A nugget weighing 1048 grams was extracted at the Kaliningrad Amber Combine. The stone with a rich color palette was named "Christmas" because it was found on the eve of the beginning of the Orthodox Christmas fast. This is the nineteenth "giant" found this year in the Primorsky quarry.
"Rozhdestvensky" is a non–monolithic piece of a distorted rectangular shape, with large side chips. The sample has a rich color palette: matte, turning from light yellow to a rich honey shade – noted gemologists of the Kaliningrad Amber Combine in the passport of the stone.
"Since 2020, the production capacity of the combine allows us to consistently extract 500 tons of amber per year. The process of stone production is seasonal due to the climatic conditions of the region. The technological process uses water that freezes at zero temperature. As a rule, all finds occur during the mining period, but there are rare exceptions. At the end of November this year, a large nugget was found during the preparation of the mining face in the blue earth washed out by rains," said Alexander Smirnov, chief engineer of the combine.
Work in the Primorsky quarry continues in the off-season. In order to start mining amber at the appointed time, it is necessary to move a large volume of rocks covering mineral deposits. These works are called overburden and are mandatory to prepare for the new season of amber mining.
In 2022, the miners of the Kaliningrad Amber Combine of Rostec State Corporation extracted 19 unique nuggets weighing more than 1 kg. One of the most striking finds of the season was a fragile dragonfly about 50 million years old, preserved in full growth in amber.
All the goals set for the plant at the beginning of this year have been fulfilled a month ahead of schedule. In 2023, the main tasks will be: the extraction of the planned 500 tons in the Primorsky quarry and the completion of the production of 136 tons of amber at the Palmnikensky quarry's Beach section. This year, the extraction of Baltic amber in the Primorsky quarry started on April 4, and ended on November 1.
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