than native sulfur.

Native sulfur has existed on Earth since the birth of the planet. We can say that it is of extraterrestrial origin. This mineral is known to be present in large quantities on other planets. Io, a moon of Saturn covered in erupting volcanoes, looks like a huge egg yolk. A significant part of the surface of Venus is also covered with a layer of yellow sulfur.

People began to use it before our era, but the exact date of its discovery is unknown.

The unpleasant suffocating odor that occurs during combustion has brought this substance a bad reputation. In almost all religions of the world, molten sulfur, emitting an unbearable stench, was associated with the hellish underworld, where sinners suffered terrible torment.

Ancient priests, performing religious rituals, used burning sulfur powder to communicate with underground spirits. It was believed that sulfur was a product of dark forces from the other world.

A description of deadly fumes is found in Homer. And the famous self-igniting “Greek fire”, which plunged the enemy into mystical horror, also contained sulfur.

In the 8th century, the Chinese used the flammable properties of native sulfur in the manufacture of gunpowder.

Arab alchemists called sulfur the “father of all metals” and created the original mercury-sulfur theory. In their opinion, sulfur is present in the composition of any metal.

Later, the French physicist Lavoisier, after conducting a series of experiments on the combustion of sulfur, established its elementary nature.

After the discovery of gunpowder and its spread in Europe, they began to mine native sulfur and developed a method for obtaining the substance from pyrite. However, this method was widely used in ancient Rus'.

In the eastern part of the island of Java, in Indonesia, is the Ijen volcano. A lake full of turquoise water formed in its crater. But don’t even think about diving into it – just pour water into the battery.

Way up

It takes too long to drive from the capital to Ijen. It's easier to start from the neighboring island of Bali. Having reached the port of Ketapang by ferry, you can take a taxi directly to the volcano: the trip will cost you approximately $40. Prepare for the fact that the driver will take fellow travelers. At the foot of Ijen you will have to part with your car - the only way to the top is on foot, narrow and winding.

Before the climb, you can find a guide or take an excursion, but there’s not much point in this: the hard workers you’ll definitely meet along the way will tell you everything you want to know. When you reach the Pos Bandare transhipment station, don’t forget to warm yourself – a cold wind blows at the top. Now you are ready to try on the skin of an Indonesian miner.

Dirty work

In Lake Kawah, not only water splashes at the top, but also sulfuric acid. Local residents should be grateful to the god of the volcano, Ijen steadily emits gas fumes. Rising to the surface, the gas is retained on stones and in special ceramic pipes. This creates ideal conditions for sulfur condensation.

Flowing down the pipe, the hot mass hardens and turns yellow. The sulfur is knocked out of the pipes using steel reinforcement.

The seemingly porous and light pieces of sulfur actually weigh a lot. The miner carries a load of 45 to 90 kg on himself for several kilometers. I caught my breath, took a break - and again for sulfur. Each worker makes two or three trips per day.

Hart, 34 years old. “Over time, I learned to hold my breath for a long time and work very quickly so that the toxic fumes do not burn my lungs.”

The miners have little equipment: a back, a rocker arm and a rag to protect against fumes. It is almost impossible to breathe at the top of the volcano, so it is better to take a respirator with you.

Workers love to go down in company. For a couple of cigarettes, they will be happy to tell you something you won’t see on the Discovery Channel. You can even raise the yoke: after looking at your technique, the miner will nod respectfully, or, well, laugh.

Cigarettes are the local currency; you can’t live without them. All the miners smoke, as if the sulfur fumes are not enough for them. Of course, all this has a bad effect on life expectancy: if a miner lives to be 50, this is a great success. At the same time, the work of a breadwinner is considered good. They earn several times more here than in local factories.

Gema, 26 years old. “I smoke clove cigarettes to get rid of the acrid taste in my mouth.”

Good earnings

Three kilometers from the summit there is a weighing station. A simple hostel has also been organized here for those who do not want to return home today. There you can have a snack and buy a souvenir: a figurine cast from sulfur.

