Salt mine in the Danakil Depression - Ethiopia

We drive to the salt mine.

We arrived to the salt mine, the camel meets us.

Countless caravans have been coming here and mining the salt for centuries, and they still do it today.

Camels ready to be loaded.

Camel has caught a moment to rest from its hard work.

An empty white space formed after the salt slab has been removed.

Danakil salt desert.

Afar worker uses axe to break the salt crust.

Empty donkeys, ready to be loaded up with salt blocks.

I came to the most distant group of salt miners with the purpose to hand out eye drops for them.

Empty camels, ready to be loaded up with salt blocks.

Waiting the arrival of camels, crews are working to extract precious tiles of salt from the ground.

The salt flats in the Danakil depression, along the borderline between Ethiopia and Eritrea, are located 100 meters below sea level. This huge salt crust, often up to 1,000 meters thick, goes deep in the earth’s crust. It’s here the salt miners break plates of salt out of the ground. First, using an axe, the crust of salt is chopped into large slabs. Then workers fit a set of sticks in the grooves made by the axe. Finally, working with the sticks, the workers lift the big slab of salt, which is cut into tiles of standard sizes called ganfur (about 4kg) or ghelao (about 8kg), according to their weight. The tiles of salt are stacked, tied and prepared for transport.

Using homemade tools, they remove the mud layer and then carve the slab into a nice square block.

Salt miner uses an axe, because the crust of salt should be cut into large slabs.

One salt miner has received eye drops from me and carefully examines the contents.

Afar worker uses long sticks to lift up large slabs.

Working with sticks, the worker can lift the big slab of salt.

Salt mine.

The camels look very docile when walking around, loaded or not.

Once on the camels, the salt will be sent to various markets in Ethiopia.

The salt miners in the Danakil depression work under very tough conditions, in which temperatures hardly drop below 50-60º, even early in the morning. “I have been working as a salt miner for more than 10 years,” says Abebe, one of the workers I meet along my way. “Every day I have to walk almost two hours to the salt flat. But I enjoy my work, though it’s unbelievably hot and I can take off burned flaps of my skin every day. When I am on my way home, it burns like fire but, for me, it’s a great feeling that I can nourish my six children and wife thanks to my work as a salt miner.” Abebe earns 1 Birr for each salt tile he cuts, around five cents, and on a good day he can make up to 200 tiles. His working hours are early in the morning, before the sun gets too hot and makes his work impossible.

Father and son work together.

The tiles of salt are stacked, tied and prepared for transport.

Donkeys are not the first choice in the desert, but when you run out of camels, they are better than nothing.

Salt blocks will be loaded on the camels.

During the next rainy season the salt flats will be completely flooded.

Salt miners.

One camel and few donkeys are ready for the salt transportation.

Salt flats in the Danakil Depression.

Salt plain in the Danakil Depression.

A salt plain is a flat area of ground covered with salt and other minerals.

We are on the way from the salt mine to the salt lake.

We saw today the Dallol volcano and the salt canyon, Yellow lake and the salt mine, soon we will see the salt lake.