THE HIDDEN SOIL OF AFGHANISTAN

Written by Giuditta Andrei

Mentioning Afghanistan, for many, means imagining war, explosions and suffering. When the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, I decided to study this land better, trying to interpret, from my point of view, this turbulent succession of dramatic events. I came to the conclusion that the territories that in the past years and still experience turbulent situations and are perpetually suspended in contexts of war, especially in the Middle East, and are often disputed by the most established economic powers, from my point of view are those territories that possess enormous natural reserves that can be potentially exploited. Afghanistan is one of these.

Officially known as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, Afghanistan is located in the heart of South-Central Asia, and has a population of about 31 million people. Afghanistan is a landlocked country, bordered by:

• Pakistan to the south
• Iran to the west
• Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan to the north
• China to the east.

Torn by four decades of war and widespread poverty, a 2020 report found that 90% of the Afghan population lives below the poverty line with an average income of $2 a day. However, several things drive Afghanistan's economy.

AFGHANISTAN'S ECONOMY

Ranked 103rd in the world by GDP, agriculture has traditionally dominated Afghanistan's economy and contributed a large part of the country's growth. Seventy percent of Afghans live and work in rural areas, mostly farms, and about 15% of land is suitable and usable for cultivation.

Agriculture in Afghanistan has traditionally been the main driver of the national economy: fruit and nuts are among the most important exports, so much so that in 2014 alone the value of exports of these amounted to around 500 million dollars. The Afghan territory is known for its unusually sweet grapes and melons grown north of the Hindu Kush, as well as for its pomegranates, pistachios, apricots, cherries, figs and mulberries. Wheat and cereals, such as barley, corn and rice are at most the most important crops. Cotton is also widely grown.

Recently the Taliban government stated that in the first 7 months of 2021, Afghanistan exported products worth 1 billion and 85 million dollars. 97% of exports, which consist mostly of fresh fruit, dried fruit, vegetables, medicinal plants and minerals, are concentrated towards Pakistan; country with which, citing data from the World Bank SIGAR, in 2021 it recorded a trade surplus of 70 million dollars, followed by Iran, India, Turkey and China.

MINING SECTOR

Another thing that moves the economy of Afghanistan is its natural resources, such as coal, copper, natural gas, oil, cobalt, nickel, gold, lithium, uranium and gold.                                                                It is believed that the country is sitting on one of the richest mineral deposits in the world, and that the value of these resources has been roughly estimated between 1 and 3 trillion dollars. According to some estimates, if the government of Afghanistan made excellent use of all its natural resources, the nation could boast one of the strongest economies in the world in the coming years. This is why the unique geological-tectonic characteristics of Afghanistan, although unknown to most, are important for the formation of mineral deposits and resources. Let's see its geological history:

GEOLOGY

A mountainous nation like Afghanistan has a history that dates back thousands of years and its beginnings are closely linked to its precious stones, for which, since the dawn of civilization, it has always been particularly renowned. The varied and complex geological history of Afghanistan is very old, at least 1 billion years; and it all starts from the fact that Afghanistan is the geological meeting point involving the Eurasian plate, the Indian plate and the Arabian plate.

The suture zone between ancient continents once separated by the ocean is known as the Herat Fault, one of the largest faults in the country, stretching 1,200 km through central Afghanistan towards the Hindu Kush mountains. The Bayman region, in particular, is located in the transition zone between the intense seismic activity that characterizes the boundary of the Indo-Asian plate in eastern Afghanistan and the largely inactive central part.

The earth's crust in Afghanistan is particularly lively and earthquakes that often occur are caused by the collisions of the Indian plate on the Eurasian plate; this type of movement is known to have created mountains such as the Himalayas, the Hindu Kush, which is known as the second most seismic belt in the world after the Pacific Ring of Fire; and the Pamir mountains in the north, which Afghans call the "Roof of the World".

Over 49% of Afghanistan's total area is above 2,000 meters, and the Alpine belt that characterizes the Afghan territory is made up of nearly 15,000 mountains. The persistent tectonic movements over millions of years that have generated these impressive mountain ranges have provided the heat and pressure needed to form the many minerals and gemstones present.

