Kawah Ijen Sulphur Mines, Java, Indonesia.

Kawah Ijen is an active crater within the Ijen volcano complex. It contains the largest highly acidic crater lake in the world, and an active vent which is the source of the elemental sulphur for the crater’s mining operation.

A network of ceramic pipes channel and condense the volcanic gases. The liquid sulphur pools and cools into hard patches which the miners break into large chunks which they transport in baskets out of the crater. It is arduous work in a harsh, noxious environment. Many of the miners suffer from respiratory ailments.

Several times a day, once their baskets are full, the miners must carry these heavy loads up the steep paths leading out of the crater, to have their sulphur weighed and processed at the plant several kilometres away.