Photographer Olivier Grunwald recently visited a 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 lit by moonlight, torches and the blue flames of burning sulfur.
The miners in the crater first ascend 2,600 meters, then descend to the shore of the 200-meter sulfuric acid crater lake, where they extract lumps of pure sulfur and carry them back to the weighing station. We present to your attention photos of these brave miners working under the cover of night.
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 being carried out to extract sulfur. (© Olivier Grunewald)
3. Steam and acid gases among yellowish sulfur deposits. (© Olivier Grunewald)
4. Burning red-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)
5. A miner clears away lumps of sulfur to take to the mine management. (© Olivier Grunewald)
6. Sulfur deposits on an old barrel surrounded by sulfur in the crater of the Kawah Lien volcano. (© Olivier Grunewald)
7. Miners extract sulfur in hellish conditions. Photographer Olivier Grunwald recalls that the smell was simply unbearable, masks were needed for work, which the miners practically did not have. (© Olivier Grunewald)
8. Miners with long crowbars, with which they get sulfur from the crater. (© Olivier Grunewald)
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9. "Sculpture" formed by liquid sulfur in the crater Kawah Liena. When melted, sulfur appears almost blood-red, but as it cools, it acquires a yellow tint. (© Olivier Grunewald)
10. Molten sulfur burns as it drips from rocks and ceramic pipes that turn the sulfur gases from the volcano into a liquid that will then solidify and be collected. (© Olivier Grunewald)
11. Miners work in the crater, lit only by torches. (© Olivier Grunewald)
12. The miner puts sulfur in baskets in which it is taken out of the crater of the volcano. (© Olivier Grunewald)
13. Miner collects sulfur next to the condensation pipes. Molten sulfur burns in the background. (© Olivier Grunewald)
14. Miners with lumps of sulfur are preparing to return to the top. (© Olivier Grunewald)
15. Molten sulfur burns on solid deposits. The miners will put out the fire so as not to lose valuable sulfur reserves. (© Olivier Grunewald)
16. The miner with the cargo comes back. (© Olivier Grunewald)
17. 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)
18. A pair of full gray baskets can weigh between 45 and 90 kg. (© Olivier Grunewald)
19. The miners are preparing to return with their cargo, surrounded by steam, gas and torchlight. (© Olivier Grunewald)
20. Barrack miners right in the crater of the volcano Kawah Lien. (© Olivier Grunewald)
21. A miner with a cargo in the form of lumps of sulfur. (© Olivier Grunewald)
22. Miners with torches return along the 200-meter wall of the Kawah Lien crater. (© Olivier Grunewald)
23. And below, work continues on the extraction of sulfur. (© Olivier Grunewald)
24. A miner weighs the extracted sulfur in the mine. The miners make their journey 2-3 times a day and earn about $13 a day. (© Olivier Grunewald)
25. At the primary processing station, sulfur lumps are broken into smaller pieces. (© Olivier Grunewald)
26. Then the lumps of sulfur are placed in large vessels over the fire to melt again. (© Olivier Grunewald)
27. Molten sulfur is poured from the melting pot into buckets. (© Olivier Grunewald)
28. A small amount of molten sulfur is poured into other vessels. (© Olivier Grunewald)
29. Last stage: pouring liquid sulfur on plates for cooling. Once cured, it will be transported to local factories for rubber manufacturing, sugar decolorization, and other industrial processes. (© Olivier Grunewald)
30. Photographer Olivier Grunwald prepares to photograph a small rock looming over the acidic volcanic lake of Kawah Liena. “It feels like you are on another planet,” the photographer shares his impression. In the hellish conditions of the Olivier crater, he lost one camera and two lenses. After finishing work on the project, he threw away all his clothes as the smell was so strong that he couldn't get rid of it. (© Olivier Grunewald)
In East Java (province of Indonesia) is the volcano Kawa Ijen. It is 2.6 kilometers high, crowned with a large caldera (depression at the top) and a lake with sulfuric acid 200 meters deep. The volcano is weakly active, it throws out gas fumes inside the crater, on which local miners earn their living.
a life. Vapors linger on stones and ceramic pipes, in which sulfur eventually condenses - this is a molten red liquid, which later solidifies as pure sulfur. The 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 burden can weigh from 45 to 90 kilograms, two or three walks are made in a day. At the end of a long day of work, the miners receive 50,000 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 hazardous gases condense. Indonesia. 