The receptionist sits under the canopy - an unpleasant guy who looks like a pawnshop worker. He looks at the baskets with an appraising glance and orders them to be put on the scales. The mark is stamped on a piece of paper, the sulfur is sent to the truck, and the miner is sent to the pay window. Here you pay immediately and without delay.

For 60 kg of net weight they give about $4.5. In a month, a strong prospector earns up to $300. By comparison, a batik factory worker earns only $90 a month.

Suleiman, 31 years old. “I do this to feed my wife and child. You can’t earn that much in rice fields.”

Life outside the volcano

People of completely different ages go to work as miners. Both old people and young guys climb the volcano; almost all of them have already started a family. If you wish, you can even ask to visit one of the prospectors. They live modestly, but you cannot refuse them hospitality.

They talk about work and life willingly, secretly laughing at tourists. It feels like the miners’ hellish work is not at all a burden: the smiles never leave their weather-beaten faces, and they themselves look very young. Next time you're tired of office work, remember the Indonesian miner. They are definitely not short of optimism.

Zhumanto, 40 years old. “I have no family. The volcano gives me a feeling of freedom. I don’t depend on anyone and work as much as I think is necessary.”

A very popular topic on the Internet because it is very effective and shocking. The Ijen Volcano crater is one of the most attractive and dangerous on Earth. An active volcano constantly spewing clouds of sulfur smoke, the world's largest acidic lake Kawah Ijen, incredibly beautiful blue fire and inhumane working conditions for miners extracting sulfur.

Is this still happening, many people ask themselves? Let's try to collect the most complete information about this place here.

In fact, Ijen is not just a volcano, but a volcanic complex of more than a dozen volcanic objects: stratovolcanoes, volcanic cones, craters, located within a radius of 20 km around the caldera.

But tourists are attracted precisely by the crater with an acid lake, the shores of which are a natural large deposit of natural sulfur. The crater has a radius of 361 meters and a depth of 200 meters.

Lake Kawah in the crater of Mount Ijen is the largest acid lake in the world. It consists of concentrated hydrochloric and sulfuric acid dissolved in water. The volcano releases hydrogen chloride as a gas. When interacting with water, it forms sulfuric acid with a pH of about zero. Hydrochloric acid dissolved in water gives the lake a beautiful turquoise color.

The lake is deadly, yet you can touch it with your hand. The temperature on the surface is 50-60°C, and in the depths - over 200°C. The depth of the lake reaches 200 meters.

The amazing phenomenon of blue fire is actually sulfur dioxide burning at a temperature of 600°C, which gives the fire its characteristic blue color. The glow is quite weak, so it can only be seen at night.

Sometimes the workers themselves set fire to the sulfur. Some of the smoke condenses in ceramic pipes installed in the crater and flows out of the pipes, forming stalactites of natural sulfur. Red liquid sulfur spews from the vents and cools to yellow on the surface. These stalactites, by the way, are sold to tourists as souvenirs.

These spectacular photographs were taken by the famous French photographer Olivier Grunewald, who made several trips to the sulfur mines in the crater of the Kawaha Ijen volcano. There, using special equipment, he took breathtaking, surreal photographs of the place in the moonlight, illuminated by torches and the blue flames of burning molten sulfur.

Lava flows burning with a blue flame can be observed on Ijen extremely rarely. Unfortunately, many sites show pictures of Olivier Grunewald and make it seem like this happens every night. Don't believe it! Usually only sulfur dioxide burns and there is no lava.

In the crater, local residents extract sulfur by hand. This is very hard and dangerous work. Without protective suits, and many without even masks, the miners use crowbars to break off pieces of sulfur and place them in a basket. They carry these baskets 200 meters to the top of the crater, and then descend 3 km to the foot of the volcano to the village, where they receive a reward for the work done. The weight of such a basket is 60-80 kg, some manage to lift up to 90 kg.

Typically workers make this journey twice a day. For 1 kg of sulfur they pay 900-1000 IDR, which means about $5 per basket or $10 per day. By local standards, this is a highly paid and prestigious job. The island of Java has a very high population density and unemployment. Sulfur miners are a kind of working elite.

However, this does not help them live long. Sulfur fumes are so dangerous to health that young guys look like old people, and the average life expectancy is about 47 years.

