Afghanistan’s Emerging Mining Oligarchy
Publisher: US Institute of Peace
Author(s): Javed Noorani
Date: 2015
Topics: Economic Recovery, Extractive Resources, Governance
Countries: Afghanistan
Afghanistan has an abundance and wide range of natural resources. In the north and south, for example, are several potential hydrocarbon sites. Ferrous and nonferrous metals and strategic minerals may give Afghanistan a particular advantage in attracting international investment. Gold, platinum, silver, copper, iron, chromite, tantalum, lithium, uranium, and aluminum have serious potential for economic exploitation. The country also has massive deposits of dimension stone, including rare white, orange, and green onyx and more than sixty other varieties, as well as a rare blue stone called Afghanite, which was discovered in 1968 in Badakhshan by German geologists. Afghanistan’s emeralds, rubies, tourmaline, aquamarine, amethyst, some types of sapphires, turquoise, and lapis lazuli have long charmed gemstone markets and dealers alike. Overall, the value of the country’s underground resources has been roughly estimated at as much as $1 trillion, but their true extent is unknown because they remain largely unexplored.