MOSCOW: Russia is mining the remains of its long-extinct woolly mammoths to meet a growing demand for ethical ivory.

Taking advantage of a global ban on the trade in elephant ivory, Russia is gambling that ivory lovers around the world will pay a premium for ethically sourced mammoth goods instead.

A stuffed woolly mammoth.

The US first lady, Michelle Obama, has been photographed wearing jewellery crafted from mammoth ivory.

Russia is exporting 60 tonnes of mammoth ivory to China, the world's biggest ivory market, each year, and scientists estimate that there are huge reserves that are as yet untapped.