Main deposits of amber. Deposits, methods and process of amber extraction

Let's talk about what amber is, how and where it is mined.

This resin will take a very long time before it becomes stone.

There has been heated debate among scientists for a long time about what amber is. But now this is known for sure.

Amber is a resin. It is mined like a fossil mineral. Used as and in . In ancient times, this mineral was used as fuel because it burns well.

Due to different climatic conditions, the mineral has its own unique color in each area. Therefore, Baltic stone cannot be confused with Caribbean or any other stone. Each stone has its own regional characteristics.

Origin of amber

Even ancient scientists came to the conclusion that amber is of plant origin. The Roman scientists Pliny and Tacitus pointed out the specific plant smell when rubbing the mineral, as well as the fact that small animals also smelled it. Tacitus believed that amber was the frozen juice of plants that fell into the sea.

The 16th century German mineralogist Agricola believed that the mineral was of inorganic origin.

In the 18th century, the theory of plant origin was confirmed by the Swede Linnaeus, a famous botanist. A little later, Russian scientist Mikhail Lomonosov came to the same conclusion.

Scientists have proven that the amber stone that is now mined was formed more than 40 million years ago from amber-bearing pines, that is, it is of plant origin. At that time they grew in North America, Greenland, and Eurasia. Under the influence of climatic conditions, resin was released, which petrified and fell over the years. The coming sea carried her away from the shores.

Dark amber can be found in Kansas, in lignite formations along the Smoky Hill River, Ellsworth County, but its deposits are difficult to access, as they are located under the Kanopolis Reservior. Only about 50 pounds of amber were found before the area was flooded. This amber was discovered by George Jelinek and named "Jelinite". An interesting paper characterizing Kansas amber, "Amber Bacteria and Protozoa of Mid-Cretaceous Ellsworth County," was written by Benjamin M. Waggoner while he was in the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of California, Berkeley, USA. University of California at Berkeley, USA).

We list other states in which amber was found:

Alaska: amber is found in lignite and was thought to have formed from ancient swamp cypress trees.
Arkansas: More than 900 inclusions of insects, arachnids and plant remains have been discovered in the amber of lignite beds. Now it is the largest amber insert in North America. The deposit is located under the town of Malvern, in the Claiborne Formation geological formation of the Eocene period. The collection is kept at the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University.
California): Amber discovered in Tertiary (Eocene) shales, Simi Valley, Ventura County.
Maryland: Upper Cretaceous amber was found early this century.
Massachusetts: Before the beginning of 1883, 340 grams of amber were discovered on Nantucket Island in glaunitic sand and calcareous formations of the Tertiary period.
Montana: The deposit was found in the Hell Creek Formation of the Cretaceous period, near the town of Glendive.
New Jersey: amber was found in short-lived mines for the extraction of marl (fertilizer), glauconite chalk sand. In 1967, a famous inclusion was found in it - a remarkably preserved primitive ant; this ant was thought to be the link between the tiphiid wasps and the common ants of today. Hundreds of pounds of fossilized resin were mined in central New Jersey. Amber from the late Cretaceous period preserves inclusions with a rich variety of insects and plants, from miniature flowers to a whole mushroom! Numerous articles have been written about the findings of this amber and posted on American scientific websites. Late Cretaceous amber has also been found in shales of the Raritan Formation on the New Jersey-New York border near Sayreville Clay and in the Raritan Bay area.
New Mexico: A small amount of amber was found in the coal layer. Amber is found in the San Juan Basin, Fruitland Formation, and dates back 75 million years. The indisputability of the plant origin of this amber is obvious, since inclusions similar to the contents of the logs of modern sequoia and bald cypress (Taxodiaceae) were found in it.
North Carolina: Cretaceous amber from lignite deposits in small quantities; In recent years, after storms, amber or pieces of copal have also been found here.
Tennessee: The first insect known today was discovered in North American amber in 1917, identified as a stonefly.
Texas: Found in Cretaceous and Tertiary sediments.
Washington: An abandoned coal mine in the Issaquah Mountains is an amber deposit in the Eocene formation. In amber of yellow, orange, red and amber colors, plant fragments are visible, usually the remains of cedar (Cupressaceae). There are no ancient insects in it. Some of these finds are housed at the University of Washington Museum of Natural Sciences in Seattle.
Wyoming: Steve Levine, a geologist, found amber here in the late 1970s. The gemstone was formed in the Eocene from a formation of carbonaceous un-altered arkose sandstone. It was a dark-colored nodule that resulted from explosions at the Western Uranium Mine in Jeffrey City, Wyoming. Other specimens of Wyoming amber, described by Kosmowska-Ceranowicz, Giertych, and Miller in 2001, were found in Upper Cretaceous chalk deposits. This bitumen, described as reddish-yellow and very brittle fractions, was found in the Lance Formation in a dense layer of gray loam without limestone (lime-free gray loam). Kosmovska-Geranovic placed it in the same group as jelinite from Kansas - fossil bitumen sedarites.

