Last year's hot topic has resurfaced thanks to Lewica MP Marek Rutka, who questioned in the Sejm how much amber is located on the Vistula Spit canal construction site, and who is extracting and selling the 6.9 thousand tonnes of raw material obtained during the works. The MP even suggested that the secretly extracted amber was being taken off the construction site... His inquisitiveness should probably be explained by concern for the state's finances \u2013 assuming, as he did, that a kilogram of raw material can cost as much as PLN 20,000, there is indeed cause for concern. His ignorance has caused some confusion, so let's clarify the matter.<\/p>\n
Amber prices<\/strong><\/p>\n Yes, it can fetch \u00a320,000 per kilogram, but that applies to already selected raw material, large nuggets weighing over 300 grams of white amber \u2013 which is the rarest. Unfortunately, with a probability bordering on certainty, it won't be possible to find such nuggets in the deposit on the Vistula Spit. The deposit will be dominated by small raw material, for which you can currently get \u00a350-80, a maximum of \u00a3100 per kg on the market. Deposit<\/strong><\/p>\n It has long been known that amber occurs on the Vistula Spit. According to the \u201eGeological documentation of the amber deposit at K\u0105ty Rybackie\u201d, approved at the end of January 2019, the local deposit is estimated at around 7 tonnes. As late as last year, the Maritime Office in Gdynia, based on commissioned work to estimate the potential occurrence of an amber deposit at the site of the planned waterway connecting the Vistula Lagoon with the Bay of Gda\u0144sk, reported the discovery of two small deposits in the excavation area, while the Ministry of Maritime Economy and Inland Navigation stated this week that they have been estimated at \u201e900 kg and 500 kg, with only one of them suitable for extraction\u201d.<\/p>\n
Amber prices have previously sent heads into a fever pitch \u2013 during the Chinese boom, when they rose many times over. Since then, significant drops have already been recorded, which are likely to deepen further due to the stagnation in the industry caused by the coronavirus epidemic.<\/p>\n