Mines and mineral occurrences of afghanistan usgs publications. China vs us the battle over afghanistans mineral riches. Every year the country loses 300 million us dollars in loss of revenue from mining. Rich reserves of rareearth elements exist in the south, where taliban control is tightest. Us discovers vast riches of minerals in afghanistan. Afghanistans mineral resources are a lost opportunity and a. The vast scale of afghanistan s mineral wealth was discovered by a small team of pentagon officials and american geologists. Afghanistans mineral deposits again attract international. Afghanistan is rich with mineral resources the report about the. Inside science people living in afghanistan have mined precious gems. Sep 23, 2017 us to plunder afghanistans mineral riches. Mining in afghanistan is controlled by the ministry of mines and petroleum, which is headquartered in kabul with regional offices in other parts of the country.
In the 1980s, soviet mining experts drafted maps and collected data that would lay dormant in the afghan geological survey in kabul until the. An internal 2007 pentagon memo, quoted by the new york times suggests that afghanistan could become the saudi arabia of lithium. Afghanistan is rich with mineral resources the report about the pentagons huge afghan mineral finds and their economic potential has attracted a lot of attention in afghanistan. Identifies vast mineral riches in afghanistan the new york. If mining of important minerals can take off in the north, that success could create enormous commercial and political momentum for opening the south. Natural resources were supposed to make afghanistan rich.
Taliban loot afghanistans mineral riches the diplomat. Discovery of mineral riches could alter afghan economy. Civil conflict in afghanistan has frequently been tied to a scramble for apparently limited. May 28, 2019 rich in copper, lithium, talc, marble, gold, uranium and others, afghanistan s vast mineral wealth is estimated to exceed one trillion dollars. Afghanistan has a national mining law, written with the help of advisers from the world bank, but it has never faced a serious challenge. Endless us aggression in afghanistan has nothing to do with combating terrorism america supports it, everything to do with controlling the country, using it for oil and gas pipelines, part of encircling russia and china with us military bases, and plundering vast afghan mineral riches likely worth trillions of dollars, a prize corporate predators covet. An internal pentagon memo, for example, states that afghanistan could become the saudi arabia of lithium, a key raw material in the manufacture of batteries for laptops and blackberrys. Jun 14, 2010 the biggest headline in the world today reads like a chapter straight from one of his spy novels.
The usgs is currently helping to rebuild the scientific expertise of the afghanistan geological survey, teaching the researchers modern techniques such as remote sensing. Us finds vast afghan mineral riches news news al jazeera. New estimates indicate that rare earths could be triple. Poor infrastructure is also an obstacle to a possible mining industry. In 1995, she even cowrote a book, gemstones in afghanistan, on the topic. Identifies vast mineral riches in afghanistan a bleak ghazni province seems to offer little, but a pentagon study says it may have among the worlds largest deposits of lithium. Since the 1960s, it was reported by the minerals yearbook of the u.
Geological survey that afghanistan is rich in natural gas, copper, iron ore, gold, silver, and precious gems. The idea that afghanistan s mineral riches were not part of the invasion and occupation agenda, drawn up before 911, and have suddenly been discovered, is provably false. Identifies vast mineral riches in afghanistan the new. Help afghans exploit their mineral riches china controls the supply of rareearth and critical metals. Rich in precious minerals like copper, lithium, talc, marble, gold, uranium and others, conservative estimates suggest that afghanistans mineral wealth exceed over 3 trillion us dollars. Geologists say afghanistan has similar lithium wealth, but as in bolivia. Hope revisited with mineral riches worth trillions of dollars under its soil, afghanistan could enter a new era of economic prosperity,provided its western occupiers allowed it to do so south asia 2010, july 31, 14, 7. Afghanistan has over 1,400 mineral fields, containing barite, chromite, coal, copper, gold, iron ore, lead, natural gas, petroleum, precious and semiprecious stones, salt, sulfur, talc, and zinc, among many other minerals. Policy and works on the book of a survey of the afghan. Why is afghanistan unable to extract its vast mineral wealth. Torn by four decades of war and desperate poverty, afghanistan is believed to be sitting on one of the richest troves of minerals in the world. The new york times is once again engaged in the dissemination of propaganda in an attempt to sell the empire building of.
Mineral resources worth about a trillion dollars have been found in afghanistan. Afghanistan s mineral riches are attracting global attention. Jun 14, 2010 the value of afghanistan s mineral riches could rise even higher when taking into account afghanistan s unknown reserve of lithium, a key ingredient in products from medicines to cell phone. Jun 15, 2010 an internal pentagon memo, for example, states that afghanistan could become the saudi arabia of lithium, a key raw material in the manufacture of batteries for laptops and blackberrys.
