natural resources

Lithuania's mineral resources, mostly used for construction of roads and buildings, are nearing exhaustion, while environmental rules and property rights make it difficult to prospect for new deposits. To read this article, try a €5.99 monthly subscription by clicking here.

Lithuania has one of the largest fresh water supplies in Europe, according to the head of Lithuanian Geological Service Jonas Satkūnas.

In 2014, Lithuania's resource productivity accounted for only 0.65 EUR/kg, down by 1.1 percent since 2012. The country's domestic material consumption stood at 50.4 million tons, up by 59.8 percent from 2012, Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union (EU), reports.

The Ministry of Environment would like to raise taxes for amber extraction in Lithuania. It has proposed a 44-fold increase in taxes for a kilogramme of amber pieces larger than 40 millimetres.

Studies by Lithuanian geologists suggest that underground waters in Western Lithuania contain sufficient amounts of bromine and potassium in order to start industrial extraction of brine and further chemical enrichment.

The Lithuanian Geological Survey is about to announce a tender for detailed amber exploration in the country, the country's Ministry of Environment said on Tuesday.