Despite the appalling working conditions, the workers are surprisingly friendly and cheerful people. This is what he writes MARIA GONCHAROVA: I experienced culture shock when a worker carrying a basket weighing more than himself gave way to me on the rocks leading to the top of the crater. Many times they suggested a better route to us and happily posed for tourists.

The best thing you can do for workers is to give them a respirator or at least just a protective mask. They cannot even afford to buy replacement filters; they have neither money nor opportunity. Many workers are not even aware that the air they breathe is dangerous.

The workers all smoke. They say that this helps them to slightly reduce the smell of sulfur, which becomes simply impossible after some time.

you can watch the blogger's journey mb_world for these mines.

So that people could imagine the danger the lake poses to their lives, an experiment was conducted. A sheet of aluminum was lowered into the lake for 20 minutes; even as it was immersed, it began to become covered with bubbles, and after all this time, the aluminum sheet became thin, like a piece of fabric.

At the bottom of the crater, sulfur collectors set up a small tent camp in which they live for some time while they mine at this place. As soon as sulfur is erupted elsewhere, they move towards it. There are several such “deposits” here. They are equipped with pipes from which molten sulfur flows. When it cools and hardens, workers begin to collect it.

The sulfur is collected in two baskets connected by a bamboo crossbar. To escape the toxic fumes, the collectors came up with their own means of protection. It is an ordinary piece of soaked cotton fabric. They squeeze it with their teeth and breathe through it, or simply wrap the cloth around part of their face.

Due to the activity of the volcano in the crater, sulfurous steam is constantly released through cracks. Hot steam passes through specially laid pipes, cools down and flows down the slope of the crater, gradually hardening. The extraction technology is very primitive, but in this case more is not needed. Next, miners get down to business, using crowbars and rebar to break the blocks of sulfur into pieces, put them in baskets and take them to a collection point. To do this, you have to overcome about 2500 meters over rough terrain with a load of 45-90 kg on your shoulders.

The workers do not use special protective equipment, sometimes only covering themselves with scarves. Only firefighters wearing gas masks and respirators appear here to extinguish the burning sulfur. They work here on a 15-day shift basis.

The mined sulfur is used in rubber vulcanization, sugar decolorization and other industrial processes. Workers make small souvenirs from it for sale, casting various figures from molten sulfur.

An Indonesian worker shows coupons for payment of earnings for the delivery of a cargo of sulfur from the crater of the Kawah Ijen volcano in eastern Java, Indonesia. Three coupons - three trips to the volcano.

sources

In the East Java region of Indonesia, the Kawah Ijen volcano is 2.6 km high, capped by a large caldera (a depression at the summit) and a sulfuric acid lake 200 meters deep. This weakly active volcano releases gas fumes into the crater, which local miners use to earn their living. The fumes are trapped on stones and ceramic pipes, where the sulfur condenses into a molten red liquid, which then flows down and solidifies as pure sulfur. Miners knock down frozen pieces using steel reinforcement. At the same time, they use minimal protection, despite the fact that extremely dangerous gases and liquids are released in the process. The miners then shoulder the sulfur and carry it several kilometers to the weighing station. The load can weigh from 45 to 90 kg, and one miner cannot make more than two or three walks per day. At the end of a long day of work, miners receive 50 thousand rupees ($5). The sulfur is then used to vulcanize rubber, decolorize sugar, and other industrial processes.

An Indonesian miner carries sulfur from the Ijen volcano May 24, 2009 near Banyuwangi, East Java, Indonesia. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

An acid-filled lake inside the crater of the Ijen volcano is 200 meters deep and a kilometer wide. Photo taken on May 24, 2009 in East Java, Indonesia. The lake is filled with a solution of sulfuric acid and hydrogen chloride at a temperature of 33 Cº. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

A worker repairs pipes in which sulfur dioxide gases condense. Ijen volcano complex May 24, 2009 in the vicinity of Banyuwangi, East Java, Indonesia. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

A miner extracts sulfur from a pipe at the Ijen volcano crater May 24, 2009 in East Java, Indonesia. The molten sulfur flows out of the pipes in a deep red color, and as it cools, it gradually turns yellow and hardens. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