Amber in the Baltic Region

The Baltic Sea region has been the primary source of amber since prehistoric times. Although it is not known exactly when Baltic amber first began to be mined, its use can be dated back to Stone Age times. Baltic amber has been found in Egyptian tombs that date back to 3200 BC, the time of the establishment of archaeological barter and trade routes. In Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia (Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia) there are about 100 Neolithic burials in which amber was discovered. From 800-1000 AD, European maritime trade was dominated by the Vikings with their “northern gold”, and Scandinavia is still the main exporter of amber.

A map showing the range from eastern Poland through Russia shows some of today's major locations of Baltic amber deposits:

Denmark: Amber is found mainly along the west coast of Jutland, from the southern border with Germany to the outskirts of the Danish city of Skagen. In 1940, a large number of amber beads dating from 2500-2200 BC were discovered in Jutland. They are currently on display at the Art Museum of the Danish municipality of Skive. This region, including the west coast of Denmark and neighboring Germany, is part of the Bronze Age amber trade route to the Mediterranean Sea. In the past, larger quantities of amber were transported in the region than at present. It is estimated that today about 80% of the gemstone sold in Denmark is imported from Poland, CIS countries (CIS) and Germany.
Sweden: southwestern part, as well as several islands in the Baltic Sea, a lot of amber. It gathers on beaches, especially after storms.
Germany: Especially famous for its skilled engravers, including the most famous in the jewelry business, Idar Oberstein. Amber is found along the northern part of Germany, on the border coast of the Baltic Sea and along the Elbe River. Germany also imports amber from the CIS countries.
Poland: On the northwestern side of the Bay of Danzig, Baltic amber is often found in the amber-forming layer. By the end of World War II, amber deposits had become almost depleted, although amber can still be found along the entire Baltic Sea coast and in a number of places inland, as well as along the German border, from the sea to the Oder River.
Russia: A small geological outlier in Russia, located in a place called Samland in the Kaliningrad Oblast, continues to be one of the largest amber deposits in the Baltic area. Kaliningrad is home to the Amber Museum (Yantary), which is believed today to contain more than two-thirds of the world's amber reserves and 99% of the Baltic amber. It is not only rich in quantity, but also in the variety of varieties of this precious fossil resin.
Lithuania: borders on the amber-bearing Kaliningrad region, it is also rich in amber, the amber layer reaches this country. Here is one of the largest amber museums in the world. Lithuanian amber in the form of amber varnish is used on ship decks and fine violins and is in good demand.
Latvia: Another Baltic state that is rich in amber, it has the School of Applied Arts, the city of Liepaja. This is one of the few schools in the world that specializes in the artistic processing of amber.
Estonia: third country with access to the Baltic Sea and amber. The use of ceramics here was observed at the beginning of the Early Stone Age, or Neolithic (first half of the fifth millennium to the middle of the second millennium BC). In Estonia, pottery skills began around the beginning of the fourth millennium BC, 2500, when pots were decorated with dimples and indentations. This distinguishing feature was characteristic of “comb-pottery culture” - the craftsmen of that time carved figurines from amber for decoration in order to place them in burials for the “next life” of the deceased. Settlements with the “pit-comb ceramic culture” spread from northern Finland to East Prussia, and Baltic amber was in great demand among the population. The art of "pit-comb pottery" is considered to be a direct predecessor of the later arts of the Baltic Finns, or Estonians, Finns and Livonians (Lavonians). The Iron Age in Estonia began about 2000 years ago with the smelting of cast iron; Amber was at that time one of the trade goods for the peoples of the Roman Empire. The importance of Baltic amber to its southerners was emphasized by the Roman historian Laur, who wrote that in Rome the cost of even the tiniest piece of amber was higher than the price of a “living slave.”

