A miner carries sulfur from the crater of Ijen volcano complex in East Java, Indonesia. Miners carry the solidified yellow sulfur blocks from the volcano's crater floor to the rim for as many hours a day as they can tolerate, paid by the kilogram of sulfur they extract. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

Is this the most dangerous job in the world? The sulfur miners of East Java, Indonesia work in a crater of the active Ijenvolcano complex, braving toxic fumes and the risks of chemical burns almost every day to extract and carry sulfur, also called "yellow gold."

The miners carry up 220 pounds of blocks of sulfur by hand out of the bottom of the crater and down the volcano’s outer slopes to a weighing station as many as three times a day, six days a week, according to the International Business Times. The walk is long, exhausting and extremely dangerous—with steep drops, rocky steps and the dangers of one of the largest sulfuric lakes in the planet.

In a 2011 report, the BBC said that 74 miners have died in the past 40 years after being overpowered by fumes—hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide gases—that would billow out from fissures in the rock. These gases areso concentrated that they burn the eyes and throat, and can eventually dissolve the miners' teeth, according to the BBC. Many miners today bear criss-cross scars, burns and sores on their bodies and complain of lung and breathing problems.

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The mining operation consists of a number of pipes driven into the solfatara, a natural volcanic steam vent, according to Photovolcanica. Solfatara temperatures nearing 482 degrees F have been reported, although chemical analysis of solfatara gases suggests temperatures inside to be above 572 degrees. The miners use the pipes to extract molten sulfur, which solidify as it cools. They thencarry the blocks out of the crater and, via the weighing station, to a nearby sugar refinery. From there they are transported to a processing facility in a nearby town. The sulfur is used to bleach sugar and to make matches and vulcanize rubber. For this yellow gold, the miners earn around $10 a day, reported CNN.

Due to exposure to volcanic gases (the miners have very little by way of safety equipment or protection) and heavy loads, the life expectancy of the miners is low—not much over 30 years, says Photovolcanica.

To ward off potential disaster, the miners perform a ceremony at Ijen volcano every year, which involves slaughtering a goat and burying its head in the crate as a sacrifice.

View photos of the ritual and photos of the sulfur miners of Ijen at work by clicking through the slideshow above.

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