For centuries, people in Simojovel, Mexico, have tunnelled into the hills in search of amber. In that time very little has changed. The mines lack any kind of structural support, roofing or safety regulation and they are the site of frequent collapses. It is not uncommon to see boys of 12 years old at work here.

Juan, 25.

At the tunnel’s deepest point, there is no light save for the weak, narrow beamed headlamps carried by the miners. Water drips from the ceiling and the long silences are broken only by the sharp screech of a wheel barrow, a sledgehammer blow, the sound of the mountain shifting overhead. Many have lost their lives here.

Facundo, 15, at work in the mines.

Alberto, an artisan, sits polishing amber in the house he shares with his family. He’s covered with dust from the rock but chooses to work without a mask.

Alberto at his desk. Across the room, his young daughter does her chemistry homework on the bed.

The entrance to a mining tunnel outside Simojovel. Extending half a kilometer into the earth, it is one of over 200 similar tunnels that stretch beneath these hills.

Serafino, one of the older miners in the tunnel.

Juan, 25

Jesus, an artisan, sits with his son next to the workbench that he shares with his own father. It is likely that the boy will sit there too one day.

Facundo, 15