Crude Sulphur Mining
Once an essential step in the process of obtaining crude sulphur, the mining of natural sulphur deposits has 
fueled economies for centuries. Though the greater percentage of the world’s sulphur is now extracted from oil and natural gas, mining for ‘native sulphur’, sulphur found naturally in crystal form in the earth, continues in countries such as Indonesia, and Bolivia. In relatively poor countries such as these, mining provides a valuable source of income for locals who risk their lives by working dangerous volcanic regions for the valuable mineral.
The History Of Sulphur Mining
Historically, crude sulphur was mined almost exclusively in Sicily, where areas of heightened volcanic activity assured large deposits of the natural mineral. Sulphur exports from Sicily are said to have begun as early as 900 BCE, making sulphur one of the earliest traded mineral commodities in the world. Sulphur was sometimes mined in open cast mines and dragged and carried to the surface by workers in a manner which is mirrored by miners in some poorer nations to this day. In other cases, tunnels were dug into the sulphur deposits and workers would travel deep underground to obtain the previous mineral.
The Sicilian sulphur industry was eventually superceeded by mines in Asia and North and South America, where sulphur was more plentiful due to not having been mined constantly for almost three thousand years, easily accessible, and cheaper to obtain due to lower labor costs.
Though mining for native sulphur deposits is in a steep decline from which it is unlikely to recover, there are still several different methods of native sulphur mining currently in use on the world stage. Which one is used depends on the locality, the technology available in the region, and the supply of cheap labor.
Sulphur Mining Methods
A relatively non labor intensity form of mining native sulphur deposits, the Frasch process was developed to reach sulphur deposits trapped under layers of quicksand which made traditional mining impossible. This process was developed by an American scientist, Herbert Frasch in order to exploit the now famous Louisiana sulphur deposits. The Frasch process involves drilling into the deposits and inserting a series of large concentric metal tubes. The outer tubes are fed with superheated steam which melts the surrounding sulphur, then compressed air is driven into the center tube, forcing the liquid sulphur up to the surface where it can be collected and cooled. This form of mining is fairly energy intensive, but is less wearing and dangerous for the miners than traditional methods. It also has the added advantage of producing high purity sulphur without the need for further refining. Though the Frasch process is perhaps one of the most humane forms of sulphur mining, resulting in far fewer injuries, job related deaths and less chronic disease than in the case of traditional forms of mining, economics and geography make it an impractical system in poorer and more mountainous regions of the world.
In Indonesia, mining takes place in the country’s volcanic craters, where sulphur deposits can often simply be broken off from the surrounding rock with the use of a stout pole and then picked up, or alternatively blasted free of surrounding material. Indonesian miners are very poor but strong men who spend their days traveling up and down the sides of the volcanic mountain, working in amongst clouds of poisonous volcanic gases as they toil to extract the sulphur ore. Sulphur dioxide alone often causes severe lung damage to the workers who must climb over ten miles up to the crater and descend again with hundreds of pounds of sulphur balanced in baskets over their shoulders. This is the face of traditional mining, and though it is certainly dangerous and back breaking, it does pay five times higher than other forms of laboring.
Bolivian boasts some very high purity sulphur deposits with a natural purity of over 99.5%. The Bolivian sulphur mine El Desierto is famous for the high purity sulphur which is mined by teams of male and female miners who work the open pit mines, blasting the sulphur free with dynamite, then breaking up the large rocks into smaller ones just a few inches across and then collecting the rocks for processing in large autoclaves which melt the sulphur down. Bolivian sulphur refining technology has not evolved much since the 1940’s when it was instituted.
In the Bolivian method, sulphur rich rocks are placed in large autoclaves, which are heated to over 300 degrees Centigrade. Sulphur has a melting point of around 115 degrees centigrade, and within an hour, it has entirely melted and sunk to the bottom of the autoclave where it is drained and collected.
Outlook For Crude Sulphur Mining
Mining for crude sulphur is likely to continue to abate as other forms of sulphur production become more popular. Sulphur contamination in crude oil has provided a major source of sulphur, and whilst mined sulphur made up for around a third of the world’s total sulphur supply in 1990, it now makes up less than one percent, with sulphur extracted from crude oil and natural gas making up for around 98% of the world’s total sulphur production.
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