Pentagon officials said that their initial analysis at one location in Ghazni Province showed the potential for lithium deposits as large of those of Bolivia, which now has the world’s largest known lithium reserves.
For the geologists who are now scouring some of the most remote stretches of Afghanistan to complete the technical studies necessary before the international bidding process is begun, there is a growing sense that they are in the midst of one of the great discoveries of their careers.
“On the ground, it’s very, very, promising,” Mr. Medlin said. “Actually, it’s pretty amazing.”
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The “Saudi Arabia of Lithium”? Now that makes Afghanistan interesting. I was aware of the copper deposits, and I have done a little research on gold and gems in Afghanistan, but this is new. This Lithium find is a big deal and if Afghanistan can get it’s business in order, and actually come up with some mining capability, then they could stand to make a lot of money. This could be their ‘oil’. It could also be their curse, but hey, at least it is something.
One other point I wanted to bring up was resource hungry China. These guys are doing all they can to snag as many oil contracts in Iraq, and snag as many mining contracts in Afghanistan(copper). I sure would like to see the West get into the mining game a little more aggressively there, seeing how we are the ones that have invested so much in this war. Interesting news. –Matt
Edit: 6/14/2010 – For a review on how important Lithium is, check out this story. The factors that will be driving Lithium demand, is our political relationship with Bolivia(which is sketchy at best), the Gulf oil spill and resulting energy policy focus on alternative energy, and our competition with China and the rest of the world over the stuff. That is what makes Afghanistan interesting right now.
Edit: 6/15/2010 – The plot thickens. It seems this news came out just before the mining auction for the Hajigak fields. The Asia Times story claims that the Pentagon wanted to drum up more competition for this auction, because China keeps winning mining contracts. Interesting.
Here is the piece of the story to look at:
The Pentagon memo may have been an effort to attract international interest in the mining sector before the auction in the next few weeks of the 1.8 billion-ton iron-ore field in Hajigak, which could be worth $5 billion to $6 billion, according to the British-based Times. The development of the country’s largest known iron deposit has been hampered by the war and weak institutions.
The memo coincided with a visit to India by Wahidullah Shahrani, the new Afghan minister of mines, to solicit bids for Hajigak after a planned tender was canceled last year because of a lack of international interest, the Times reported. Shahrani was appointed with US backing in January after his predecessor was sacked for allegedly taking bribes from a Chinese mining company – a charge he denies.
Afghan and Western officials want more companies to bid for Hajigak and other deposits to prevent China from gaining control over Afghanistan’s natural resources through bids subsidized heavily by Beijing, the Times said. American and European companies have alleged that underhand methods were used by Beijing to get contracts, it said.
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U.S. Identifies Vast Riches of Minerals in Afghanistan
By JAMES RISEN
June 13, 2010
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 United States officials believe.
An internal Pentagon memo, for example, states that Afghanistan could become the “Saudi Arabia of lithium,” a key raw material in the manufacture of batteries for laptops and Blackberries.
The vast scale of Afghanistan’s 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 the possibility of jobs that could distract from generations of war.