But the treasure will provoke a power struggle among neighbors that can only complicate americas war effort. The vast scale of afghanistans mineral wealth was discovered by a small team of pentagon officials and american geologists. Sep 07, 2014 the mineral riches could lift afghanistan out of poverty and fight crime and terrorism, said said mirzad, cocoordinator of the u. Afghan mineral riches complicate americas war effort. How to safeguard afghanistans mineral riches foreign policy. Now the security forces are finally being expanded, and the mineral riches give afghanistan the potential of paying. With the support of a national endowment for the humanities fellowship, gabrielle. Oct 16, 2017 the two met in new york on september 22 and discussed, according to a white house press release, how american companies can help quickly develop afghanistan s rich rare earth mineral.
Geologists have known of the extent of the mineral wealth for over a century, as a result of surveys done by the british and russians. William dalrymples top 10 books on afghanistan travel. Hope revisited with mineral riches worth trillions of dollars under its soil, afghanistan could enter a new era of economic prosperity,provided its western occupiers allowed it. More american troops to afghanistan, to keep the chinese.
Sep 08, 2012 afghanistans mineral riches bring hope of selfsufficiency but corruption, violence threaten resource boom by graham bowley new york times, september 9, 2012, 12. Unsurprisingly, kabul remains perilously dependent on foreign aid for its survival. Good luck obama administration officials have outlined new details about the size and scope of valuable metals and minerals present in afghanistan. Taliban loot afghanistans mineral riches illegal mining fuels the taliban insurgency, threatening to turn the countrys vast mineral wealth into a resource curse. The mostly bald countryside presents an open book for mapping mineral. The government has asked for tenders to develop iron ore mines, just part of mineral wealth that. Mar 29, 2021 march 29, 2021 stanford scholar explores humans complicated history with earths mineral riches in new book. Afghanistans mineral riches bring hope of selfsufficiency. Rich in copper, lithium, talc, marble, gold, uranium and others, afghanistan s vast mineral wealth is estimated to exceed one trillion dollars.
The previously unknown deposits including huge veins of iron, copper, cobalt, gold and critical industrial metals like lithium are so big and include so many minerals that are essential to modern industry that afghanistan could eventually be transformed into one of the most important mining centers in the world, the united states officials believe. They knew afghanistan was an intact mineral reservoir, and for centuries they used crude tactics to extract accessible resources. Sep 09, 2012 kalu valley, afghanistan if there is a road to a happy ending in afghanistan, much of the path may run underground. Afghans wary as efforts pick up to tap mineral riches. Aug 24, 2017 an internal 2007 pentagon memo, quoted by the new york times suggests that afghanistan could become the saudi arabia of lithium. Identifies vast riches of minerals in afghanistan, trumpets the new york times this morning. This recent discovery indicates that afghanistan has a rich prospect ahead, and the country could be raised by its own bootstraps with the revenue from the mining industry.
Mineral riches found in afghanistan weekly world news. The war for minerals in afghanistan the daily reckoning. Mar 27, 20 one of the great pleasures of writing my new book, return of a king. Us to plunder afghanistans mineral riches stephen lendman. Why is afghanistan unable to extract its vast mineral. Mar 30, 2021 gabrielle hecht sees the world differently from most of us. Jun 14, 2010 little of afghanistan s mineral riches has been exploited because the country has been mired in conflict for three decades. The biggest headline in the world today reads like a chapter straight from one of his spy novels. Afghanistans mineral resources are a lost opportunity and. But the military and observers of the military have known about afghanistan s mineral riches for years. But contrary to what seems like a natural perception about afghanistan, the country sits atop massive hordes of wealth in minerals like rare earth metals, gold and lithium. And jack shroder, a geologist at the university of nebraska, told the associated press in 2001 that mineral deposits in afghanistan were so rich, they could be vital in rebuilding the country. But news of mineral riches in afghanistan was not really new. Sep 30, 2011 usgs study reveal mineral riches in afghanistan the country has a lot of potential for geological resources sep 30, 2011 18.
Jun, 2010 us discovers vast riches of minerals in afghanistan. Chapter 2 afghanistan s current state and mineral wealth. In 1995, she even cowrote a book, gemstones in afghanistan, on the. Ratnam, gopal, afghanistan mineral riches wont go anywhere without.
Gemstones include highquality emerald, lapis lazuli, red garnet and ruby. Exploring humans complicated history with earths mineral. Jul 14, 2017 reports of afghanistan s mineral riches may boost the countrys economy. Feb 27, 2016 but news of mineral riches in afghanistan was not really new. The vast scale of afghanistan s mineral wealth was discovered by a small team of. The country has a wealth of other copper prospects, most notably a number of porphyry copper deposits along part of the tethyan. Identifies vast mineral riches in afghanistan, june 14, 2010, see also bbc, 14 june 2010, see also michel chossudovsky, global research, 2010.
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