A miner uses steel bars to extract sulfur from a pipe in the crater of the Kawa Ijen volcano in East Java. The molten sulfur is red and flows out of the pipes and turns yellow and solidifies as it cools. 
Workers repair pipes in which sulfur dioxide condenses. 
A man crushes a large piece of hardened sulfur into smaller pieces to make it easier to carry them to the weighing station. Around Banyuwangi County, East Java. 
The photo was taken through a spare segment of a ceramic pipe. Workers repairing a pipe in the crater of the Kawa 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 the crater of a volcano. 
A man with a lump of sulfur on his shoulder heads to his baskets, which he will later carry to the weighing station. 
The photo was taken during a short break from work. Indonesia. 
Miners loaded with gray baskets will be carried up the steep slopes of the crater, and then to the weighing station. 
Miners remove sulfur from Kawa Ijen volcano, East Java 
.The worker almost climbed to the top of the crater along the well-worn path leading to the volcano. 
This photo shows how heavy the burden of the miners. 
The man is resting before another descent into the crater of the volcano to get more sulfur. 
A miner shows sores and scars from carrying sulfur from the Kawa Ijen volcano in East Java, Indonesia. 
Miners on a smoke break before another descent to the volcano in East Java. 
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An Indonesian miner carries sulfur from the Kawa Ijen volcano near Banyuwangi County, East Java, Indonesia.
A man repairs polypropylene pipes in which hazardous gases condense. Indonesia.
A miner uses steel bars to extract sulfur from a pipe in the crater of the Kawa Ijen volcano in East Java. The molten sulfur is red and flows out of the pipes and turns yellow and solidifies as it cools.
Workers repair pipes in which sulfur dioxide condenses.
A man crushes a large piece of hardened sulfur into smaller pieces to make it easier to carry them to the weighing station. Around Banyuwangi County, East Java.
The photo was taken through a spare segment of a ceramic pipe. Workers repairing a pipe in the crater of the Kawa 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 the crater of a volcano.
A man with a lump of sulfur on his shoulder heads to his baskets, which he will later carry to the weighing station.
The photo was taken during a short break from work. Indonesia.
Miners loaded with gray baskets will be carried up the steep slopes of the crater, and then to the weighing station.
Miners carry sulfur from the Kawa Ijen volcano, East Java.
The worker almost climbed to the top of the crater along a well-worn path leading to the volcano.
This photo shows how heavy the burden of the miners.
The man is resting before another descent into the crater of the volcano to get more sulfur.
A miner shows sores and scars from carrying sulfur from the Kawa Ijen volcano in East Java, Indonesia.
At a weighing station in Indonesia.
Worker at the recreation center "Camp Tehnic Sulfutara".
Cooking dinner at the base in Indonesia.
Miners on a smoke break before another descent to the volcano in East Java.
When you first see the amazingly beautiful crystals of bright yellow, lemon or honey color, you can mistake them for amber. But this is nothing but native sulfur.
Native sulfur has existed on Earth since the birth of the planet. We can say that it has an extraterrestrial origin. It is known that this mineral is present in large quantities on other planets. Io, a moon of Saturn, is covered in erupting volcanoes and 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 even before our era, but the exact date of discovery is unknown.
The unpleasant suffocating odor that occurs during combustion has brought this substance into disrepute. In almost all religions of the world, molten sulfur, exuding an unbearable stench, was associated with the infernal underworld, where sinners took terrible torment.
Ancient priests, performing religious rites, used burning sulfur powder to communicate with underground spirits. It was believed that sulfur is a product of dark forces from the other world.
The description of deadly vapors is found in Homer. And the famous self-igniting "Greek fire", which plunged the enemy into mystical horror, also had sulfur in its composition.
In the VIII century, the Chinese used the combustible 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 elemental nature.
After the discovery of gunpowder and its distribution in Europe, they began to extract native sulfur and developed a method for obtaining a substance from pyrite. However, this method was widely used in ancient Russia.
He travels the world and shoots reports about people who are forced to earn their living by hard work in inhuman conditions. One of the heroes of the photo project is Indonesian sulfur miners working on the active Ijen volcano on the island of Java. Sergey told the site about a dead lake in the crater of a volcano, workers who do not live to be fifty, and clouds that no one wants to be in.
