Afghan Mineral Wealth Attracts Competitors

Mar 16, 2022 | Asad Mirza
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Even when the American occupation of Afghanistan was in full steam and apart from the fighting there were mainly reports of the ongoing fighting, yet there were secret reports, which spoke of the vast mineral wealth which Afghanistan possesses. There were further reports, which reported questioningly the Americans taking plane-loads of soil from various regions of Afghanistan to get them analysed in their country. Yet, a few believed those reports. But now new findings are emerging which say that those reports might be true to a certain extent. Afghanistan, which is one of the world's poorest countries at present, contains huge riches in the shape of mineral deposits of gold, precious stones, coal, oil and gas, lithium, and rare-earth minerals.

China already controls most of the world's rare-earth minerals, which are used to manufacture a variety of technologies, including components in electric vehicles and smartphone touch screens. Now China has plunged into the troubled waters of Afghanistan, after the US withdrawal. In the recent past, China has courted the Taliban administration with much fanfare. Its embassy in Kabul kept functioning when Western missions fled after the Taliban takeover.