The hidden treasures of Afghanistan

The capital investigations that have been done on the reserves, proven the country has significant minerals including copper, coal, iron, niobium, cobalt, gold, molybdenum, silver as well as resources of fluorspar, uranium, beryllium, talc and lithium. .
 
 Afghanistan also has oil reserves, most of which are located in the north of the country.

Previously, the value of the country's natural reserves was estimated at "three trillion dollars". This estimate was made in 2010 and now the value of these reserves may be higher because after the spread of the pandemic (Corona) in the world and the market prices, the prices have increased from copper to lithium.
 
 Oil and Gas

According to the official report of the Ministry of Mines of Afghanistan in 2019, which referred to the joint assessment of the United States and Afghanistan, it is estimated that there are about 1.6 billion barrels of crude oil, 16 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and 500 million barrels of oil in Afghanistan's oil fields and wells. There are natural gas liquids.

Therefore, the value of Afghanistan's crude oil at current prices is equivalent to 107 billion dollars.

In the area of oil extraction, most of which is located in the north of the country, the Afghan government signed a contract with "China National Petroleum Corporation" (CNPC) in 2011. This company started its activities in Angot Sarpol oil mine. In the first stage, five thousand barrels of oil were supposed to be extracted daily from the "Amu Darya" field in Sarpol Province, and later, this figure would reach forty five thousand barrels per day, but due to the continuation of insecurity, this plan was not implemented properly.

Sarpol and Faryab provinces have three oil fields named "Qashgari", "Bazar Kami" and "Zamardsai", which according to official statistics, the amount of stabilized reserves in this field is estimated at 87 million barrels.
 
 
 The oil fields of northern Afghanistan are known as "Amu Darya" and "Afghan-Tajik".

Also, in the west of Afghanistan, the Tirpol oil field is located in Herat province, which is 95 km from the Iranian border, and a complete survey of this field has not been done. In addition to that, sedimentary and possible oil fields have been identified in the "Katwaz" region of Paktika and Helmand provinces, which have not been fully investigated.

Natural gas reserves have been identified in Khaje Gurdek, Yatim Taq, Khaje Bolan and Jargaduk areas in Jawzjan. There are other natural gas reserves in the three provinces of Balkh, Jawzjan and Sarpol.
 
 Tens of millions of tons of copper

In 2019, the Ministry of Mines of Afghanistan announced the amount of copper reserves in this country is almost 30 million tons.

The Afghanistan Mines Roadmap, published by the ministry that same year, said there was another 28.5 million tonnes of copper in undiscovered deposits in "porphyry" rocks.

Therefore, the estimated total of copper in this country reaches about 60 million tons, which according to Reuters news agency, with the increase in demand for this metal, its value reaches hundreds of billions of dollars.
 
 Aynak copper mine is the second largest copper mine in the world, located in Mohammad Agha district of Logar province, in the south of this city. Chile has the largest copper mine and Iran has the third largest copper mine in the world.

The contract for exploitation and beneficiation of Aynak mine copper was signed in 2008 between the Ministry of Mines of Afghanistan and a Chinese company called "MCC" (MCC) for thirty years. This Chinese company was supposed to invest about three billion dollars on this mine at first. However, the process of extracting this mine did not make much progress due to the dispute between the Chinese side and the Afghan government, as well as insecurity.
 
 lithium

In one of the investigations by the American Space Agency (NASA), the value of Afghanistan's lithium mines, which have not yet been mined, is estimated at one trillion dollars.

Ms. Javadi says that when she was the Deputy Minister of Mines (about three years ago), each ton of Afghanistan's raw lithium was priced at around 16-13 thousand dollars in China.

According to him, the existence of lithum mines has been proven in three provinces of Afghanistan (Nahor Ghazni plain, Anar Dara Farah, Ashtarli Daikundi) and there are also in other provinces.

It is said that the lithium mines of Afghanistan are 850 to 900 km long and 150 to 200 km wide and start from Herat province and continue to Nuristan province. The lifetime of these lithium mines is estimated to be about seventy years.
 
 Gold and other metals

In the 2019 report of Afghan mines, it is also stated that Afghanistan has more than 2.2 billion tons of iron ore raw materials for steelmaking with a purity of about 57%, which is worth more than 350 billion dollars according to an estimate at the current market price.

Hajigek mine, one of the most important mines of Angeh, is located in "Hajigek" region, 45 km southeast of Bamyan.

There are also iron mines in the Kandahar embankment area, the amount of which is estimated at 8.23 million tons.

There are also iron mines in the Ghorian regions of Herat, Siah Dareh, Badakhshan, and Jabal al-Saraj, Parwan.

Afghanistan also has limited gold mines. The amount of gold in Afghanistan is estimated to be around 2,700 kilograms, which is worth approximately 170 million dollars.
 According to a survey, important gold mines are located in the areas of Yeftal, Vicador, Rag Badakhshan and Ghazni, and there are four veins of gold quartz stones in the Yeftal area, which contain from one to 85 grams of gold per ton of minerals. There are quantities of gold in Er Chah Ab in Takhar province, gold mine in Nourabah, Samti, Hasark mine in Logar province, as well as gold in Zarakshan Qalat district of Zabul province and Qara Daghan district of Baghlan province.
 
 Coal and other minerals

However, the Ministry of Mines report states that Afghanistan has 17 types of rare minerals with an estimated amount of 1.4 million tons, which are valuable for use in consumer electronics and military equipment.

Afghanistan has historically also been a major source of lapis lazuli, a semi-precious dark blue stone that has been mined in the northern province of Badakhshan for thousands of years.

According to the 2019 Afghanistan report, the best grades of lapis lazuli can sell for up to $150 per carat.

Also, there are other precious stones such as rubies and emeralds in Badakhshan and Panjshir provinces, the estimated amount of which has not been determined and they are mostly extracted illegally and smuggled to other countries including Pakistan.
 
 Statement
 It may be hard to believe that Afghanistan, having numerous and valuable mines, still has a broken economy in the country, because civil wars and insecurity have caused the country's situation to not improve.
 Since the economic growth of a country is dependent on security, mining and agriculture, I have been trying to organize an article about mines in Afghanistan and ask the world community through documentary photos of mines to help with mining, Afghanistan to cooperate.
 In my opinion, if the aid that comes to Afghanistan is used in basic and key works, it will have a positive and great result, and in a way it will shorten the lives of people who use mines for personal gain. Undoubtedly, with mining in Afghanistan, we will have a new future in this country I hope, I know this path is wrapped by challenges that need to overcome, but I do believe that by international support and cooperation everything is possible I also do believe that it will stabilize not only the economy but also the security of country and will lead the stabilization of security in the region.