Afghanistan: The Story Behind China's Long-Stalled Mine in Afghanistan

Jan 7, 2017 | Mohsin Amin, Diplomat
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The year 2017 marked the ninth anniversary of the Mes Aynak concession, which was awarded in May 2008 to two Chinese state-owned companies, the China Metallurgical Group Corporation (MCC) and the Jiangxi Copper Company Limited. The consortium later called itself MCC-JCL Aynak Minerals (MJAM) to formally operate the project. Mes Aynak mine is said to be the second largest copper ore body in the world, with the deposit estimated to contain 5.5 million metric tons of high-grade copper ore. The contract awarded to MJAM is worth $2.9 billion. It stipulates that copper production will commence in the fifth year of the 30-year lease, with the extracting, smelting, and processing of the raw copper to take place in Afghanistan. The contract also foresees the construction of a 400 MW coal-fired power plant and the building of a railway from Hairtan to Torkham dry ports. However, little has been done on the ground and MJAM has reportedly asked for substantial modifications to the contract.