Im sure that some ground troops just stumbled on this..... yah right.
WASHINGTON — The United States has discovered nearly $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan, far beyond any previously known reserves and enough to fundamentally alter the Afghan economy and perhaps the Afghan war itself, according to senior American government officials.
The previously unknown deposits — including huge veins of iron, copper, cobalt, gold, and critical industrial metals like lithium — are so big and include so many minerals that are essential to modern industry that Afghanistan could eventually be transformed into one of the most important mining centers in the world, the US officials believe.
The vast scale of mineral wealth was discovered by a small team of Pentagon officials and American geologists. The Afghan government and President Hamid Karzai were recently briefed, American officials said.
While it could take many years to develop a mining industry, the potential is so great that officials and executives in the industry believe it could attract heavy investment even before mines are profitable, providing jobs that could distract from generations of war.
“There is stunning potential here,’’ General David H. Petraeus, commander of the US Central Command, said in an interview. “There are a lot of ifs, of course, but I think potentially it is hugely significant.’’
The value of the mineral deposits dwarfs the size of Afghanistan’s existing war-bedraggled economy, which is based largely on opium production and narcotics trafficking as well as aid from the United States and other industrialized countries. Afghanistan’s gross domestic product is only about $12 billion.
“This will become the backbone of the Afghan economy,’’ said Jalil Jumriany, an adviser to the Afghan minister of mines.
American and Afghan officials agreed to discuss the mineral discoveries at a difficult moment in the war in Afghanistan.
The American-led offensive in Marjah in southern Afghanistan has achieved only limited gains. Meanwhile, charges of corruption and favoritism plague the Karzai government, and Karzai seems increasingly embittered toward the White House.
So the Obama administration is hungry for some positive news to come out of Afghanistan. Yet the American officials also recognize that the mineral discoveries will almost certainly have a double-edged impact.
Instead of bringing peace, the mineral wealth could lead the Taliban to battle even more fiercely to regain control of the country.
The corruption that is already rampant in the Karzai government could also be amplified, particularly if a handful of well-connected oligarchs, some with personal ties to the president, gain control of the resources.
Endless fights could erupt between the central government in Kabul and provincial and tribal leaders in mineral-rich districts.
Afghanistan has a national mining law, written with the help of advisers from the World Bank, but the legislation has never faced a serious challenge.
Another complication is the environment. Because Afghanistan has never had much heavy industry, it has little history of environmental protection.
The mineral deposits are scattered throughout the country, including the southern and eastern regions near Pakistan that have had some of the most intense combat in the American-led war against the Taliban.
The Pentagon task force has already started trying to help the Afghans set up a system for mineral development.
International accounting firms with expertise in mining contracts have been hired to consult with the Ministry of Mines.
WASHINGTON — The United States has discovered nearly $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan, far beyond any previously known reserves and enough to fundamentally alter the Afghan economy and perhaps the Afghan war itself, according to senior American government officials.
The previously unknown deposits — including huge veins of iron, copper, cobalt, gold, and critical industrial metals like lithium — are so big and include so many minerals that are essential to modern industry that Afghanistan could eventually be transformed into one of the most important mining centers in the world, the US officials believe.
The vast scale of mineral wealth was discovered by a small team of Pentagon officials and American geologists. The Afghan government and President Hamid Karzai were recently briefed, American officials said.
While it could take many years to develop a mining industry, the potential is so great that officials and executives in the industry believe it could attract heavy investment even before mines are profitable, providing jobs that could distract from generations of war.
“There is stunning potential here,’’ General David H. Petraeus, commander of the US Central Command, said in an interview. “There are a lot of ifs, of course, but I think potentially it is hugely significant.’’
The value of the mineral deposits dwarfs the size of Afghanistan’s existing war-bedraggled economy, which is based largely on opium production and narcotics trafficking as well as aid from the United States and other industrialized countries. Afghanistan’s gross domestic product is only about $12 billion.
“This will become the backbone of the Afghan economy,’’ said Jalil Jumriany, an adviser to the Afghan minister of mines.
American and Afghan officials agreed to discuss the mineral discoveries at a difficult moment in the war in Afghanistan.
The American-led offensive in Marjah in southern Afghanistan has achieved only limited gains. Meanwhile, charges of corruption and favoritism plague the Karzai government, and Karzai seems increasingly embittered toward the White House.
So the Obama administration is hungry for some positive news to come out of Afghanistan. Yet the American officials also recognize that the mineral discoveries will almost certainly have a double-edged impact.
Instead of bringing peace, the mineral wealth could lead the Taliban to battle even more fiercely to regain control of the country.
The corruption that is already rampant in the Karzai government could also be amplified, particularly if a handful of well-connected oligarchs, some with personal ties to the president, gain control of the resources.
Endless fights could erupt between the central government in Kabul and provincial and tribal leaders in mineral-rich districts.
Afghanistan has a national mining law, written with the help of advisers from the World Bank, but the legislation has never faced a serious challenge.
Another complication is the environment. Because Afghanistan has never had much heavy industry, it has little history of environmental protection.
The mineral deposits are scattered throughout the country, including the southern and eastern regions near Pakistan that have had some of the most intense combat in the American-led war against the Taliban.
The Pentagon task force has already started trying to help the Afghans set up a system for mineral development.
International accounting firms with expertise in mining contracts have been hired to consult with the Ministry of Mines.
