The Afghanistan government has approved the concept of western investors taking a stake in the Afghan mining industry.
Mining Minister Wahidullah Shahran confirmed this week that the Karzai government has handed over multimillion dollar mining contracts to 10 investors. This is the first deal to go to private investors located in the West.
The gold mining in the region in Dushi district of Baghlan province will be backed by private investors mostly from the UK and the US. The mining deals have a value of about 32 million pound sterling. The officials hope that similar deals will follow to allow Afghanistan to jump start its economy and get back on the path to prosperity.
Mr Shahrani said that the mine was located 84 miles northwest of Kabul. The closest gold mine in the region was located in the neighbouring Afghan province of Takhar. He hoped that the approval of the deal by the Inter Ministerial Council would send a strong and positive signal to the global mining companies about investing in the mining sector in Afghanistan.
The country needs the mining companies to come in with investment to make up for the lack of infrastructure and adequate security in the nation. The minerals in the nation may provide a windfall to the struggling economy if the formidable obstacles could somehow be nullified.