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Written by Patrick
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Monday, 14 June 2010 07:52 |
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"The United States has discovered nearly $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan, far beyond any previously known reserves and enough to fundamentally alter the Afghan economy and perhaps the Afghan war itself, according to senior American government officials
The previously unknown deposits — including huge veins of iron, copper, cobalt, gold and critical industrial metals like lithium — are so big and include so many minerals that are essential to modern industry that Afghanistan could eventually be transformed into one of the most important mining centers in the world, the United States officials believe."
-- NY Times
The article goes into more detail on how the mineral deposits were discovered but oddly enough they fail to mention one major implication. For many in Afghanistan the only way to make a living is through growing opium. The Taliban finances much of its operations through illegal drugs. The US Coalition has been trying to help the average Afghan citizen by setting up alternative jobs and by rebuilding the economy but overall it's more profitable to grow opium. So it's possible that in the long run this find could transfer Afghanistan by offering hope for a better future. Either that or everyone will fight each other over these minerals...
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