About a living volcano and a dead lake
Ijen is considered one of the most dangerous places in the world. Firstly, the volcano is active, and it is constantly active. Secondly, in its crater there is a sulfur lake with a depth of about 200 meters, consisting of a mixture of sulfuric and hydrochloric acid and several other chemical elements. On the surface, its temperature is about 60 °, at the bottom - around 200 °. In general, a real dead lake. Depending on the weather, the water has a different color - from green and turquoise to blue.
About the gifts of nature and human ingenuity
The volcano constantly emits sulfur vapor into the air. To "catch" them, the locals laid a system of clay pipes right in the volcano, in which these fumes condense. The condensate flows down the pipes down to the crater, and after a while it solidifies. Already in this form, sulfur can be collected.
About the work of the sulfur miner
About 250 people work on the volcano, 6 days a week, 12 hours a day. Miners arrive early, by 3-4 am (and many have another 40 minutes to get from home to work), take a cart with two wheels, and go 3-4 km to the top of the volcano. Everyone has their own cart, as well as baskets and other equipment. Some, in order to earn extra money, put tourists in a cart and drag them along, which looks very wild: welcome to the slave system, only the whip is not enough.
At the top, the miners leave the carts, hang a special bamboo crossbar for two baskets on their shoulders (from it, over time, huge growths appear on their shoulders - something that all workers suffer from) and go down to the vent. There they break off large pieces of sulfur, fill baskets with it and take it upstairs. Workers carry from 60 to 100 kg on their shoulders. I tried to lift such a basket, but quickly changed my mind so as not to break my back. And they lift, easily throw from one shoulder to another, as if it were a fluff, pose, and then go 300-400 meters up a very difficult road. As such, there is no path there - stones and boulders, and the workers walk with a huge load, someone in flip flops, someone in rubber boots.
Already at the top, the miners are crushing sulfur, pouring it into bags and placing it in a cart. They need to make 2-3 such walks, so that later, with full bags, lower the cart to the foot of the volcano. There is a weighing station, where there are ordinary (it even seemed to me Soviet) scales, on which bags are unloaded, and a man in a hut monitors everything and gives papers to the workers, where he writes how much sulfur each of them brought and how much money they are entitled to.
On low life expectancy and high wages
Of course, sulfur mining is a very harmful and dangerous industry. Mortality among workers is very high, while average life expectancy, on the contrary, is low. But they still hold onto their jobs very tightly and are even considered a kind of working "elite" - if not in all of Indonesia, then at least in this region, since they earn quite decently. At the weighing station, where workers carry the extracted sulfur, for 1 kg they receive 1000 rupees each ( about 4.5 rubles. - approx. ed.). On average, workers bring from 100 to 200 kg of sulfur, depending on how much each of them can physically carry, which means that they receive about $10-20 per day. As for me - good money. In Russia, many people get the same amount.
About old-timers and shock workers
I met a miner there, who is 52 years old. An elderly person by their standards, because it is generally difficult to meet someone over 40 there. And I met the main shock worker of labor: he wears 100 kg of sulfur at a time, and this is considered very cool, although outwardly you can’t figure out a weightlifter from him.
About the male world and 20 kg of sulfur for lunch
There are no women on the volcano. The only woman works as a cook at the weighing station in a cafe. What surprised me, by the way, was that I paid 20,000 Indonesian rupees for my lunch there - exactly as much as a local hard worker pays. That is, to eat, he needs to bring 20 kg of sulfur.
About respirators that workers don't wear
I was suffocating in a respirator there, there were even several panic attacks when a sulfur cloud flew in: you can’t breathe, your eyes water, there are sulfuric fumes around. You sit on the ground and hope that the wind will blow in the opposite direction and drive away this poisonous cloud from you, then you can take a breath. There were cases when tourists who descended without respirators were simply taken out of there: they inhale sulfuric gases, burn their airways, and then lose consciousness. But none of the locals have protective masks, although, it seems to me, with their salary, they can afford it. A sulfur cloud will fly over them, and they clamp their sleeve in their teeth and continue to delve into the sulfur. Why is that? Perhaps they think that this is unnecessary and will not be of much use. Or maybe they take it for granted, because it's a job and it pays well. Indonesia has a very high unemployment rate, and everyone who has any kind of job holds on to it tightly. In the end, smoking is also harmful, but this does not stop many.
Prepared Julia Isaeva