The Baltic region includes settlements in Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Frisian Islands, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. It also includes settlements in the Czech Republic and Slovakia (Czech and Slovak Republics), Switzerland, France, and Great Britain (Switzerland, France, United Kingdom). Amber comes from many countries in Asia (for example, the so-called Chinese amber, has a light red color and is heavily dotted with small cracks).

England: Along the coasts of Kent, Essex and Suffolk, in the southern North Sea, small quantities of amber can be found. English amber is usually golden or dull yellow in color, the exact source of origin is not known. Amber artifacts found in prehistoric graves in England are not necessarily of English origin.

Other amber deposits

Dominican Republic: Its amber is classified as retinite because it does not contain succinic acid; dates back its age to the Tertiary (Oligocene) period. When exposed to UV rays, all Dominican amber fluoresces blue or green. The jewelry produced by Dominican artisans is typically endowed with a variety of qualities that reflect the Taino Indian culture of the past. The Dominican Republic is the richest source of amber outside the Baltic states.
Myanmar (formerly called Burma): Burmite was used by Chinese craftsmen in the early Han Dynasty (206 BC to 220 AD) and was rarely exported to any market outside China. Burmite contains 2% succinic acid, which is less than in Baltic amber, but is still considered amber today.
Lebanon: Lower Cretaceous amber from Lebanon is about 130 million years old. This amber resin oozed from the trees of New Zealand's agathis forest and contains the remains of some of the most ancient and famous embalmed insects, as well as fossil plants, animals and feathers. In addition, Lebanese amber was traded by the Phoenicians as early as 5,000 years ago.
Romania: rumanite, brownish-yellow and contains excess sulfur. Variants of "black amber" have deep red, blue, brown colors, if you bring them to the light. It is not found in nature in pure black color. The so-called “black amber” is a type of lignite coal.
Sicily: simetite has yellow, red, blue, green colors, its varieties contain a small amount of succinic acid compared to Baltic amber (age: Tertiary Miocene Oligocene). The tree source of this resin comes from the tropical Burseraceae protium, an angiosperm rather than coniferous species. Most of the simetites are in museum collections, jewelry are rarely made from them.
Mexico: amber was discovered in the state of Chiapas and has only recently been explored; classified as retinitis (originating from leguminous trees).
Canada: Cedarite fossil resin is of great scientific importance because it contains well-preserved inclusions of insects - ants, spiders and mites. It also contains pollen grains, spores and plant fragments from the Upper Cretaceous period. The first deposits to be thoroughly studied are from Cedar Lake, Manitoba. It was noted that these deposits were secondary, that is, redeposited from an unknown distant source. Amber is also found in primary formations (−75 million years old) near Medicine Hat, Alberta. Grassy Lake, Alberta is another Canadian site that has yielded many insect fossils.
Japan: Amber contained in coal seams is used to make varnishes and is not exported anywhere. Amber deposits are found in the Taneichi and Kunitan Formations near Kuji, dating back 85 million years, and the Choshi Formation (120 million years old). Specimens can be viewed at the Kuji Amber Museum Museum) and the National Science Museum in Tokyo.
Tanzania: amber deposits older than copal, but younger than Baltic amber.
New Zealand: ambrite, transparent yellow, true mountain resin. New Zealand also has Kauri copal, a naturally occurring resin similar to amber. Kauri copal comes from the New Zealand agathis (Agathis Australis), which has been growing for over 1,000 years and reaches heights of 120-160 feet (40-50 meters). Kauri copal was found at a depth of 300 feet (100 meters) and is extremely old in age. It does not contain succinic acid, and it is also resistant to polishing, although insect inclusions can be found in it, and its color is similar to amber. The Kauri Museum, located in Matakohe, Northland, New Zealand, has an interesting collection of detailed descriptions dug and dug-trees.
Greenland: Retinitis is found in the southeastern and southwestern regions of the country.

