How Lapis Lazuli Turned One Afghan Mining District to the Taliban

Aug 25, 2016 | Adrienne Bober
View Original

In the mountains of northern Afghanistan, between Pakistan and China, a region that has historically rejected the Taliban has become the group’s second-largest source of revenue. The twisting tale of Kuran wa Munjan reveals the challenges of extracting precious minerals in unstable and fragile states.

Afghanistan is home to mineral reserves that could be worth over $900 billion, according to a U.S. Geological Survey report published in 2012 in conjunction with the Pentagon. But even as the report sparked excitement over a possible source of revenue for economic development, many experts urged caution, pointing out the difficulties in extraction and export, rampant corruption, and insecurity. These fears seem to have borne out in several regions, but perhaps most strikingly in the province of Badakhshan.

Two years of investigation in the district of Kuran wa Munjan by the London-based non-profit Global Witness has resulted in coverage by The New York Times and BBC connecting lapis lazuli, a semi-precious, primarily decorative stone, to Islamic extremism. Government failures, competing strongmen, and complacency have created a new conflict mineral, fortifying the Taliban, jeopardizing development, and demonstrating corruption’s iron grip on Afghanistan.