SARAWAK AMBER : Merit-Pila Coal Mine

Introduction

Amber is fossil tree resin, which is appreciated for its color and beauty.

Sarawak amber is also called Borneo amber. True Sarawak amber only can be found in Sarawak, Malaysia. Do you know what is the largest amber in the world? Sarawak amber is the largest amber in the world. It is so huge, the size must be trimmed from 3,5 m by 1,5 m to 2.3 m by 1.3 m for easier transport. But now it was further divided into three specimen for display in the Sarawak Museum in Kuching, the Museum of the Geological Survey of Sarawak and the Stuttgarter Naturkundemuseum in Germany. The amber was found by a German-Malaysian expedition in 1991.

The Merit-Coal Mine

The Merit Pila lignite field in central Sarawak is the most important coal deposit of Malaysia. The estimated reserves are at 250 million tonnes, whereas much of this reserve lies close to the surface and can be mined by opencast. The lignite is of Miocene age and usually forms only relatively thin seams within sand and gravel sediments.

Frequent 'amber lines' - long and thin seams of yellow golden amber - can be found in the exposed coal seams, which possibly form the original floor of the Miocene forests. These mostly thin, but sometimes up to 30 cm wide lines may reach a continuous length of almost 130 m ! (SCHLEE & CHAN 1992) These immense volumes of amber were produced by trees of the genus Dipterocarpacaea, which still grow in this area and still produce copious amounts of resin today.

The age of the amber

15-17 million years old (Middle Miocene)

Classification

Class II fossil resin.

Tree source

It was believed to be originated from Shorea tree.

Polished amber

Sarawak amber comes in many tones and colors. Generally Borneo amber comes in all brown tones including brownish white, yellow, orange, red, brown and dark black. Sometimes the rainbows of colors occurs in one single amber.

This amber usually brittle and fragile. Some amber are tough. Despite all of those properties, this amber can be cut as cabochon and polished. Unfortunately, Sarawak amber cannot hold the mirror finish long enough after frequent handling. Oils are the worst enemy for them. They will losing their luster permanently after in contact with oils. That is why, Sarawak amber rarely used as jewelry but only for amber sample and collections.

A polished coffee black Sarawak amber from Merit-Pila Coal Mine.

A fragile type of Sarawak amber still attached with coal

An extremely tough version of Sarawak amber.