Workers are repairing pipes in which sulfur dioxide gases condense. Ijen volcano complex May 24, 2009 in the vicinity of Banyuwangi, East Java, Indonesia. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

In this photo taken through a segment of a replacement ceramic pipe, workers are repairing a large sulfur condensation pipe. Ijen volcano complex May 24, 2009 in the vicinity of Banyuwangi, East Java, Indonesia. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

Workers are repairing pipes in which sulfur dioxide gases condense. May 24, 2009. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

A piece of sulfur extracted from the Ijen volcano. Photo taken on May 24, 2009, East Java, Indonesia. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

A miner extracts sulfur from a pipe at the Ijen volcano crater on May 24, 2009 in East Java, Indonesia. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

A miner carries sulfur to his baskets near the crater of the Ijen volcano on May 24, 2009. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

A miner takes a short break while working near the Ijen volcano on May 24, 2009. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

Baskets loaded with gray, ready to be carried up the steep crater walls and then to the weigh station. May 24, 2009. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

Miners remove sulfur from the crater of the Kawah Ijen volcano on May 25, 2009. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

A miner approaches the top of the crater wall along a well-worn path leading to the Kawah Ijen volcano on May 25, 2009 in East Java, Indonesia. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

The photo shows how heavy the load is - its weight can reach up to 70 kg - this is noticeable in the compressed skin and muscles of the miner who carries sulfur to the weighing station on May 25, 2009. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

A miner takes a break at the Ijen volcano on May 25, 2009 in East Java, Indonesia. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

A miner shows sores and scars from carrying sulfur from the Ijen volcano, May 24, 2009 in East Java, Indonesia. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

The miner reaches the weighing station and hangs his load of sulfur on the scales. May 25, 2009 in East Java, Indonesia. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

The miner rests at the base camp, which is called "Camp Sulfutara". May 24, 2009 in Indonesia. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

A miner inside the Sulfutara camp on May 24, 2009. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

A miner takes a smoke break on his way to the Ijen volcano on May 25, 2009 in East Java, Indonesia. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

When you first see the amazingly beautiful crystals of bright yellow, lemon or honey color, you may mistake them for amber. But this is nothing more than native sulfur.

Native sulfur has existed on Earth since the birth of the planet. We can say that it is of extraterrestrial origin. This mineral is known to be present in large quantities on other planets. Io, a moon of Saturn, covered in erupting volcanoes, looks like a huge egg yolk. A significant part of the surface of Venus is also covered with a layer of yellow sulfur.

People began to use it before our era, but the exact date of its discovery is unknown.

The unpleasant suffocating odor that occurs during combustion has brought this substance a bad reputation. In almost all religions of the world, molten sulfur, emitting an unbearable stench, was associated with the hellish underworld, where sinners suffered terrible torment.

Ancient priests, performing religious rituals, used burning sulfur powder to communicate with underground spirits. It was believed that sulfur was a product of dark forces from the other world.

A description of deadly fumes is found in Homer. And the famous self-igniting “Greek fire”, which plunged the enemy into mystical horror, also contained sulfur.

In the 8th century, the Chinese used the flammable properties of native sulfur in the manufacture of gunpowder.

Arab alchemists called sulfur the “father of all metals” and created the original mercury-sulfur theory. In their opinion, sulfur is present in the composition of any metal.

Later, the French physicist Lavoisier, after conducting a series of experiments on the combustion of sulfur, established its elementary nature.

Description and properties of sulfur

Sulfur is a substance that is in group 16, under the third period and has an atomic number of 16. It can be found both in native and bound form. Sulfur is designated by the letter S. Known sulfur formula– (Ne)3s 2 3p 4 . Sulfur as an element is included in many proteins.

The photo shows sulfur crystals

If speak about atomic structure of the element sulfur, then in its outer orbit there are electrons whose valence number reaches six.

This explains the element's property of being maximally hexavalent in most combinations. There are four isotopes in the structure of a natural chemical element, and these are 32S, 33S, 34S and 36S. Speaking about the outer electron shell, the atom has a 3s2 3p4 scheme. The radius of the atom is 0.104 nanometers.

