Narrator: Hundreds of miners work inside
an active volcano here in Indonesia,
battling toxic fumes all day long.
They're mining sulfur,
which locals call "devil's gold."
Working conditions here are so dangerous,
many miners don't live past 50 years old.
Narrator: Miners like Mistar carry up to
200 pounds of sulfur on their backs
up and down these steep cliffs.
And Mistar has been doing it for 30 years.
Narrator: The sulfur is used in everything
from matches and rubber to cosmetic products.
It's even what makes our sugar white.
Narrator: But most of the world's sulfur
comes from oil and gas refining,
making volcanic mines like this relatively obsolete.
Yet these miners are still working,
earning about $12 to $17 a day.
Because in this remote part of Indonesia,
it's one of the better paying jobs.
Narrator: So why is this form of sulfur mining still happening,
and what makes this such a risky business?
Narrator: This is as far as Mistar can go on his bike.
There are no roads to the crater,
so he has to walk the rest of the way.
It's a 2-mile hike up to the ridge of Ijen volcano.
He takes only his basket and a crowbar
down into the 1,000-foot-deep crater.
Narrator: Here, he faces the volcano's extreme environment.
The air can reach over 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
And he works near one of the world's
most toxic volcano lakes.
Narrator: And there's the smoke.
Narrator: He battles two types of sulfur smoke.
The first comes from deep inside the volcano
and is channeled through these pipes.
Narrator: While mining company PT Candi Ngrimbi
owns a license to run the mine,
the miners are freelance contractors,
so they have to pay for their own gear.
And many can't afford gas masks.
Instead, they use handkerchiefs
or towels dipped in water
to keep the sulfur powder from sticking.
The second type of smoke is even more dangerous.
It comes from the volcanic gases below the acidic lake,
and it can be deadly.
So if miners see big clouds
of thin, white smoke coming from the lake,
they have to evacuate.
Narrator: That's why Mistar needs to get here so early.
The winds pick up through the day,
pulling more white smoke towards the miners.
Both types of smoke have lasting health effects.
Narrator: But the smoke from inside the volcano
is crucial for sulfur production.
This is how it works.
When the superhot smoke hits the cooler air outside,
it condenses liquid and drips off the pipe.
Narrator: As it solidifies and cools,
the sulfur will turn yellow,
and miners can begin chipping off blocks.
It's the sulfur's two colors
that give it the name devil's gold.
Miners use their bare hands to move these blocks.
Although touching solid sulfur frequently
can cause rashes and blisters,
Mistar says that as long as it's cool and yellow,
the sulfur is fine to touch.
Narrator: Pre-pandemic, the miners could extract up to 25 tons daily,
but since 2020, they've been working in two separate shifts
to socially distance.
That's lowered the miners' capacity
to only 10 tons of sulfur a day.
Once he fills his baskets,
Mistar hoists them up on his shoulder to hike back.
But that sulfur is not a light load.
Narrator: That's about 154 pounds.
Mistar himself weighs just 132.
Narrator: Some of the younger miners
can carry up to 200 pounds in one load.
Narrator: They have to haul it up the steep walls of the crater.
Narrator: Some do the treacherous hike in flip-flops.
Narrator: Once he reaches the rim of the crater,
Mistar can transfer the sulfur to his trolley
and begin the 2 miles back.
And he'll do this trip a second time today.
Narrator: PT Candi Ngrimbi, the mining company,
also owns this weighing station
and the factory where the sulfur ends up.
At the factory, workers boil the sulfur
and run it through a series of filters.
They have to remove any contaminants
like sand or dirt.
Then they pour it out onto the factory floor to cool.
The sulfur is loaded into sacks
and sent to sugar factories nearby.
It's processed into sulfuric acid,
the world's most commonly used chemical.
It's used in everything
from matches, fireworks, and gunpowder
to detergent, paper, and batteries.
It's what makes sugar white.
And it's an essential ingredient
in rubber products and even winemaking.
But 98% of the world's sulfur
comes from oil and gas refining.
It's a byproduct of refining,
and oil companies are required by law
to process it safely.
What's created is a lot of pure sulfur --
a purity that's necessary
for making products like fertilizer.
Today, the sulfur industry from oil and gas
is worth almost $13 billion
and is expected to keep growing.
And it's left natural mines and volcanoes unnecessary,
especially since mined sulfur isn't as pure.
It can be acidic or contain sand.
Yet Ijen is one of the only places left in the world
where people still mine sulfur this way.
So why do they do it, despite the danger?
For the mining company, it's easier and cheaper
to get sulfur from Ijen.
For the sulfur miners, the pay is a lot more
than other jobs on the island, such as farming.
Narrator: The mining company pays on the weight of their loads.
They get about 9 cents per kilo.
With two loads, Mistar can make $17 a day.
The mining company did not respond
to our request for comment
on why the miners are paid so little
for what's considered
one of the most dangerous jobs in the world.
Another possible reason this mine is still open?
Tourism.
At night, visitors flock here
to see the blue flame from the sulfur gas.
During the day, tourists hike up
to take in the vistas.
Protected with their gas masks,
they watch miners work without masks of their own.
Some miners are now becoming tour guides
or making sulfur souvenirs,
but most keep working as they always have.
Narrator: At the end of the day, Mistar returns home
to eat dinner with his family and rest.
Ijen loons over them,
a symbol of how Mistar provides for his family's lives,
while it slowly takes his.
A heavy weight to carry on his shoulders.