WAS Afghanistan’s mineral bounty simply undiscovered until now? Not quite.
Geologists announced this week that a trillion dollars’ worth of mineral reserves had been found in the country. But efforts to survey mineral deposits started with the Soviet occupation, when Soviet and Afghan surveyors drew up maps of underlying geology.
US geologists used these maps as a basis for aerial surveys and borehole samples – revealing the 24 most promising mineral deposits. Iron and copper make up the bulk, and unvalued deposits of also exist.
Who will mine it? Afghanistan has little mining infrastructure of its own. “The Afghan government does…