Properties of sulfur are primarily divided into physical types. This includes the fact that the element has a solid crystalline composition. Two allotropic modifications are the main state in which this sulfur element is stable.

The first modification is rhombic, lemon-yellow in color. Its stability is lower than 95.6 °C. The second is monoclinic, having a honey-yellow color. Its resistance ranges from 95.6 °C and 119.3 °C.

The photo shows the mineral sulfur

During smelting, the chemical element becomes a moving liquid that is yellow in color. It turns brown, reaching temperatures of more than 160 °C. And at 190 °C sulfur color turns into dark brown. After reaching 190 °C, a decrease in the viscosity of the substance is observed, which nevertheless becomes liquid after heating to 300 °C.

Other properties of sulfur:

Practically does not conduct heat or electricity.

Does not dissolve when immersed in water.

It is soluble in ammonia, which has an anhydrous structure.

It is also soluble in carbon disulfide and other organic solvents.

TO characteristics of the element sulfur it is important to add its chemical features. She is active in this regard. If sulfur is heated, it can simply combine with almost any chemical element.

The photo shows a sample of sulfur mined in Uzbekistan

With the exception of inert gases. Upon contact with metals, chemicals. the element forms sulfides. Room temperature allows the element to react with. Increased temperature increases the activity of sulfur.

Let's consider how sulfur behaves with individual substances:

With metals it is an oxidizing agent. Forms sulfides.

Active interaction occurs with hydrogen at high temperatures – up to 200 °C.

With oxygen. Oxides form at temperatures up to 280 °C.

With phosphorus, carbon – it is an oxidizing agent. Only if there is no air during the reaction.

With fluorine it acts as a reducing agent.

With substances that have a complex structure - also as a reducing agent.

Sulfur deposits and production

The main source for obtaining sulfur is its deposits. In total, there are 1.4 billion tons of reserves of this substance worldwide. It is mined both by open and underground mining and by smelting from underground.

The photo shows sulfur mining in the Kawa Ijen volcano

If the latter case applies, then water is used, which is overheated and melts the sulfur with it. In low-grade ores, the element is contained in approximately 12%. Rich – 25% and more.

Common types of deposits:

Stratiform – up to 60%.

Salt dome - up to 35%.

Volcanogenic – up to 5%.

The first type is associated with strata called sulfate-carbonate. At the same time, ore bodies that have a thickness of up to several tens of meters and a size of up to hundreds of meters are located in sulfate rocks.

Also, these strata deposits can be found among rocks of sulfate and carbonate origin. The second type is characterized by gray deposits, which are confined to salt domes.

The latter type is associated with volcanoes that have a young and modern structure. In this case, the ore element has a sheet-like, lens-shaped shape. It may contain sulfur in the amount of 40%. This type of deposit is common in the Pacific volcanic belt.

Sulfur deposit in Eurasia is located in Turkmenistan, the Volga region and other places. Sulfur rocks are found near the left banks of the Volga, which stretch from Samara. The width of the rock strip reaches several kilometers. Moreover, they can be found all the way to Kazan.

The photo shows sulfur in rock

In Texas and Louisiana, huge amounts of sulfur are found in the roofs of salt domes. Particularly beautiful Italians of this element are found in Romagna and Sicily. And on the island of Vulcano they find monoclinic sulfur. The element, which was oxidized by pyrite, was found in the Urals in the Chelyabinsk region.

For mining sulfur chemical element use different methods. It all depends on the conditions of its occurrence. At the same time, of course, special attention is paid to safety.

Since hydrogen sulfide accumulates along with sulfur ore, it is necessary to take a particularly serious approach to any mining method, because this gas is poisonous to humans. Sulfur also tends to ignite.

Most often they use the open method. So, with the help of excavators, significant parts of the rocks are removed. Then the ore part is crushed using explosions. The lumps are sent to the factory for enrichment. Then - to the sulfur smelting plant, where sulfur is obtained from concentrate.

The photo shows sulfur in the port, brought by sea

In the case of deep occurrence of sulfur in many volumes, the Frasch method is used. The sulfur melts while still underground. Then, like oil, it is pumped out through a broken well. This approach is based on the fact that the element melts easily and has a low density.

