Mining in Afghanistan was controlled by the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, prior to the August 15th takeover by the Taliban. It is headquartered in Kabul with regional offices in other parts of the country. Afghanistan has over 1,400 mineral fields,[1][2][3] containing barite, chromite, coal, copper, gold, iron ore, lead, natural gas, petroleum, precious and semi-precious stones, salt, sulfur, lithium, talc, and zinc, among many other minerals.[1][4][5] Gemstones include high-quality emeralds, lapis lazuli, red garnet and ruby. According to a joint study by The Pentagon and the United States Geological Survey, Afghanistan has an estimated US$1 trillion[6] of untapped minerals.
There are six lapis mines in Afghanistan, the largest being located in Badakhshan province. There are around 12 copper mines in the country, including the Aynak copper deposit located in Logar province.[7] Afghanistan's significance from an energy standpoint stems from its geographical position as a transit route for oil, natural gas, and electricity exports from Central Asia to South Asia and the Arabian Sea. This potential includes the construction of the Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline gas pipeline.[8] The first Afghan oil production began in late 2012.[9]
^ ab"Market Prospects" (PDF). Afghanistan Investment Support Agency. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 February 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
^"Minerals in Afghanistan" (PDF). Retrieved 1 July 2016.
^Latifi, Ali M. (2013). "Afghan mines among world's most dangerous". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
^Kuo, Chin S. "The Mineral Industry Of Afghanistan" (PDF). Retrieved 1 July 2016.
^Trakimavicius, Lukas (22 March 2021). "Is China really eyeing Afghanistan's mineral resources?". Energy Post. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
^"Afghanistan's resources could make it the richest mining region on earth however due to the war lasting over 30 years their mining has failed". The Independent. 14 June 2010. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
^"Afghanistan Home to 24 Precious Mineral Varieties". Archived from the original on 2011-07-25. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
^Afghanistan: Work on Asia gas pipeline begins. Al Jazeera English. February 24, 2018. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2019-04-10.
^Cite error: The named reference Afghanistan Strikes Oil for the first time (NATO in Afghanistan) was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
and 27 Related for: Mining in Afghanistan information
it is moving ahead with a copper mining project in Aynak, Afghanistan. In December 2009 there were about 3000 Afghan workers and about 70 Chinese engineers...
economy of Afghanistan is listed as the 155th largest in the world in terms of nominal gross domestic product (GDP), and 137th largest in the world in terms...
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred...
resources made the deposit viable for future development of an Afghan steel industry. Open pit mining and blast furnace smelting operations were envisioned by...
War inAfghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC), the conquest of Afghanistan...
languages, and many Afghans were bilingual. Like the past and present-day Afghanistan, the economy relied greatly on agriculture and mining. The United States...
Afghanistan is a multiethnic and mostly tribal society. The population of the country consists of numerous ethnolinguistic groups: mainly the Pashtun...
Women's rights inAfghanistan have oscillated back and forth depending on the time period as well as the regime in power. After King Amanullah Khan's...
Tourism inAfghanistan is regulated by the Ministry of Information and Culture. There are at least 350 tourism companies operating inAfghanistan. Tourism...
Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (Pashto: د افغانستان بیرغ; Dari: پرچم افغانستان), adopted on 15 August 2021 following the Taliban's victory in the 2001–2021...
The population of Afghanistan is around 41 million as of 2023. The nation is composed of a multi-ethnic and multilingual society, reflecting its location...
The Afghan conflict (Pashto: دافغانستان جنګونه; Persian: درگیری افغانستان) refers to the series of events that have kept Afghanistanin a near-continuous...
2003 inAfghanistan. A list of notable incidents inAfghanistan during 2003 President: Hamid Karzai Vice President: Hedayat Amin Arsala Vice President:...
The Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA), renamed the Republic of Afghanistanin 1987, was the Afghan state during the one-party rule of the People's...
underground coal mining, although accidents also occur in hard rock mining. Coal mining is considered much more hazardous than hard rock mining due to flat-lying...
Crime inAfghanistan is present in various forms, and includes the following: corruption, contract killings or assassinations, bombings, kidnapping, drug...
This is a list of public holidays inAfghanistan. "Upcoming Afghanistan Public Holidays". qppstudio.net. Retrieved 13 January 2022. Gul, Ayaz (14 August...
The following lists events that happened during 2001 inAfghanistan. De facto head of state: Mohammed Omar (until 13 November) President: Burhanuddin Rabbani...
The country is the 40th largest in the world in size. Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan, located in the Kabul Province. With a location...
Afghanistan has three railway lines in the north of the country. The first is between Mazar-i-Sharif and the border town of Hairatan in Balkh province...
transgender (LGBT) people in the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan face severe challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Afghan members of the LGBT community...
Education inAfghanistan includes K–12 and higher education, which is under the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Higher Education. In 2021, there...
Energy inAfghanistan is provided by hydropower followed by fossil fuel and solar power. Currently, less than 50% of Afghanistan's population has access...
Republic of Afghanistan was a presidential republic that ruled Afghanistan from 2004 to 2021. The state was established to replace the Afghan interim (2001–2002)...
Transport inAfghanistan is done mostly by road, rail and air. Much of the nation's road network was built in the mid-20th century but left to ruin during...
Global Information