Afghan mineral deposit:
Boost for economy
David Alexander
Untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan may be worth more than $1
trillion, a finding that could reshape the country’s economy and help
U.S. efforts to bolster the war-battered government, Pentagon officials
said on Monday.
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.
“It’s certainly potentially good news, especially for Afghanistan,”
said Pentagon spokesman Colonel David Lapan. “If we can assist the
Afghans in developing these resources, it certainly has the potential
for adding a lot to their economy.”
Deputy Undersecretary of Defense Paul Brinkley, who headed the task
force, said the findings showed Afghanistan a path “toward its own
economically sovereign capability to finance its own human and security
needs.”mineral wealth was huge and could take decades to overcome. The
country has little mining infrastructure, is in the midst of a wrenching
war and has a reputation for government corruption.
|
A Mineral
deposit. Source: Google |
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.”
The extent of Afghanistan’s mineral wealth was identified by a task
force that included members from the Pentagon, State Department and U.S.
Geological Survey working in conjunction with officials from the
Afghanistan Ministry of Mines.
A briefing paper released 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.
The minerals survey was part of a broader effort to identify the
economic potential of Iraq and Afghanistan and help the governments
develop the international business relations to exploit their resources.
“This really is part and parcel of Gen. (Stanley) McChrystal’s
counterinsurgency strategy,” Lapan said. “This is that whole economic
arm that we talk about but gets very little attention.”
Two Chinese firms have committed themselves to a $4 billion
investment in the vast Aynak copper mine, south of Kabul, the biggest
non-military foreign investment so far in the country.
Reuters
|