Some Chinese buyers come to Yakutia to buy tusks directly, while some Russians also export them. Authorities estimate that 500,000 tons of mammoth tusks — known as “ice ivory” — are buried here. – ‘Tusks to the people!’ –Collecting tusks is a complicated affair prepared months in advance. “There is a mammoth rush now,” said one collector, who has worked with a license for over a decade but requested anonymity due to the industry’s current vague status. Without a national law classifying mammoth ivory as a special natural resource, the trade remains in a “grey zone,” he said.

Source: Egypt Independent January 04, 2019 12:56 UTC