Wahidullah Shahrani, the Minister of Mines for Afghanistan, said that geologists have found mineral deposits worth $3 trillion in the country. These untapped mineral deposits have the potential to drive the economic growth of the nation and also solve its unemployment problem.
The massive copper deposit in the Balkhab district of Saripul province is valued at billions of US dollars as per Wahidullah Shahrani. He said that it was one of the biggest untapped copper mines in the country.
In June last year the Pentagon had said that the country of Afghanistan may hold unexplored mineral deposits worth $1 trillion based on the date from a US Geological Survey. The sum was based on the Aynak copper deposit located in the Logar province. This is situated south east of the capital city of Kabul.
The new copper deposit is being touted as a larger one according to a GSA report that was published yesterday. According to the report this discovery appears to be a volcano genetic massive sulphide deposit, a deposit type which could supply much of the world's gold, copper, lead and zinc.
In the Zarkashan area of Ghazni province in eastern Afghanistan there have been deposits of gold and copper that are as yet unexplored in value. In the same area lithium deposits worth $30 billion have been established. Rare earth minerals and niobium deposits worth $89 billion have also been found in the Khanneshin area of Southern Helmand province.