A separation method using centrifuges is also known. Only this method has a drawback: sulfur is obtained with impurities. And then it is necessary to carry out additional cleaning.

In some cases, the borehole method is used. Other possibilities for mining the sulfur element:

Steam-water.

Filtration.

Thermal.

Centrifugal.

Extraction.

Application of sulfur

Most of the mined sulfur is used to make sulfuric acid. And the role of this substance is very huge in chemical production. It is noteworthy that to obtain 1 ton of sulfuric substance, 300 kg of sulfur is needed.

Sparklers, which glow brightly and have many dyes, are also made using sulfur. The paper industry is another area where a significant portion of the extracted substance goes.

Pictured is sulfur ointment

More often application of sulfur finds when meeting production needs. Here are some of them:

Use in chemical production.

For the production of sulfites, sulfates.

Production of substances for fertilizing plants.

To obtain non-ferrous types of metals.

To give steel additional properties.

For making matches, materials for explosions and pyrotechnics.

Paints and fibers from artificial materials are produced using this element.

For bleaching fabrics.

In some cases sulfur element included in ointments that treat skin diseases.

Sulfur price

According to the latest news, the need for sulfur is actively growing. The cost of a Russian product is 130 dollars. For the Canadian version – $145. But in the Middle East, prices increased to $8, resulting in a cost of $149.

The photo shows a large specimen of the mineral sulfur

In pharmacies you can find ground sulfur powder at a price of 10 to 30 rubles. In addition, it is possible to buy it in bulk. Some organizations offer to purchase granular technical equipment at a low price. gas sulfur.

Photographer Olivier Grünwald recently visited the sulfur mine in the crater of the Kawah Lien volcano in East Java, Indonesia, several times. He brought with him the necessary equipment to capture surreal images illuminated by moonlight, torches and the blue flames of burning sulfur.

Miners in the crater first climb 2,600 meters, then descend to the shore of a 200-meter crater lake of sulfuric acid, where they mine chunks of pure sulfur and transport them back to the weighing station. Here are photos of these brave miners working under the cover of darkness.

1. A miner in the crater of the Kawah Lien volcano with a torch looks at the streams of liquid sulfur burning with an eerie blue flame. (© Olivier Grunewald)

2. Volcanic acid lake in the crater of the Kawah Lien volcano. On the shore of the lake, work is underway to extract sulfur. (© Olivier Grunewald)

4. Burning hot sulfur in a volcanic crater. Sulfur melts at a temperature of 100 degrees Celsius, but the temperature in the crater is not enough for spontaneous combustion - this flame is illuminated by the miners' torches. (© Olivier Grunewald)

7. Miners extract sulfur in hellish conditions. Photographer Olivier Grunwald recalls that the smell was simply unbearable; masks were required for work, which the miners practically did not have. (© Olivier Grunewald)

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9. “Sculpture” formed by liquid sulfur in the Kawah Liena crater. When melted, sulfur appears almost blood red, but as it cools it turns yellow. (© Olivier Grunewald)

10. Molten sulfur burns as it drips from rocks and ceramic pipes that have turned the sulfur gases from the volcano into a liquid that will then solidify and be harvested. (© Olivier Grunewald)

15. Molten sulfur burns on solid deposits. The miners will put out the fire to avoid losing valuable sulfur reserves. (© Olivier Grunewald)

17. A miner in a gas mask in a thick cloud of steam and acid gas with a torch, not far from the blue flame of burning liquid sulfur. (© Olivier Grunewald)

19. The miners prepare to return with their cargo, surrounded by steam, gas and light from torches. (© Olivier Grunewald)

24. A miner weighs the mined sulfur in the mine. Miners make their journey 2-3 times a day and earn about $13 a day. (© Olivier Grunewald)

29. Last stage: pouring liquid sulfur onto the plates to cool. Once hardened, it will be transported to local factories for rubber making, sugar decolorization and other industrial processes. (© Olivier Grunewald)

