Lithuania's Neringa municipality set to block amber extraction for business needs

As the Lithuanian Geological Service prepares to announce a tender for surveying of an amber deposit near the seaside resort of Juodkrante, the local Neringa municipality is considering the possibility to block amber extraction for business purposes.

Neringa Mayor Darius Jasaitis stated that the 112-ton amber "deposit should be intended to promote the state rather than for narrow business interests." He criticized the proposals of leaving merely five hectares of the total 80+ for tourism development.

"I do not rule out that the municipal council will not endorse the Environmental Impact Assessment, and the deposit would be frozen. In the opposite case, they will extract the amber and sell it to the Chinese, whereas we could use the field for recreation purposes for 100 years," the daily Lietuvos Zinios cited the mayor as saying.

The Lithuanian Geological Service is planned to call the international tender in June, with offers expected in September. If everything goes according to the plan, the winner will be established in November before signing of the contract in December, said the report.