THE LAPIS LAZULI ROUTE

Afghanistan is one of the oldest mineral basins in the world. Historically, the ancient Silk Road that connected China to Europe through the Middle East passed directly through northern Afghanistan, and its natural resources such as tin, copper, gold and lapis lazuli were exported far and wide.

Historians believe that lapis lazuli, which was widely prized and used by ancient civilizations such as Mesopotamia, Egypt, China, Greece, Rome, and India, originated from the famous mines in the remote modern-day province of Badakhshan, a desolate land characterized by steep ravines and inaccessible mountain walls that reach up to 17,000 feet in height. The mines, according to sources, were in operation as early as 7,000 BC, and the first extractions date back more than 6,500 years.

The Kokcha Valley, located in a deep gorge in the province of Badakhshan, which centuries ago was part of a territory known as Bactria or Bactria, has been, since 700 BC, a favorite but inhospitable destination for the beautiful lapis lazuli. This gem, for those who don't know, is among the oldest commercial sources in the world.

Just think that in ancient times, for example, the royal Sumerian tombs of Ur contained numerous artifacts made with lapis lazuli, including more than 6,000 statuettes of birds, deer as well as plates and seals; while in Egypt, burial sites dating back to before 3,000 BC contained thousands of jewels made with it. In Egypt, the stone was favored for making amulets and ornaments, such as scarabs, while its powder was used by Egyptian women as a cosmetic pigment.

The trade of this stone, influenced by both the geographical environment and the political situation, historically, would have taken place with a privileged contact between:

• Baluchistan (in the south-eastern Iranian region)

• Indus Valley

• Arabian Gulf

Until it reached ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt later. The ancient merchant caravans transported the precious blue cargo from Bactria to the large and important cities.

Marco Polo, in 1271, in his writings, referred to the original lapis lazuli mines in the area: "Mountain where the finest blue in the world is found."

In the 19th century, English East India Company lieutenant John Wood gave a detailed and colorful description of an expedition that took place in Badakhshan around 1836-1838, writing: "If you do not wish to die, avoid the Valley of Kokcha." Wood was the first European to visit the local mines and to report on the difficulties of access and methods of exploration.

This area is best known for also producing various lazurite crystals. Between 1880 and the early 1900s, azurite was mined using the fire-set method; a method that involved setting fire along the face of the tunnel and then dousing it with water. This sudden change in temperature was believed to cause the rocks to shatter, making it easier to remove the mineral, sometimes damaging it.

In 2004, American geologists who had come to Afghanistan as part of a larger post-war reconstruction effort came across a set of old maps at the Afghan Geological Survey library in Kabul that listed the country's major mineral deposits; the information had been collected by Soviet mining experts during the occupation in the 1980s.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS), a scientific agency of the American government, conducted a series of 28 flights over 43 days across Afghanistan, collecting data and publishing the results of a "hyperspectral imaging" effort, in which reflections of light from the ground are analyzed using a camera to capture sunlight reflected from the ground.

This technique allows to distinguish the specific colors present on the Earth's surface, such as vegetation and minerals: each pixel of the camera has been analyzed and correlated with the different materials that are reflected on a certain color.

The publication of this study is essentially composed of two maps: Minerals containing iron and Carbon silicon or sulfur

The data includes 800 million points analyzed, in an area of ​​440 thousand square kilometers, with about 70% of the country practically mapped.

That said, the rich resources that distinguish Afghanistan are:

• Natural gas
• Oil
• Iron
• Cobalt
• Sulfur
• Lead
• Zinc
• Niobium
• Copper
• Gold
• Gas
• Limestone
• Bauxite,
• Coal,
• Rare earths,
• Lithium,
• Chromium,
• Lead,
• Zinc,
• Precious stones
• Talc,
• Sulfur,
• Travertine,
• Gypsum,
• Marble,
• Platinum,
• Silver,
• Chromite
• Aluminum.