Amber is a fossil resin from ancient coniferous plantations. Over time, the resinous formations fossilized, became hard enough to withstand external destruction, and many of them grew into sedimentary rocks and are found as inclusions in stones. Amber has been known to man for as long as people themselves have existed on Earth. It is found at archaeological excavations of the settlements of primitive people.

This light and beautiful stone was given a magical meaning; different tribes considered it to be pieces of the Sun that fell to the ground, they used it to treat ailments, bewitched with the help of jewelry made from it, and cast spells on it. All this still exists to one degree or another, but the main purpose of this organic material- this is industry, medicine, electronics, jewelry.

Ancient methods of extracting amber

Extraction of amber using the “scooping” method

Usually people collected pieces of resin on the seashore. Sea waves They were often washed up on beaches, and small fragments were found in large numbers on coastlines around the world. But over time, there were more and more hunters for amber fragments and people had to catch them from the water by boat. This type of fishing was called “scooping”, since resin formations were caught with nets. To get to larger pieces, “pricking” was used. This was done using sharpened peaks in shallow water. And when the deposits at shallow depths dried up, the time came for “wells”—digs that were located on the beach area. In the 16th century, the first shallow quarries appeared and stone mining became industrial.

Modern technologies for amber extraction

Currently, amber is being developed in large quantities; large companies are engaged in this and use mechanized methods mining, this work has several stages.

Development of hydraulic monitor and dredging devices

The hydromonitor erodes the top layer

This method is the main one and involves the impact of a powerful water jet on the overburden (the coating that covers the amber-bearing layer).

Water, together with waste rock, forms a pulp, which is discharged into the sea through pipes using dredging devices.

The exposed “blue earth” is being mined using a walking excavator. With the help of a ladle, this mass, rich in amber content, is folded into conical slides and the hydraulic monitor begins to work again, turning this slide into a mud-like slurry.

Amber mining - walking excavator

This slurry is transported by dredges through a pipe system to the processing plant. While passing through these production stages, precious raw materials are subject to losses - 10 percent of the material is lost in this method.

Experts believe that the optimal extraction option is a method that excludes hydrotransportation. Technically, this is done like this: a multi-bucket excavator selects the “blue earth” in the quarry and feeds it to the conveyor. According to it, all rock containing amber goes to the processing plant, where amber inclusions are extracted without loss.

The final stage of extraction is sorting the fragments by size, color, inclusion content, transparency, and configuration.

Why can amber be colored?

Resin fossilized in sedimentary rocks can take on the color of surrounding minerals. Therefore, amber is not only yellow and golden color, it can have different shades - green, brown, blue and even white. According to the refraction of light, pebbles are divided into transparent, opaque, and smoky.

Main places of amber mining

The main places where amber is mined are the Baltic states, the Kaliningrad region, Western Ukraine, and the Urals. There are deposits in Mexico, Japan, China, Romania and Sicily. But the main area where large deposits occur is the coast of the Baltic Sea. These stones are sold for export; their quality is valued all over the world. The remaining deposits are of no industrial importance.

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Baltic amber is a mineral formed from the resin of ancient trees: species that no longer exist.

The age of the gem is about 44 million years.
Geologists called it "succinite".
The Arabs called this stone “Garn”: they believed that it was hardened dew. Later this name was borrowed by the Romans.
Because of its ability to become electrified, the Greeks called amber an electron.
IN Ancient Rus' the mineral was called "Ilektron".
Amber has many colors and shades; Baltic amber is most often honey-colored.

The origin of amber: modern interpretation

Tree resin has gone through a long journey of transformation before becoming amber.

The path includes 3 stages:

Resin acids have been oxidizing for hundreds of years under the influence of moisture and heat in the forest.
For hundreds of thousands of years, oleoresin accumulated in the soil along with wood enriched with tree resin. At this stage, the hardened resin began to acquire the characteristics of amber: the melting point and hardness increased, and the solubility decreased.
Over millions of years, the soils of the amber forest were eroded, the resin fell into the river valleys, and from there into the sea. At the bottom of the reservoir, the final transformation of the hardened resin into amber took place.

Is it possible for private individuals to mine in Russia?

