Updated on
Summary
Untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan may be worth more than $1 trillion, a finding that could reshape the country's economy and help US efforts to bolster the war-battered government, Pentagon officials said. Afghanistan has significant deposits of copper, iron ore, niobium, cobalt, gold, molybdenum, silver and aluminum as well as sources of fluorspar, beryllium and lithium, among others, a task force studying the country's resources found. The country has little mining infrastructure, is in the midst of a wrenching war and has a reputation for government corruption. Mineral wealth in Afghanistan is scattered throughout the country, including along the border with Pakistan, where the Taliban-led insurgency is the most intense. This is an uphill climb for Afghanistan, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said, adding the United States was helping Afghan officials develop a system to fairly distribute future revenues. We're not underestimating the challenges involved here. Crowley added We know that the extraction efforts are challenged by remote locations, some of which are in areas controlled or at least threatened by the insurgency. There's weak infrastructure. This is obviously something that we are trying to expand for the benefit of Afghanistan's economy. And if, over time, minerals become a growing part of that economy. The extent of Afghanistan's mineral wealth was identified by a task force that included members from the Pentagon, State Department and US Geological Survey working in conjunction with officials from the Afghanistan Ministry of Mines. A briefing paper released by the Pentagon said the main resources were iron ore with an estimated value of nearly $421 billion and copper deposits valued at $273 billion. Officials said the trillion dollar figure did not include known oil and gas reserves or the value of expected deposits of minerals like lithium that have not been verified scientifically to the point of being able to estimate a value.
