TITLE: After the blast - Looking for the stones

Scorpion Mine, Kenya. I have the great privilege to be the first photographer to enter this extraction site in 50 years. The scorpion Mine is located in the middle of the bush, one hour away from any inhabited area. Here, people are extracting a very rare gemstone, called Tsavorite Garnet. Discovered in 1967 by a Geologist, Campbell Bridges, this stone is being extracted in an unusual way, compared to what I've seen in other countries. Workers are treated like human beings, there are no guns, tunnels are fortified, and no one have died during the extraction for the last 50 years.
Every day, at 5pm sharp, there is a blast in the main tunnel, in order to dig in this very strong rock underground. The next morning, when it is safe (dust and gas are out thanks to the ventilation), a small team of 5 people descend 150m underground, in order to check if the main rock has delivered the precious gemstone. This is what we can see in this photo. This photo is an extract of a book that I wrote to tell the story of this special mine.

AUTHOR: Louis Brunet (France)

After an 8 years long career in engineering, I decided to go to a more exciting, human and creative job, being a documentary photographer. A choice that I thank everyday, leading me to discover and understand the world, meeting amazing people, and renewing my vision of the life. A vision among thousands of others, and that's why I love photography, and photographers. Each of us is able to tell a story in a different way, which is so inspiring...