Image: Robert D. Tucker/USGS
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Vast deposits of rare earth elements and critical minerals found in Afghanistan by U.S. geologists under military cover could solve world shortages and help to shift the country from Taliban control and an economy that relies in large part on opium production. The photos here show the gutsy excursions of these field researchers. For details and a map revealing what they've found, see Afghanistan's Buried Riches.
» View a slide show of geologists' efforts in Afghanistan
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22 Comments
Add CommentAm I missing something here? What, exactly, ARE the elements?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisRare earth metals are a set of seventeen chemical elements, specifically the fifteen lanthanides plus scandium and yttrium. These are used in electronics and right now China has most of the deposits. An excellent reason why America should consider annexing Afghanistan in as a colony of the United States. Wouldn't that raise some eyebrows!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI think perhaps annexation might not go over too well in some quarters.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYes it would. The problem with that logic is that at the rate we're going, every time we need a resource that we don't have in excess, we will be going to war with another country, and then annexing them for their resources. Eventually you have a Rome scenario where we get to big to support ourselves, and we eventually run out of countries to annex
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe US actually has plenty of rare earth deposits, we just abandoned them and outsourced all the mining to China. Now China can't increase output anymore resulting in shortages and skyrocketing prices (for everyone except China since the Government sets export quotas. oops.)
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this"could ... help to shift the country from Taliban control"
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAfghanistan is *still* under Taliban control !?!
Well maybe that's actually true in a way. But whatever the case is, and overall, I wonder how the mining of Afghanistan’s mineral resources while foreign power(s) are running the show will reduce the Taliban's relevance, or influence, on Afghanistan’s citizens.
Q83256
Great. It's still all about money, just as in Iraq.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAnd now, in our next feature: terbium is to Taliban what kryptonite is to Superman.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYet another garbage article. The purpose being to paint The Coalition & particularly the US in a bad light by insinuating that they are only in there for the money. There are plenty of rare earth deposits. Australia has huge reserves. It is simply that they have been relatively cheap from China & other countries simply have not invested in the infrastructure necessary to extract & refine them. Rare earths are present in the tailings or waste stream from uranium mines for a start yet they are not extracted.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI predict that the Chinese will wait until the U.S. is fully out of Afghanistan and the taliban has taken control of the entire country. Then they will negotiate for mineral rights. They will tell the taliban, We don't care how you govern your country. We don't care how many hands or heads you cut off. We don't care how many people you stone to death. We don't care how you treat your women or your goats. Just let us get the minerals out of the country.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSome people in Afghanistan may feel thinking in their nation's minerals is not adequate. Staying there to cut the world's most important source of Opium illicit drugs is something everybody will understand and most will approve, but a purely economical interest such as rare elements mining may produce some additional problems. Or not ?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI hope this claim gets looked into very carefully and with a skeptical eye. What reaises suspicion is that these geologists are working with the military. The war is not going well and these claims could be used as a pretext to keep U.S. forces there for the foreseeable future. On the other hand there might be something to it. In any event it needs substantial verification by non-interested parties.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMaybe Scientific American should leave out the politics from their pages. Writing "could beat the Taliban" isn't a healthy premise for a technical publication, as we can see from some of the comments made so far.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisDear Unbeliever,
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAt least you think there is a gear of some sort running things, including our educational system. You give what you call "leftists" far too much credit but consider this, if they are running things then it would seem they have far better organizational techniques than "rightists."
I don't think those of the assumed left or right are in their correct minds these days and, frankly, this nation was always best when it worked with cooperation within a broad view of what is good for the future.
You could call that mutual respect. We seem to be lacking it to a dangerous degree and, without it, a democracy is bound to continue in decline until enough of us com to our senses to reclaim common sense.
It has always been my hope that, in the extreme, science could provide one core for such a reconciliation. Let's try that sometime.
While there is a tentative non-Taliban government in Afghanistan, the Taliban is still very much alive and well. They fund the opium trade, which ends up on our streets and in our schools. Of course, Afghanistan isn't the only country in the world that opium comes from, but the Taliban funds it in a BIG way. They pay farmers to grow opium instead of food. Then they sell all that lovely opium to fund terrorism. Now, wouldn't it be great if we could give the power back to a legitimate and strong government in Afghanistan, help the farmers grow food instead of dope, and support/encourage/grow a rare-earth mining industry that could all make the Taliban completely irrelevant to the lives of the people in Afghanistan? I don't think it's empire-building if we support the process, teach...provide engineers, so forth. If you give a man a fish you feed him for a day. If you teach him to fish you feed him for a lifetime.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhy do you think we went to war in Pakistan/Afghanistan
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisin the first place? To hunt for Ben Ladin? No. Both
Countries have vast undeveloped natural resources, that
the free world need.
