Steve Axford

Photographer and Sony ambassador. Regularly presents on the science and beauty of fungi.

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  1. The world and the people in it
  2. Volcanoes

Welirang and the sulfur miners

Welirang is a 3160m high volcano near Surabaya in East Java. This is a series of photos showing the mountain and the men who mine sulfur from the fumaroles near the top of the volcano. The sulfur is collected by construting rock tunnels which help to condense the sulfur so it can be collected as a solid from about 15 "kitchens". The miners then put the sulfur into bags and carry it down the mountain with the help a wooden hand-carts. Each load is about 100kg with a maximum of 150kg. It is a tough life and most of the miners are young men. Struggling with 100kg or more down a steep mountain must take its toll on bones and tendons. The volcanic gases, fine dust and almost universal smoking must also do great damage to lungs. In spite of this the workers seemed happy enough. The view is amazing and they do get to work for themselves at their own pace, but at 2,300rp (A$3) for each 100kg, they aren't going to get rich. They can do 2 loads a day, so that makes about A$6 per day.
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Welirang at sunset
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Welirang at sunset

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  • Welirang at sunset
  • The sun and the volcano
  • A fumarole kitchen.  The sulfur is collected by building stone tunnels over the fumaroles so as to cool the gases and condense the sulfur as a liquid and then a solid at the mouth of the kitchen.
  • Broken kitchen.  This fumarole has gone feral after it exploded and destroyed several kitchens.  The sulfur now conseses as a snow on the surrounding rocks and is very hard to collect.  The miners will eventually make a tunnel over this to condense the sulfur.
  • Woking in the kitchen.  A miner breaks off solid stalagtites of sulfur.
  • Carrying the carts back up the mountain
  • A miner struggles to haul his cart up a rise in the ground.  Most of the journey is downhill, but there are some bumps.
  • Miner and his load.
  • It must be a wild ride controlling 100kg on a steep downhill path.
  • Sunrise across the top
  • A flat section
  • Resting before the next leg
  • The fumarole field
  • Fumarole sunset
  • Doni - my Indonesian friend and guide.
  • 4x driving, Java style
  • Securing the load
  • Looking to the east
  • Showing how its done.  This man was one of our porters.  He is 58 years old was, until 8 years ago, a sulfur miner.  He now does lighter work, like carrying 30kg loads up the moutain as a porter.  Everything is relative.
  • Building a sulfur cart.  A miner builds a new cart in front of his hut.  The miners atay in this huts while they work on the mountain.  Their homes are in villages located in other places nearby or as far away as Madura island.
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