In a world scrambling to find new sources of Rare Earth Elements Afghanista offers much promise. As per the U.S. Geological Survey the country holds 1 million metric tons of rare earth element resources in the Helmand Province. U.S. defense officials estimated in 2010 that there could be as much as $1 trillion worth of iron, copper, cobalt, gold and lithium in Afghanistan.
The announcement was made last September after a Task Force for Business and Stability Operations which was funded by the Department of Defence completed a major study of the region. The report said that the area in question, which was called the Khanneshin carbonatite formation, had a major potential source of light rare earth elements, including lanthanum, cerium and neodymium.
Regina Dubey, TFBSO acting director compares the find in the Helmand Province to superlative deposits in the United States and China. The find could lead to major foreign investments in the future. Ms Regina Dubey said that this was just one more piece of evidence that Afghanistan's mineral sector had a bright future.
Marc Grossman, the U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, said Washington was ready to help back Kabul in its efforts to exploit its natural resources. He said that the potential that these findings have for the future well-being of the Afghan people was significant.
The instability in the region may be a deterrent to foreign investment in the country as Arnett Waters, managing member and principal at A.L. Waters Capital LLC in Boston pointed out. Waters asked who was going to invest the time and money into setting up rare earth elements, because rare earth elements mining require a lot of processing and a lot of front-end investment?