We had to establish our military presence
to block China from acquiring them. This is not a
fight about freedoms; per se, so much as it is a fight about
our need for oil and minerals to survive as a democracy.
That they have an abundance of and will provide free
world with for generations to.
Once a stable infrastructure is in place, a stable Government
and people given jobs, with the Taliban defeated, then we
can milk those Countries for their natural resources.
Better we than China or Russia, who have no regard for
the ecosystem or pollution.
They will become richer than Saudi or all the other oil kingdoms.
So it is written, so it shall be done.
Why do you think we went to war in Pakistan/Afghanistan
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisin the first place? To hunt for Ben Ladin? No. Both
Countries have vast undeveloped natural resources, that
the free world need.
We had to establish our military presence
to block China from acquiring them. This is not a
fight about freedoms; per se, so much as it is a fight about
our need for oil and minerals to survive as a democracy.
That they have an abundance of and will provide free
world with for generations to.
Once a stable infrastructure is in place, a stable Government
and people given jobs, with the Taliban defeated, then we
can milk those Countries for their natural resources.
Better we than China or Russia, who have no regard for
the ecosystem or pollution.
They will become richer than Saudi or all the other oil kingdoms.
So it is written, so it shall be done.
Why do you think we went to war in Pakistan/Afghanistan
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisin the first place? To hunt for Ben Ladin? No. Both
Countries have vast undeveloped natural resources, that
the free world need.
We had to establish our military presence
to block China from acquiring them. This is not a
fight about freedoms; per se, so much as it is a fight about
our need for oil and minerals to survive as a democracy.
That they have an abundance of and will provide free
world with for generations to.
Once a stable infrastructure is in place, a stable Government
and people given jobs, with the Taliban defeated, then we
can milk those Countries for their natural resources.
Better we than China or Russia, who have no regard for
the ecosystem or pollution.
They will become richer than Saudi or all the other oil kingdoms.
So it is written, so it shall be done.
Why do you think we went to war in Pakistan/Afghanistan
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisin the first place? To hunt for Ben Ladin? No. Both
Countries have vast undeveloped natural resources, that
the free world need.
We had to establish our military presence
to block China from acquiring them. This is not a
fight about freedoms; per se, so much as it is a fight about
our need for oil and minerals to survive as a democracy.
That they have an abundance of and will provide free
world with for generations to.
Once a stable infrastructure is in place, a stable Government
and people given jobs, with the Taliban defeated, then we
can milk those Countries for their natural resources.
Better we than China or Russia, who have no regard for
the ecosystem or pollution.
They will become richer than Saudi or all the other oil kingdoms.
So it is written, so it shall be done.
Right on!!! From the first days of our history the US liberation of countries has always been about providing freedom, truth, justice and the American Way to the recipients of our largess. Since the Opium Wars when we helped the Brits introduce free trade to China, the Banana Wars where we assured United Fruit would have fertile grounds for planting and low taxes, Haiti, to make sure they learned the need to pay debts from buying their freedom from the French, Iran to reinstall their chosen by God and the US legitimate Royal ruler finally to Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia, Egypt, Libya and Bahrain where any American is not only loved, but has the same rights as the ambassador, i.e., not subject to local law.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe way to kill the opium trade is to legalise it. That way it would eliminate the drugs mafia, many international corrupt politicians , CIA covert operations scandals and give the consumers a financial break.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisDrugs were no major problem before they were forbidden.
Xoxcatpl has it exactly right. Interesting though,what divine powers the USGS geologists have to be able to declare a the tonnage of a resource without a drill hole. Haven't they ever heard of SEC Rule 7, NI43-101 or JORC. Someone should challenge their professional credentials, or is this just some idiot at the Pentagon trying to polish his or her star. Don't they realize 1Mt is small potatoes anyway. There are 10 Mt at Mountain Pass (though Molycorop has no desire to announce this fact or drill it out and declare it as reserves since a company has to pay property tax on reserves in California and there are 20Mt sitting in tailings in Brazil). Why announce this? Is the Pentagon bearing gifts for the Chinese? Just like the "massive" copper deposit south of Kabul. that the US helped define after the Soviets found it 40 years ago, a Chines company backed by the government won the bid and now the US provides secutiy for free. Now that the US has found the REE deposit, the Afgans will put it up for bid. Kharzi will take his 50% cut when the Chinese will buy it since no western mining company is stupid enough to risk the lives of their personel. The Chinese will import their own workers since they are expendable, and the US military will provide free security for the Chinese. What a bloody stinking deal. More ammunition for those who claim that the US intervenes militarily in places where there are resources to steal. This is just one big heaping pile of Hoo-Ya. Why would I invest my company's money in a place like Afganistan when there are 101 other places I can explore for REE's and mine without the risk of being shot, having to pay for security, or build out the infrastructure for the whole country. Same goes for Pakistan.
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