Today I want to analyze some of them with you:

OIL

Afghanistan is ranked in the global ranking as the 117th oil producer in the world.

According to estimates, the country's oil reserves are around 1-3.8 billion barrels, mainly located in the provinces of Jawzjan and Balkh. Studies by the Afghan Ministry and the United States Geological Survey estimate that there are 1.596 million barrels of undiscovered crude oil. Oil production in the country began in October 2012 after the country signed an agreement with the China National Petroleum Corporation. In 2019, a joint Afghan-US report stated that:

"Most of the undiscovered crude oil is in the Afghan-Tajik Basin and most of the natural gas discovered is in the Amu Darya Basin."

GAS

Afghanistan ranks 62nd in the global gas reserves ranking. Along with oil fields, gas fields were discovered in 1970, and have since produced 16 trillion cubic meters of gas. Total reserves in Afghanistan are estimated to be around 1 trillion cubic meters. The country produces 6.674 million cubic meters annually.

Since 2020, Afghanistan has started extracting gas from a newly discovered field in the northern province of Jawzjan. This project is extracting 150,000 m³ of gas from a 1,500-meter well.

LIMESTONE

Limestone is ranked among the top 10 natural resources in Afghanistan. Limestone is a very important material for the construction and production of cement, and so far about 500 million tons of limestone have been discovered in Afghanistan alone.

MARBLE

There are at least 21 marble factories in Afghanistan. Most of the marble is highly variegated and its extraction is concentrated in the quarries of Balkh, Badakhshan, Bamyan, Helmand, Herat, Kabul and many other places. Chesht Sharif and Khogiani marble is a favorite.

Afghanistan has large marble walls and surveys have classified 1.3 billion tons of extractable marble.

The international community has recognized that the Afghan marble industry holds great promise for the future.

COPPER

Afghanistan ranks among the top five nations in terms of copper reserves in the world, being one of the most important and widely available resources. Historically, this metal is concentrated mainly in the provinces of Herat, Farah, Kandahar, Kapisa and Zabul.

In 2006, a Chinese company known as China Metallurgical Group won a public tender to lead the copper mining project in Aybak, Logar Province and Samangan; however, the lack of infrastructure in the country has led to little progress on this project.

In the valley of Mes Aynak, which means "small copper deposit" in Dari, its reserves are estimated to be huge, with a presence of 450 million tons, worth $50 billion.

A 2019 report by the Ministry of Petroleum Mines of Afghanistan estimated the copper resources in the country at around 30 million tons; in addition, in the same year, it was claimed that there were 28.5 million tons of copper in undiscovered porphyry deposits.

GOLD

Like copper, gold mining in Afghanistan began in 2006. This precious resource is concentrated in places such as Takhar, Badakhshan and Ghazni provinces. Gold deposits in Afghanistan are more modest, with around 2,700 kg, worth almost $170 million.

Soon after the Taliban took over Afghanistan in 2021, the US administration froze the Afghan government's holdings in US banks, preventing them from accessing the country's billions of dollars in foreign reserves. Among these trapped assets is a stash of gold bars at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, which, according to data published by the central bank, amounted to around 22 tonnes of gold in December 2020.

In 1978, a year before the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, Russian archaeologist Viktor Ivanovich Sarianidi began excavating the site of Tillya Tepe in the north of the country, uncovering a significant glittering treasure known as the Bactrian Gold.

The treasure is thought to have been historically buried by Scythian or Chinese nomads in the early Christian era. The area was conquered and reconquered by so many peoples in ancient times that it was likely a rich site for artifacts from many cultures.

The excavations uncovered six tombs dating back to the 1st century and more than 20,000 gold objects, such as rings, coins, weapons, earrings, bracelets, and crowns; some of them made of precious stones such as turquoise, carnelian, and lapis lazuli. Although this historical-archaeological discovery is not well known to the general public, 25 thousand artifacts, discovered during the expedition, disappeared without a trace during the war, and part of this collection is being recreated at the National Museum of Afghanistan.

