U.S. Identifies Vast Mineral Riches in Afghanistan

[HughJass]

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.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/14/world ... erals.html

 

[The Gardener]

An internal Pentagon memo, for example, states that Afghanistan could become the “Saudi Arabia of lithium,â€￾ a key raw material in the manufacture of batteries for laptops and BlackBerrys.

Wow. Who could have ever guessed??!

I suppose it's just a random moment of serendipitous luck!

 

[oni]

What next, US invading some countries in Africa to "oust an evil dictator"........................................................... :whistle:

Roll on the "Resource wars".............................................................. :whistle:

 

[Hammy070]

I don't see why this is bad or negatve.

In any case, Afghanistan would become wealthier and more prosperous.

If it does become the Saudi Arabia of minerals....well...the GDP per capita in Saudi is first world, not third world. Afghanistan will have SOME kind of democracy, puppet or otherwise.

Either way, it can't be bad news for the Afghans. As long as the money is filtered to the average Afghan, this could be the saving grace of the Afghan war.

 

[Hammy070]

If exploited, Afghanistan would become self-sufficient, he said, and no longer need foreign aid.

President Hamid Karzai's spokesman, Waheed Omar, was quoted by news agency AP as saying: "The result of the survey ... has shown that Afghanistan has mineral resources worth $1 trillion.

"This is not an overall survey of all minerals in Afghanistan. Whatever has been found in this survey is worth $1tr."

The findings were made by the US Geological Survey under contract to the Afghan government, he said.

The New York Times cited an internal Pentagon memo which said Afghanistan could become "the Saudi Arabia of lithium".

There are already plans to exploit mineral wealth in Afghanistan with Chinese backing for a copper mine at Aynak in Logar province.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_ ... 311752.stm

The Chinese are there, Americans too. A resource war doesn't need to be violent or bad. If they fight with weapons of cash, who wins? The Afghans.

 

[Petchsky]

I don't see why this is bad or negatve.

In any case, Afghanistan would become wealthier and more prosperous.

The way I see it is multi national companies and their main shareholders will make mass sums of money, the puppet government that the occupying forces set up will be enriched, but the people of Afghanistan won't get sh*t, as most of the money will be funneled out of the country.

That's my opinion, but maybe i'm just cynical...

 

[Nene]

I don't see why this is bad or negatve.

In any case, Afghanistan would become wealthier and more prosperous.

The way I see it is multi national companies and their main shareholders will make mass sums of money, the puppet government that the occupying forces set up will be enriched, but the people of Afghanistan won't get sh*t, as most of the money will be funneled out of the country.

That's my opinion, but maybe i'm just cynical...

Not cynical at all bro, thats the way these things work.

 

[optimus prime]

A lot of countries do not have the technology to get at these resources and need the multinational companies from China, Europe and USA to help.

 

[The Gardener]

Oh, I'm absolutely SURE the extraction interests will do all they can to make sure that it will work out just GREAT, for all parties. Just like it has in Mozambique, Central America, the Nigerian delta, etc...