What are the main mineral resources of Afghanistan?
What are the main mineral resources of Afghanistan?
Afghanistan contains rich underground resources: gemstones, uranium, common metals, rare-earth metals and precious metals such as gold and silver. It also holds potentially valuable reserves of gas, oil and coal.
Are there mineral resources in Afghanistan?
Afghanistan possesses a wealth of nonfuel minerals whose value has been estimated at more than US$1 trillion. For millennia the country was renowned for its gemstones – rubies, emeralds, tourmalines and lapis lazuli.
What minerals are produced in Afghanistan?
However, the resources Afghanistan’s land holds — copper, cobalt, iron, barite, sulfur, lead, silver, zinc, niobium, and 1.4 million metric tons of rare-earth elements (REEs) — may be a silver lining. U.S. agencies estimate Afghanistan’s mineral deposits to be worth upwards of $1 trillion.
What are the biggest resources in Afghanistan?
The major mineral resources include chromium, copper, gold, iron ore, lead and zinc, lithium, marble, precious and semiprecious stones, sulfur and talc among many other minerals. The energy resources consist of natural gas and petroleum.
What rare minerals are in Afghanistan?
Afghanistan possesses about 1 trillion gemstones and minerals. In the past, Afghanistan produced rubies, emeralds, tourmalines, and lapis lazuli, while it today produces the ever more valuable iron, copper, lithium, cobalt, bauxite, mercury, uranium, and chromium.
How many minerals are in Afghanistan?
According to a joint study by The Pentagon and the United States Geological Survey, Afghanistan has an estimated US$1 trillion of untapped minerals. There are six lapis mines in Afghanistan, the largest being located in Badakhshan province.
How much minerals does Afghanistan have?
Afghanistan has over 1,400 mineral fields, containing barite, chromite, coal, copper, gold, iron ore, lead, natural gas, petroleum, precious and semi-precious stones, salt, sulfur, lithium, talc, and zinc, among many other minerals. Gemstones include high-quality emerald, lapis lazuli, red garnet and ruby.
What rare mineral is in Afghanistan?
Afghanistan has rare earth elements such as lanthanum, cerium, neodymium, and veins of aluminium, gold, silver, zinc, mercury, and lithium, according to Katawazai. Rare earths are used in everything from electronics to electric vehicles, and satellites and aircraft.