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U.S. Identifies Vast Mineral Riches in Afghanistan
WASHINGTON — The United States has discovered nearly $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan, far beyond any previously known reserves and enough to fundamentally alter the Afghan economy and perhaps the Afghan war itself, according to senior American government officials.
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.
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.
The vast scale of Afghanistan’s mineral wealth was discovered by a small team of Pentagon officials and American geologists. The Afghan government and President Hamid Karzai were recently briefed, American officials said.
While it could take many years to develop a mining industry, the potential is so great that officials and executives in the industry believe it could attract heavy investment even before mines are profitable, providing the possibility of jobs that could distract from generations of war.
“There is stunning potential here,” Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of the United States Central Command, said in an interview on Saturday. “There are a lot of ifs, of course, but I think potentially it is hugely significant.”
The value of the newly discovered mineral deposits dwarfs the size of Afghanistan’s existing war-bedraggled economy, which is based largely on opium production and narcotics trafficking as well as aid from the United States and other industrialized countries. Afghanistan’s gross domestic product is only about $12 billion.
“This will become the backbone of the Afghan economy,” said Jalil Jumriany, an adviser to the Afghan minister of mines.
American and Afghan officials agreed to discuss the mineral discoveries at a difficult moment in the war in Afghanistan. The American-led offensive in Marja in southern Afghanistan has achieved only limited gains. Meanwhile, charges of corruption and favoritism continue to plague the Karzai government, and Mr. Karzai seems increasingly embittered toward the White House.
So the Obama administration is hungry for some positive news to come out of Afghanistan. Yet the American officials also recognize that the mineral discoveries will almost certainly have a double-edged impact.
Instead of bringing peace, the newfound mineral wealth could lead the Taliban to battle even more fiercely to regain control of the country.
The corruption that is already rampant in the Karzai government could also be amplified by the new wealth, particularly if a handful of well-connected oligarchs, some with personal ties to the president, gain control of the resources. Just last year, Afghanistan’s minister of mines was accused by American officials of accepting a $30 million bribe to award China the rights to develop its copper mine. The minister has since been replaced.
Endless fights could erupt between the central government in Kabul and provincial and tribal leaders in mineral-rich districts. Afghanistan has a national mining law, written with the help of advisers from the World Bank, but it has never faced a serious challenge.
“No one has tested that law; no one knows how it will stand up in a fight between the central government and the provinces,” observed Paul A. Brinkley, deputy undersecretary of defense for business and leader of the Pentagon team that discovered the deposits.
At the same time, American officials fear resource-hungry China will try to dominate the development of Afghanistan’s mineral wealth, which could upset the United States, given its heavy investment in the region. After winning the bid for its Aynak copper mine in Logar Province, China clearly wants more, American officials said.
Another complication is that because Afghanistan has never had much heavy industry before, it has little or no history of environmental protection either. “The big question is, can this be developed in a responsible way, in a way that is environmentally and socially responsible?” Mr. Brinkley said. “No one knows how this will work.”
With virtually no mining industry or infrastructure in place today, it will take decades for Afghanistan to exploit its mineral wealth fully. “This is a country that has no mining culture,” said Jack Medlin, a geologist in the United States Geological Survey’s international affairs program. “They’ve had some small artisanal mines, but now there could be some very, very large mines that will require more than just a gold pan.”
The mineral deposits are scattered throughout the country, including in the southern and eastern regions along the border with Pakistan that have had some of the most intense combat in the American-led war against the Taliban insurgency.
See the following link for the article
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/14/world/asia/14minerals.html
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.
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.
The vast scale of Afghanistan’s mineral wealth was discovered by a small team of Pentagon officials and American geologists. The Afghan government and President Hamid Karzai were recently briefed, American officials said.
While it could take many years to develop a mining industry, the potential is so great that officials and executives in the industry believe it could attract heavy investment even before mines are profitable, providing the possibility of jobs that could distract from generations of war.
“There is stunning potential here,” Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of the United States Central Command, said in an interview on Saturday. “There are a lot of ifs, of course, but I think potentially it is hugely significant.”
The value of the newly discovered mineral deposits dwarfs the size of Afghanistan’s existing war-bedraggled economy, which is based largely on opium production and narcotics trafficking as well as aid from the United States and other industrialized countries. Afghanistan’s gross domestic product is only about $12 billion.
“This will become the backbone of the Afghan economy,” said Jalil Jumriany, an adviser to the Afghan minister of mines.
American and Afghan officials agreed to discuss the mineral discoveries at a difficult moment in the war in Afghanistan. The American-led offensive in Marja in southern Afghanistan has achieved only limited gains. Meanwhile, charges of corruption and favoritism continue to plague the Karzai government, and Mr. Karzai seems increasingly embittered toward the White House.
So the Obama administration is hungry for some positive news to come out of Afghanistan. Yet the American officials also recognize that the mineral discoveries will almost certainly have a double-edged impact.
Instead of bringing peace, the newfound mineral wealth could lead the Taliban to battle even more fiercely to regain control of the country.
The corruption that is already rampant in the Karzai government could also be amplified by the new wealth, particularly if a handful of well-connected oligarchs, some with personal ties to the president, gain control of the resources. Just last year, Afghanistan’s minister of mines was accused by American officials of accepting a $30 million bribe to award China the rights to develop its copper mine. The minister has since been replaced.
