Afghan mineral deposits worth $3tn, says mining official

[babsbunny]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jun/18/afghanistan-mineral-deposits

US officials argued that if Afghanistan was seen to have a bright economic future, it will help give Afghans hope

Associated Press in Kabul

Afghanistan's untapped mineral wealth is worth at least $3tn – triple a US estimate made this week – according to the government's top mining official.

Geologists have known for decades that Afghanistan has vast deposits of iron, copper, cobalt, gold and other prized minerals, but a US briefing this week put a startling$1tn price tag on the reserves. Minister of Mines Wahidullah Shahrani said today that he had seen geological assessments and industry estimates that the minerals were worth at least $3tn.Critics of the war questioned why the country's mineral wealth was being promoted at a time when violence was on the rise and the international coalition was under pressure to prove its counterinsurgency strategy was working. US officials argued that if Afghanistan was seen to have a bright economic future, it could help convince people that securing the country was worth the fight. It could also give Afghans hope, they said.

[TheKentuckian]

Hope for massive exploitation and being left with a slew of new environmental problems

Along with another generation or two of occupation in the name of security.

[FBI_Un_Sub]

1. BUT - there's lithium in the Andes

and one heck of a lot. This is just a Cheney push to step up our involvement in Afghanistan.

[James H]

2. Mineral wealth?

Mineral wealth has certainly helped Iraq, hasn't it?