[ Kawah Ijen - By Roberto Farina].
Indonesia does not even appear in the top twenty sulfur producing countries, yet there is one volcano among 130 volcanoes in the country from which sulfur is mainly extracted that is worth writting a story about it. It is famous for its blue flames, turquoise acidic lake and also the sulfur miners. We are in Kawah Ijen, in the extreme east of Java Island where hardworking artisanal sulfur miners earn their living by extracting sulfur from the bottom of the crater along the rocky shores of the world’s largest acidic lake. The old Ijen caldera is formed about 50,000 years ago after the collapsed of the large magma chamber and has a diameter of 20 kilometers. The active Kawah Ijen is at the eastern part of the old Ijen caldera and has a diameter of 700 meters with an area of 400 square kilometers. It is located just 20 kilometers from the sea that separates Java from the island of Bali.
Kawah Ijen is the main attraction of all the volcanoes in Indonesia. It has become so well known after the article appeared in the National Geographic on January 30, 2014 with the photographs taken by the French photographer, Olivier Grunewald. Since then it has seen an exponential growth in the number of visitors from all over the world to witness the famous blue flames. The “blue flames” occur during night and day but only visible in the dark. This is the result of the combustion of sulfuric gases that are released through the cracks in the rock and come into contact with the air. This phenomenon can also be observed in a few other places in the world for example in the Danakil Depression, Ethiopia.
During the eruption of this volcano it emitted hydrocloric acid which went into contact with the thermal water that resulted in highly condensed hydrocloric acid with a pH close to zero that resulted the lake of Kawah Ijen the most acidic lake in the world. With its turquoise color, this lake seems to have just emerged from a distant era with its primordial atmosphere. In 2008, George Kourounis a Greek-Canadian explorer ventured with a small rowboat and tested the acidity of this serene lake which was around pH 0.5. Kawah Ijen is certainly a spectacular place to experience a unique adventure. The night ascent to the volcano and the subsequent descent to the crater through the impervious path to admire the blue flames left us breathless. Having to wear the gas mask to protect from toxic fumes and witnessing the blue flames phenomenon at the first light of dawn is an incomparable experience.
In Kawah Ijen, all the sulfur extracting work is done by hand. PT. Candi Ngrimbi, the mining company has installed the ceramic pipes of 30 centimetres in diameters to collect the liquid sulfur that flows through the fissures of the rock. This liquid sulfur then cools and solidifies into solid sulfur which then the miners break them into slabs and carry them out in the bamboo baskets on their shoulders to the edge of the crater. These loads then would be carried in the wheelbarrows through the 3 kilometers down the moutain paths to the collection station. Some miners begin working as early as 2 am in the morning for an extra rupiahs. The miners carry these baskets loaded with at least 75 kilograms of chunks of sulfur on their shoulders up and down from the bottom of the lake to the edge of the crater two or three times a night. “Some miners managed to carry 85 kilograms load of sulfur but for not more than twice a day”, says Subnoh while catching his breaths. Other miners showed us the
deformations on their shoulders and scars on their backs from carrying the heavy loads.
The sulfur mining in Kawah Ijen is considered among the toughest and dangerous work in the world but it provides the source of livelihood to many families in the area. “The mining company pays IDR 1,250 per kilogram of raw sulfur and this brings an income of between USD 14 to USD 18 per day”, adds Subnoh. The life expectancy of these miners is just over 50 years. Lungs and respiratory problems are commonly suffered by the miners due to toxic gases and poor protection that they have. They cannot afford a proper gas mask. Some of them cover their nose and mouth with only wet cloth. Those who wear the gas mask do not regularly replace the filter as they cannot afford them and simply covered them with worn surgical mask.
PT. Candi Ngrimbi, which is now based in Desa Tamansari, collects these raw sulfur to be processed in 3 stages before they become refined sulfur. The raw sulfur are first collected from the collection station, purify them from the dirt and then transform into blocks of pure sulfur through a heating process. Sulfur produced in Indonesia is among the purest sulfur in the world and it is used in the chemical and food industry. Sulfur is also used for bleaching the sugar and to make the fertilizers, gunpowder, insecticides and fungicides.
During the ascent in one of his stopping places, Subnoh shows us some small pieces of sulfur souvenirs made of liquid sulfur filled in the moulds. Each miner carries with him and tries to sell the souvenirs to the tourists for IDR 10,000 and IDR 20,000 each depends on the sizes.
At dawn on the edge of the crater the wind is cold. The soft light begins to slowly rise until it floods the interior of the crater. It is the best time for the landscape photography shots with the trees that grow along the crater. Subnoh is still with us with his baskets on his shoulders and asks for a photo together. Then he asks the other two miners to put his sulfur into the wheelbarrow to bring it down to the collection station.
Now, the working day for Subnoh almost comes to an end and it is time to eat his breakfast. For the miners like Subnoh, breakfast is more or less the same everyday; rice, fish and spicy vegetables. It is time for us to leave the volcano and walk up back to the crater with some hopes that it would not be raining tomorrow evening because rain can cause so much difficulty to Subnoh to earn his living in Kawah Ijen.