Inspite of being one of the poorest countries in the globe, Afghanistan may be sitting on one of the richest stores of minerals in the world, valued at nearly $1trillion, according to US scientists, reported news.discovery.com.
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Afghanistan, a country that is close in size to the US state Texas, is filled with minerals deposited by the violent collision of the Indian subcontinent with Asia. The US Geological Survey (USGS) began inspecting what mineral resources Afghanistan had after US-led forces drove the Taliban from power in the country in 2004. As it turns out, the Afghanistan Geological Survey staff had kept Soviet geological maps and reports up to 50 years old or more that hinted at a geological gold mine.
In 2006, US researchers flew airborne missions to conduct magnetic, gravity and hyperspectral surveys over Afghanistan. The magnetic surveys probed for iron-bearing minerals up to 6 miles below the surface, while the gravity surveys tried to identify sediment-filled basins potentially rich in oil and gas. The hyperspectral survey looked at the spectrum of light reflected off rocks to identify the light signatures unique to each mineral. More than 70 percent of the country was mapped in just two months.
The surveys verified all the major Soviet finds. Afghanistan may hold 60 million tons of copper, 2.2bn tons of iron ore, 1.4m tons of rare earth elements such as lanthanum, cerium and neodymium, and lodes of aluminum, gold, silver, zinc, mercury and lithium. For instance, the Khanneshin carbonatite deposit in Afghanistan's Helmand province is valued at $89bn, full as it is with rare earth elements.