Endless fights could erupt between the central government in Kabul and provincial and tribal leaders in mineral-rich districts. Afghanistan has a national mining law, written with the help of advisers from the World Bank, but it has never faced a serious challenge.
“No one has tested that law; no one knows how it will stand up in a fight between the central government and the provinces,” observed Paul A. Brinkley, deputy undersecretary of defense for business and leader of the Pentagon team that discovered the deposits.
At the same time, American officials fear resource-hungry China will try to dominate the development of Afghanistan’s mineral wealth, which could upset the United States, given its heavy investment in the region. After winning the bid for its Aynak copper mine in Logar Province, China clearly wants more, American officials said.
Another complication is that because Afghanistan has never had much heavy industry before, it has little or no history of environmental protection either. “The big question is, can this be developed in a responsible way, in a way that is environmentally and socially responsible?” Mr. Brinkley said. “No one knows how this will work.”
With virtually no mining industry or infrastructure in place today, it will take decades for Afghanistan to exploit its mineral wealth fully. “This is a country that has no mining culture,” said Jack Medlin, a geologist in the United States Geological Survey’s international affairs program. “They’ve had some small artisanal mines, but now there could be some very, very large mines that will require more than just a gold pan.”
The mineral deposits are scattered throughout the country, including in the southern and eastern regions along the border with Pakistan that have had some of the most intense combat in the American-led war against the Taliban insurgency.
See the following link for the article
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/14/world/asia/14minerals.html
First of all the Afghans are largely not a machine culture and therefor there metalworking culture has largely been the selling off of burnt out Russian tanks. You have to bring metal miners in from other countries if you expect to do this. This usually means alcohol and or drugs. Guess what the poppy crops WILL NOT disappear! In fact the problem of opium will increase in the countries the miners are from. (refer to viet nam & when the British first started dealing heavy with China)
Most mining towns have prostitutes etc. This is not part of the current Afghan culture though we did see an increase in child prostitution AFTER we invaded Iraq. I am not bad mouthing our country prostitution is a fact of life in any occupied country.
Afghanis will also benefit very little from these mines because how can their country exploit them? They can only work with China, Russia or America. Guess how much the average Afghan will like that!
Cultures do not help other cultures they either assimilate or destroy them.
Most mining towns have prostitutes etc. This is not part of the current Afghan culture though we did see an increase in child prostitution AFTER we invaded Iraq. I am not bad mouthing our country prostitution is a fact of life in any occupied country.
Afghanis will also benefit very little from these mines because how can their country exploit them? They can only work with China, Russia or America. Guess how much the average Afghan will like that!
Cultures do not help other cultures they either assimilate or destroy them.
Your comments intrigue me. I hadn't looked at this as a negative for the people, but I think I understand a bit of where you are coming from. The Afghani culture truly is a beautiful one, full of tradition. They seem to me to be such a resourceful people and are to be admired. I looked at this as a positive for them, but I guess you are correct in that it is sure to be exploited under the guise of help. I would love to hear more about why you think the way you do on this subject. My fear has been that many were starving because of the destruction of the poppy fields. Although I certainly do not condone what they were being used for, for many there it was there only source of income and of course, the poppy farmers were also being exploited. I guess I saw this find as a replacement for that and a way to earn an honest living. I need to think more about it I guess. I hope you post more on the subject. Interesting perspective.
This will probably mean an end to thousands of years of Afghan culture unless they put a great deal of closure on the borders.
This will mean drug use, people stripped of their dignity, the settling of 80% of the population into mindless drones caring nothing of history and their culture.. But of course for China or America this will be a great coup and probably cheaper ipods and gaming systems and the capability for any country to use the abundance of rare earth minerals to create smarter weapons.
Oh yes and more missionaries to spread a "better" type of oppression than Islam because we all know that "other" religions don't oppress people they save people!
This will mean drug use, people stripped of their dignity, the settling of 80% of the population into mindless drones caring nothing of history and their culture.. But of course for China or America this will be a great coup and probably cheaper ipods and gaming systems and the capability for any country to use the abundance of rare earth minerals to create smarter weapons.
Oh yes and more missionaries to spread a "better" type of oppression than Islam because we all know that "other" religions don't oppress people they save people!
Of course the people deserve this and I am sure all will hope it does turn out well for them, it will of course be useful in turning poppy fields into some mineral wealth..I hope the US will help them ...
This is a very positive thing for the Afghani people. They need a solid resource to bring so many there out of poverty, and of course, to replace the poppy fields currently being destroyed. This will certainly up the stakes in the war though, and not just with the Taliban. There will be so many different parties with $$ signs in their eyes...I just hope that ultimately the Afghani people are the ones to benefit, they have been through so much and this is after all still their country.
ha ha thank you mikesmom a compliment from you is rare ...whoops did I catch you on a' good day 'LOL
This discovery could really help turn the economy of Afghanistan around. Perhaps even a unifying affect on them. That would be a positive.
Now this could be interesting ...how will it play out..they will certainly need help as they are not a mining culture,and there is the problem of the Taliban ...I think China may get involved how will that go down with the US What we call a Dilemma .
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