Desolate hills in southern Afghanistan could harbor enough rare-earth elements to supply the world for years.
Image: Moises Saman/Redux Pictures
In Brief
- Under military cover, U.S. geologists have mapped Afghanistan’s deposits of critical minerals. Rich reserves of rare-earth elements exist in the south, where Taliban control is tightest.
- If mining of important minerals can take off in the north, that success could create enormous commercial and political momentum for opening the south. New estimates indicate that rare earths could be triple the initial predictions.
- Overcoming the country’s opium and Taliban strongholds with a mining bonanza could change U.S. foreign policy and world stability.
- Over the long term, Afghanistan’s geologists will have to take charge. The U.S. Geological Survey is nearly done training them.
More In This Article
The scene at first resembles many that play out daily in the war-torn Red Zone of southern Afghanistan: a pair of Black Hawk helicopters descend on a hillside near the country’s southern border with Pakistan. As the choppers land, U.S. marines leap out, assault rifles ready. But then geologists sporting helmets and heavy ceramic vests jump out, too. The researchers are virtually indistinguishable from the soldiers except that they carry rock hammers instead of guns. A human chain of soldiers encircles the scientists as they step forward on the dusty ground.
“The minute you get off, you go into geologist mode,” says Jack H. Medlin, director of the U.S. Geological Survey’s activities in Afghanistan. “You forget, basically, that these guys are around—unless you try to get out of the circle.”
This article was originally published with the title Afghanistan's Buried Riches.
Already a Digital subscriber? Sign-in Now
If your institution has site license access, enter here.
See what we're tweeting about
12 Comments
Add CommentWhile the geologists are there, do you think they can probably look for that $1 billion in American cash and those 100 thousand bombs and weapons Bush lost? He has no idea where he lost the money and weapons, so if the geologists can help him out, he would probably be appreciative and donate some of it to their cause.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisFinally a way to make the Afghans self-sufficient and quite possibly shrink opium production. Paying jobs will shrink Taliban ranks as history has repeatedly shown their numbers increase when joblessness increases. Instead of increasing funds to wage war, we should build up their mining industry (along with the attendant security and transportation capabilities). If a profit is to be made, Pakistan will rapidly jump on board as a willing partner! Profit trumps revolutionary zeal any day.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisNow there will be more money to fund the fight against the infidels
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYou don't think that local power politics won't produce prolonged struggles to gain control of any new found source of wealth? What a happy place that would be!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisVery probably JT, but a jobs plan is still better then funding an endless war against unemployed, angry young men. Afghanistan is and always will be a tar baby. Even worse, leave them alone (mired in their dog-pack politics, w/constantly changing loyalties) and they will reach out to bite you at your home, if only to spread their never-ending self-imposed misery.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAt least a significant number will have a way to work in an accepted way to make a profit. The sneaky dogs will always be there and will have to be dealt with by the rule of law, ours if their's proves incapable.
Another happy thought, JT: Now that the world knows it is there, it will be mined. The Afghans do not now, and never will, have the capability to mine it without outside management (picture donkeys and shovels), so the mining operation will be run by either the U S or China most likely. We don't want the Chinese to continue to control the source of all the world's rare earths, so I guess we will be there indefinitely as a matter of national security. Funny how that works, isn't it?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYes how do we get our greedy claws in all those lithium mines. We know they'll be needed for million upon millions of electric car batteries. Which government officials will we need to bribe?? Which local catastrophe do we need to make sure our news media focuses on? Which tribesman do we need to pay off? Get those war drums beating. Spin a good story so our kids think they are fighting and dying for freedom, rather than some fat billionaires wallet.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAha, And I thought it was some oil field that was providing the incentive for the continued involvement there.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis resource will likely intensify the political and military struggles there. I don't think the Taliban are going to be happy about this because the increased incursion of western corporations into Afghanistan will expose the people to the western culture that they seem to be afraid of. So I think they will make a pitch to the Chinese who can exploit this resource without any interference in local culture. They will just bring over a few hundred thousand Chinese workers, keep them in camps, and give the Taliban a cut. Just like they do in Africa in Zimbabwe and other places.
Therefore there is going to be a conflict with the Chines. US troops will not be leaving soon. Watch for the USA to prop up whatever local warlord that can keep the Taliban at bay; elections, or no elections.
I find it very strange that people are discussing Afganistan's mineral deposits, as though they are a recent discovery.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe Harrapian civilisation ( Indus Valley Civilization) sourced lots of raw materials and finished goods from Afghanistan, shortly before the Egyptians built some triangle shaped buildings outside Cairo.
The Oxus civilization around 2000BC mined copper and tin as well as making and selling bronze finished goods to nearby civilisations.
Ancient western Chinese towns regularly imported raw materials from Afghanistan.
Alexander the Great mined various minerals there and the minerals for purple dye in clothing.
Purple dye for writing the Book of Kells in the 9th century was sourced from Afghanistan.
In India, ancient texts discuss the mineral wealth of Afghanistan as does texts from Ancient Persia and Babylon.
The Mongols extracted mineral wealth from Afghanistan.
The British opened some mines in Afghanistan when they invaded it in the 1800's before being kicked out of Afghanistan by Afghani's.
The Russians mapped various deposits of various minerals all over Afghanistan during there occupation.
Geologists from the USA are now claiming to have found new mineral deposits, which are in the exact same places in geology textbooks and numerous ancient sources, from before the US led invasion of Afghanistan.
The Chinese have started to open up mines in Afghanistan.
For anyone wanting to know anything about mineral wealth in Afganistan, a Suggestion. Open a geology or ancient history book and actually read it.
I found it pretty amusing that previous posters suffer from delusions about Afghanistan and it's history. The wild dogs comments are particularly stupid given the long history of Afghanistan. It is a shame that some people can only read history as written by brutal, arrogant, self-centered invaders and must ignore the history as known by the people that have lived there for thousands of years. Apparently they have never heard of the american "wild dog" events called the American Revolution, the War of 1812, the American Civil War as well as all of those nasty wars of genocide against the indigenous North American nations that were brutalized to create the USA.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe article is about Afghanistan, not the USA.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAcceptable to whom?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this