Men with nets stand in the cold Baltic water around the waste water outflow pipe from the Palmnicken amber mine spray house.

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Men with nets stand in the cold Baltic water, around the waste water outflow pipe from the Palmnicken amber mine hoping to catch small amber nodules missed by the mines mechanized equipment. These men claim they can make over $1,000 Russian Rubles a day from the amber nodules they catch in their nets around the pipe. The men are called “crows” by the mine security guards that they pay to stand at the pipe. The Palmnicken open pit mine is the largest amber mine in the world and it is estimated that more than 90% of world’s known amber is located there. The Baltic Sea region is the world’s original source of amber and stones from this region have been found in Neolithic burial sites and Egyptian tombs dating back to 3200 Amber from the Palmnicken mine was used in the restoration of the Amber Room at the Catherine Palace at Tsarskoye Selo outside of Saint Petersburg, Russia. Photo by Chuck Nacke

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Size: 5200px × 3646px
Location: Palmnicken Amber mine, Yantarny, Kaliningrad Oblast, Baltic Sea, Russia
Photo credit: © Chuck Nacke / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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