30. Photographer Olivier Grunwald prepares to photograph a small rock overlooking the acidic volcanic lake Kawah Liena. “It feels like you’re on another planet,” the photographer shares his impression. In the hellish conditions of the crater, Olivier lost one camera and two lenses. After finishing the project, he threw away all his clothes because the smell was so strong that he couldn't get rid of it. (© Olivier Grunewald)

In East Java (province of Indonesia) there is a volcano Kawa Ijen. It is 2.6 kilometers high, topped by a large caldera (a depression at the top) and a sulfuric acid lake 200 meters deep. The volcano is weakly active; it emits gas fumes inside the crater, from which local miners earn their living.
life. The fumes are trapped on stones and ceramic pipes, where sulfur eventually condenses - a molten red liquid that later solidifies as pure sulfur. Miners, knocking it down with steel reinforcement, do not protect themselves in any way, and this despite the fact that extremely dangerous gases and liquids are released in the process. Then the miners shoulder the sulfur and carry it for several kilometers to the weighing station. Their load can weigh from 45 to 90 kilograms; they make two or three trips per day. At the end of a long day, miners receive 50 thousand rupees ($5). In the future, sulfur will be used for rubber vulcanization, sugar decolorization and other industrial processes.
An Indonesian miner carries sulfur from the Kawa Ijen volcano near Banyuwangi County, East Java, Indonesia.

A lake inside a volcano crater filled with acid. It is 200 meters deep and one kilometer wide.

A man repairs polypropylene pipes in which dangerous gases condense. Indonesia.

A miner uses steel reinforcement to extract sulfur from a pipe in the crater of the Kawah Ijen volcano in East Java. Molten sulfur is red in color, it flows out of the pipes and as it cools it turns yellow and hardens.

Workers repair pipes in which sulfur dioxide gases condense.

A man crushes a large piece of solidified sulfur into smaller pieces to make it easier to carry them to the weighing station. In the vicinity of Banyuwangi District, East Java.

The photo was taken through a spare segment of a ceramic pipe. Workers repair a pipe in the crater of the Kawah Ijen volcano, Indonesia.

The photo shows pipes in which sulfur dioxide (sulfur oxide) condenses - a colorless gas with a characteristic pungent odor.

A piece of sulfur extracted from the Kawa Ijen volcano, Banyuwangi District, East Java, Indonesia.

A miner extracts sulfur from a pipe located in a volcano crater.

A man with a piece of sulfur on his shoulder heads towards his baskets, which he will later carry to the weighing station.

The photo was taken during a short break from work. Indonesia.

The miners will carry their gray baskets up the steep slopes of the crater and then to the weighing station.

Miners remove sulfur from the Kawa Ijen volcano, East Java

The worker almost climbed to the top of the crater along the well-trodden path leading to the volcano.

This photo shows how heavy the miners' burden is.

A man rests before another descent into the crater of a volcano to extract more sulfur.

A miner shows sores and scars from carrying sulfur from the Kawah Ijen volcano in East Java, Indonesia.

Miners take a smoke break before their next descent to a volcano in East Java.

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Way up

Dirty work

Flowing down the pipe, the hot mass hardens and turns yellow. The sulfur is knocked out of the pipes using steel reinforcement.

Hart, 34 years old. “Over time, I learned to hold my breath for a long time and work very quickly so that the toxic fumes do not burn my lungs.”

The miners have little equipment: a back, a rocker arm and a rag to protect against fumes. It is almost impossible to breathe at the top of the volcano, so it is better to take a respirator with you.

Gema, 26 years old. “I smoke clove cigarettes to get rid of the acrid taste in my mouth.”

Good earnings

For 60 kg of net weight they give about $4.5. In a month, a strong prospector earns up to $300. By comparison, a batik factory worker earns only $90 a month.

Suleiman, 31 years old. “I do this to feed my wife and child. You can’t earn that much in rice fields.”

Life outside the volcano

Zhumanto, 40 years old. “I have no family. The volcano gives me a feeling of freedom. I don’t depend on anyone and work as much as I think is necessary.”

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What do they do with sulfur in Indonesia? Hell of a job

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Dirty work

Good earnings

Life outside the volcano

Way up

Dirty work

Good earnings

Life outside the volcano

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