Taliban sign contracts for development of seven mineral deposits having a total value of over $6.5 billion

Kabul

The Ministry of Mines and Petroleum of Afghanistan has signed contracts for the development of seven mineral deposits with a total value of over $6.5 billion, Orient.tm reports.

Shahabuddin Delawar, the Acting Minister of Mines and Petroleum of Afghanistan, stated in a press conference that the contracts for mineral extraction are fully transparent, and illegal mining and smuggling have been prevented, as reported by TOLOnews.

The gold mine in the Takhar province will be operated by China-Afghanistan Company and Zarawar Afghanistan Private Company, which will invest $310 million in the project.

The Mes Aynak mine in Logar province will be developed by the private company Turia, which will invest $411 million in the project.

Afghan Invest and the Turkish company Epcol have received the contract for lead mining in the Tulak area of the Ghor province. It is expected that these companies will invest $537 million in the mine.

The Ghoryan iron ore deposit in the Herat province will be developed by Watan Darakhshan, with a planned investment of $2.8 billion.

Saheel Middle East Mining & Logistics Company, in collaboration with Afghan Dara-e-Noor and Turkish Epcol, has received the contract for the development of the second section of Ghoryan. Investments are estimated at $874 million.

The third section of the iron ore mine has been awarded to the Afghan company Shams, along with British GBM and AD Resources, which plan to invest $572 million in the project. The contract for the development of the fourth section of Ghoryan has been awarded to the Bakhtar Steel Company and its Iranian partners, Ahya Sepahan and Persian, with intentions to invest $1.17 billion in the project.

The total value of mineral resources in Afghanistan is estimated at $1 trillion.

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Courtesy: Central Asian Light (Posted on September 5, 2023)