IRON

In addition to gold, Afghanistan has significant deposits of iron concentrated in the Hajigak deposit in Bamyan province. In 2019, a report stated that Afghanistan has over 2.2 billion tons of high-quality iron ore for steel production, with a total value of over $350 billion. Afghanistan once again ranks among the top ten nations in the world in the extractable iron sector.

LITHIUM

Lithium is a mineral mined famously in the so-called "lithium triangle" in South America, between Bolivia, Argentina, and Chile; countries that have the largest reserves in the world.

In 2010, according to an internal memo, the United States Department of Defense described Afghanistan as "the Saudi Arabia of lithium"; that is, the country could potentially become a supplier of lithium as Saudi Arabia is crucial for its oil reserves.

According to Pentagon officials and their analysis, in the province of Ghazni, there would be lithium deposits as large as those existing in Bolivia, equal to a trillion dollars.

The world, consolidating its environmental agenda and moving towards the decarbonization of energy systems, will increasingly need lithium for the creation of batteries for the storage of energy needed for electric cars.

For some, lithium is called "The new oil". Consider for example that only in 1995, the annual production of lithium was about 6500 tons; while in recent years, demand has increased 10-fold, constituting 345,000 tons in 2020 alone. Under these circumstances, the future of lithium-ion batteries may depend on who will have control of the Afghan reserves.

So far, on this front, countries such as China, Russia and Iran have revealed their intentions to develop friendly relations with the Taliban. China is the absolute leader in rare earth metal mining and the largest producer of lithium cells in the world.

RARE EARTH

In 2019, the Ministry of Mines report stated that Afghanistan holds 1.4 million tons of rare earth minerals, which are a group of 17 chemical elements mainly valued for applications in electronics and the production of modern technologies. In Afghanistan, these are mainly concentrated in Khanneshin, in Helmand province, with an estimated 1.4 million tons present.

Rare Earths are essential components in technology and are used primarily in cell phones, televisions, hybrid engines, generators, computers, lasers, batteries, DVDs, fluorescent lighting, wind turbines, and military equipment (such as night vision goggles, precision weapons, and GPS equipment).

Demand for these elements first exploded in the mid-1960s with the introduction of the first color televisions; this is because europium, in particular, the most reactive of the rare earth elements, is an essential material for producing color images.

In the last 20 years, the growing demand for cell phones and computers has driven up the demand for rare earths. China is the world's largest producer of rare earth materials and is also the dominant consumer, followed by Japan and the United States.

China's dominance peaked in 2010, when it controlled world rare earth production and prices to 95%.

GEMSTONES

As we have seen, Afghanistan has historically been a major source of lapis lazuli, as well as other gemstones such as rubies and emeralds. The first modern images of Afghanistan's minerals were conducted by British and German geologists, but it was the Soviets in the 1960s and 1970s who carried out the most systematic exploratory work throughout the country. In 2018, the country exported $100 million worth of gems. Afghanistan is believed to have significant deposits of:

• Emeralds of the finest quality and purity, found mainly in the Panjshir province, south of Kabul
• Lapis Lazuli: mined in northern Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan
• Kunzite: one of the oldest gems in the world, first discovered in America in the early 20th century, although it is also found in the same arid highlands of Afghanistan and Nuristan, where approximately 2000 kg of fine Kunzite have been mined since 1980
• Morganite
• Ruby: which is said to be concentrated in the Jagdalek and Sorboi districts, south of Kabul
• Sapphire
• Onyx
• Amethyst
• Aquamarine: Concentrated in the Nuristan region through the provinces of Laghman and Konar
• Hiddenite
• Tourmaline in Nuristan
• Spinel: Originated in the mountainous region of Badakhshan
• Serpentine
• Topaz
• Pegmatite

A 2018 article reported how the growing global demand for cosmetics, marble and stainless steel in the hands of Islamic State militants is helping to finance their insurgency, earning millions of dollars each year, thanks also to the extraction of talc and chromite.

Like Russian and Iranian companies, China could become the largest investor and benefactor in Afghanistan, helping to develop the mining sector and filling the financial gap in the country.

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