FIRE AND BRIMSTONE - SULPHUR MINERS OF JAVA
On the slopes of Mount Ijen in eastern Java, a group of around 110 local men carry out one of the most demanding and dangerous jobs on the planet. Ijen is one of around 130 active volcanoes in Indonesia and while it hasn’t erupted since 1999, the crater has filled with a one kilometre wide lake, the largest highly acidic lake in the world. An active vent from inside the mountain spews out volcanic gases high in sulphur which pour down into pools on the ground that turn bright yellow when they cool. Every day, the miners descend into the crater to chip away blocks of the mineral, which is used in the production of matches and fireworks, as well as the bleaching of sugar. Each man then hauls more than his own bodyweight back up the steep slope to the crater rim. The work leaves them with chest and knee peains, along with lifelong scars across their shoulders. But in a region where jobs are scarce, the promise of earning up to $12 per day is too good to turn down.
On the slopes of Mount Ijen in eastern Java, a group of around 110 local men carry out one of the most demanding and dangerous jobs on the planet. Ijen is one of around 130 active volcanoes in Indonesia and while it hasn’t erupted since 1999, the crater has filled with a one kilometre wide lake, the largest highly acidic lake in the world. An active vent from inside the mountain spews out volcanic gases high in sulphur which pour down into pools on the ground that turn bright yellow when they cool. Every day, the miners descend into the crater to chip away blocks of the mineral, which is used in the production of matches and fireworks, as well as the bleaching of sugar. Each man then hauls more than his own bodyweight back up the steep slope to the crater rim. The work leaves them with chest and knee peains, along with lifelong scars across their shoulders. But in a region where jobs are scarce, the promise of earning up to $12 per day is too good to turn down.