According to Russian legislation, unauthorized mining of semi-precious and precious stones is prohibited.

Sales and storage of illegally mined minerals, including natural amber, are punishable by an administrative fine.

MINING PLACES

The largest deposit of the solar mineral “Palmnikenskoye” is located in Russia on the coast of the Baltic Sea in the village “Yantarny” near Kaliningrad. Every year, up to 500 tons are mined in this place according to the following algorithm:

To extract stone, a special technique is used, with the help of which a layer of earth is first washed away with a powerful jet.
In the next step, dredgers move the waste mixture into the sea until a layer of rock containing amber is exposed.
After this, the amber-bearing mixture is fed with an excavator bucket onto a conveyor, from where it is sent to the factory.
After rough and thorough washing, the found amber is dried in a calorific oven, then the minerals are sorted.

Where to find amber in Russia

Deposits of the solar mineral are located on the coast of the Baltic Sea; this body of water washes the territory of Russia in the Kaliningrad region. Many are trying to obtain this stone illegally. In addition, almost every tourist wants to take with them a “piece of sun” found on the shore.

For those who want to feel like a prospector, special excursions are organized at the Palmnikenskoye plant, where you can “get” a souvenir in improvised deposits.

There is a high probability of finding “pieces of sun” on the coasts of Svetlogorsk, Zelenogradsk, Pionersky, and the village of Primorye.

While vacationing on the Baltic coast, you can inexpensively purchase legally mined minerals or products made from them in any store. This is how they bring blue or white amber with them to Moscow or another city, which reminds them of the sea.

How to find amber on the seashore

Collecting amber, including on the coast of the Baltic Sea, is prohibited by law, so it is better not to do this, but to calmly contemplate the seascapes, as well as the sights of the Baltic.
For sport, you can try to find minerals, but do not take them with you, but leave them in place so as not to break the Law.
It is best to look for amber on the seashore after a storm: small minerals are washed ashore along with debris, the remains of vertebrates, and black algae.
Among this unsightly accumulation you can see pieces of frozen resin shining in the sun. To do this, you may have to arm yourself with some kind of stick or rake out the garbage with your hands.
Local prospectors take nets with them, go into the water and shine a flashlight on the accumulation of black algae: if there is amber among them, when an ultraviolet ray is directed at it, the mineral will glow green.
When using a flashlight, gems are better visible after sunset.
After a storm, the police sometimes appear on the shore and check with people walking along the beach to see if they have a large amount of amber.

Water tube mining

Experienced prospectors extract amber in so-called water tubes, which are located on the shore or in the Baltic Sea itself.
Water tubes are small hollows flooded with water.
If there are gems in such mines, then the water usually contains blue clay.
Minerals in such pipes lie at a depth of about 5 meters.

Amber in the forest and near the river

Amber jewelry is sometimes found in the forests of the Kaliningrad region.
Prospectors track passages dug by moles.
If there is blue clay in the soil they bring to the surface, it probably contains solar minerals. To search for stones in such a place, excavations are carried out.
To find gems along rivers, you need to study the surface of the earth after heavy rains. It's best to search early spring when there is no vegetation.
When going in search of amber, it is worth remembering: collecting and storing such stones is punishable.

WHAT TO DO WITH THE PRODUCTION

If you have amber, the best thing to do is make it into a keepsake piece for family members.

It would be good to use raw amber when making a necklace for a child.
This jewelry can be worn by a baby from 3 months, but under the supervision of adults, as well as subject to safety rules. It is believed that the solar mineral calms the nervous system and helps teeth erupt, but you should not let your child chew on it.
When making or purchasing such jewelry, please note that the stones must be round shape To avoid harming the baby, the rope is strong; it is better to tie knots between each gem.

If you find a piece of amber weighing 5 kg

If you find a large amber weighing 5 kg or more, know that it is considered a precious stone and belongs to the state, so it is better not to take such a find, but to report it to the police.

If you took a stone, take it to the police yourself in order to avoid criminal prosecution: and your conscience will be clear, like transparent amber. If you are not too lazy to make the journey to the village of Yantarny, you can hand over the gem to the plant.

Evaluation of the find

To evaluate amber, you need to consider the following points:

Mineral weight. Amber crumbs have a low price. It also takes into account the size of the particles that make up the stone: the larger they are, the higher the cost.
Gem shape. Gems that are close to the correct geometric configuration are valued higher.
Opaque stones are more expensive, especially lemon or milky shades.
The presence of bubbles adds to the price of the mineral.
Amber with pieces of plants or insects inside are 5 times more expensive than ordinary ones.
Minerals with lizards or scorpions frozen in them are very expensive and rare.

How to export amber by plane

When transporting amber by plane, you should keep in mind: according to Customs Legislation, minerals intended for personal use can be freely exported. The weight of the stones should not exceed 50 kg per person, and the cost of the cargo cannot exceed 1.5 thousand euros. Naturally, the price of gems must be confirmed by a financial document.

PURCHASE AND CARE

When buying amber, you must remember that this mineral is easy to fake: sometimes imitations are very beautiful.

Artificial gems are made from natural and synthetic resin, plastics and glass.

How to distinguish natural from pressed

One way to fake a solar mineral is by pressing amber chips. Such a stone (ambroid) will still be natural and much better than a plastic fake, but when a pressed gem is passed off as a solid natural mineral, the price is greatly inflated.

To distinguish a genuine stone from a pressed one, you need to consider:

ambroid has a heterogeneous structure; it can have sharp transitions from one shade to another;
the pressed mineral is almost never transparent and does not play with shades of light;
Ambroid may contain inclusions in the form of elongated air bubbles, whereas in natural stone they are round.

Amber cleaning and care

Products with amber should be stored in a separate box away from heating devices, periodically taken out to “recharge” with sunlight, but not left in the sun for a long time.
To clean the mineral, you need to wipe it with a soft cloth.
If necessary, you can rinse with non-hot water without detergents.
When cleaning gems set in gold or silver, be careful not to get these metal finishing products on the stone.

What not to do when wearing amber

Stones will remain attractive if you follow simple rules:

jewelry made from hardened resin should not be exposed to contrasting temperatures;
it is necessary to exclude contacts of the gem with any chemicals and perfumes;
stones should not be dropped or handled carelessly;
Do not touch the gem with dirty hands.

Each ornamental stone has its own characteristics that determine its value and suitability for use. Amber was no exception. This fossil, called the “gift of the Sun” or “tears of the sea,” has attracted human attention since ancient times and remains in demand today. Therefore, amber mining is an important state task and is carried out at the level of industrial development.

Where is amber used and what qualities does it have?

Science believes that the stone in question is the frozen fossil resin of ancient coniferous plants. It is most often used to make jewelry, and is also used in the pharmaceutical, chemical and industrial sectors (succinic acid), and is in demand among electronics manufacturers (amber varnish, rosin).

Unlike precious and semi-precious minerals, amber is of organic origin, therefore having a solid structure and attractive appearance, has properties not inherent in other stones, which makes it unique. It can burn and changes color and density when heated or exposed to chemical reagents, is capable of accumulating static voltage during friction (electrified). Some of these qualities are used when processing the source material.

Existing varieties of amber

There are several types of the mineral in question. Presumably this diversity arose due to certain natural factors– conditions of occurrence of the formation (character of the relief, surrounding rocks), time of its formation, pressure acting on the deposition. As a result, the following types of amber appeared, differing both in degree of transparency and color:

transparent - does not have any cloudy stains, cavities or bubbles of liquid or air in its structure;
royal (the second name is “bone”) - white, completely opaque, highly valued when making souvenirs;
blue amber - called retinite or birmite in different sources - a rare variety with great hardness;
cloudy/smoky – has minor bubble inclusions in the form of cloudy areas, which is why it is translucent;
bastard - refers to opaque due to the large density of cavities;
immature (“rotten”) – gedanite, has an earthy tint and contains less succinic acid than other types;
foamy - got its name from its resemblance to foam due to the huge number of bubble inclusions;
bare (“red”) – represented by nuggets with a reddish and sometimes cherry-colored surface.

A variety of green amber has been noted. This rare species is found during the development of brown coal or accompanied by iron (sulfur) pyrites. Most often, the blue and green shades of the stone are found during amber mining in the Dominican Republic, located in Central America.

Some fossil resin nuggets contain frozen insects (“inclusions”). Well-preserved inclusions, exceeding 1 cm in length, make the piece of amber in which they are found a precious stone. This decision was made by the Government of the Russian Federation in Resolution No. 8 of 1999.

Known large amber deposits

Amber development is carried out by many countries on most continents of the globe. North America, Africa, Eurasia, Australia - these continents are marked by the presence of an organic mineral in their territories. Among the states that extract it from their subsoil, we can note:

Austria;
Romania;
Spain;
Portugal;
France;
Japan;
African countries.

The stone mined there is not of high quality, but has the necessary characteristics for use in jewelry and industrial applications.

Large amber deposits are located on the coast of the Baltic Sea, on the territory of Ukraine (Volyn region), and in the Dominican Republic. Although the latter does not claim to be the largest, it is from there that samples of amber in blue and green tones come.

In our country, deposits of valuable amber have been discovered in the Baltic, North Siberian, and Far Eastern regions. They are well explored and recognized as promising deposits. The most significant is the Palmniken amber deposit.

Its second name is Primorskoe. It is located on the territory of the former East Prussia, now these lands are part of the Kaliningrad Peninsula and belong to Russian Federation. The reserves of fossil resin here amount to hundreds of thousands of tons, and its quality is high.

Placers of gems lie in sandy-clayey deposits, which were previously the seabed. This soil is called “blue earth” and is very rich in valuable amber. For the extraction and processing of stone, a plant was built in the village of Yantarny, located 40 kilometers from Kaliningrad, which produces the majority (70%) of all volumes of “sun stone” sold in the world. The lion's share of raw materials is sold to foreign processors, the rest goes to the domestic market.

Considerable harm is caused to the state by the unofficial fishery for “tears of the sea”, which exists despite established prohibitions and attracts “illegal diggers” to its side. According to preliminary estimates alone, they extract more than 100 tons of amber per year, which is a significant loss.

A valuable mineral of organic origin is mined in different ways. The most ancient is its collection in places where nature brings it to the surface through the movement of water. For example, after a sea storm or high tide, you can easily find an amber nugget on the Baltic coast. There are people who engage in such a trade as collecting pieces of amber along the shore.

Subsequently, the collected amber is sold to private processors in handicraft workshops, where souvenirs or souvenirs are made from the stone. jewelry for subsequent sale and profit.

Mining amber from boats or catching it in underwater gear is considered more profitable. These are amateur methods, and industrial developments are carried out using powerful equipment using modern technologies.

Scooping method

The essence this method consists of using a net with a long handle, which is used to catch amber nuggets in bottom depressions. They approach promising areas by boat, after which they begin scooping with a net, collecting the contents of the bottom and sorting it out on the surface.

Quite often, when the instrument moves, stones, picked up by the turbulence of the water, rise on their own and become easy prey for seekers.

If the depth and transparency of the water make it possible to visually examine the nugget among the bottom stones, then it is separated from them using a peak or spear, and then removed with the main fishing gear.

This method of extracting amber is not equally successful. Sometimes the “catch” is significant, but failures often occur. Much depends on patience and the ability to wait.

Fishing by diving

The Baltic Sea cannot be called warm, so this method requires appropriate diving equipment. Another condition is that it is advisable to carry out the process in the dark. Fossil resin tends to reflect rays of light, so with the light of an underwater flashlight, its location can be determined by the reflections.

This method may be more productive than the previous one, but is definitely more dangerous for the fishermen. In addition, diving is a seasonal exploration opportunity, and this season in the Baltic is very short.

Industrial extraction of amber

There are mine and quarry developments. The most profitable and low-cost method is considered to be the open-pit mining method, which is used on the Kaliningrad Peninsula. The whole process occurs in several stages:

waste rock is removed using quarry excavators and powerful trucks;
the next stage is the extraction of “blue earth” and its formation into cone-shaped embankments;
further, under the influence of hydromonitors, the total mass is crushed, washed and gems are separated from it;
The final stage of extraction is cleaning the amber from rock impurities, sorting it and sending it for processing.

All of the above stages take place at the plant in the village of Yantarny. There are also art workshops where large specimens of amber stone are used to make figurines and valuable souvenirs.