China, once again, seems to be mucking about in Afghanistan's mineral-rich playground. The latest move is a maybe, could-be deal worth billions to tap Afghanistan's rich veins of lithium, the key input for the energy transition that powers everything from laptops to electric cars.
Chile holds the world's largest lithium reserves and is the world's second-largest producer. Lithium is currently produced from hard rock or brine mines. Australia is the world's biggest supplier, with production from hard rock mines. Argentina, Chile and China mainly produce it from salt lakes.
China eyes Afghanistan's $1 trillion of lithium reserves, offers to invest USD 10 billion.
Afghanistan has over 1,400 mineral fields, containing barite, chromite, coal, copper, gold, iron ore, lead, natural gas, petroleum, precious and semi-precious stones, salt, sulfur, lithium, talc, and zinc, among many other minerals. Gemstones include high-quality emeralds, lapis lazuli, red garnet and ruby.
In a survey conducted in 2010, geologists and researchers working for the US army had estimated the value of Afghanistan's lithium resources, spread in Ghazni, Herat, and Nimroz at a staggering $3 trillion.
Lithium, in the form of spodumene, has been recorded in 12 pegmatite fields or districts mostly located in Nuristan, Badakhshan, Nangarhar, Lagman and Uruzgan provinces (Table 1). Figure 3. Typical schematic zonation (1–40 m) around a pegmatite vein in eastern Afghanistan.
Afghanistan does sit atop huge deposits of copper, iron, marble, talc, coal, lithium, chromite, cobalt, gold, lapis lazuli, gemstones, and more—making Afghanistan one of the world's most resource-rich countries on paper.
Afghanistan Exports - values, historical data and charts - was last updated on June of 2023. In Afghanistan, exports account for around 20 percent of GDP. Afghanistan main exports are: carpets and rugs (45 percent of total exports); dried fruits (31 percent) and medicinal plants (12 percent).
The Country Is Rich In Natural Resources
One of the top things that the country is rich in is its natural resources. That is because Afghanistan has significant reserves of gold, natural gas, marble, coal, and other materials.
One third of the “lithium triangle” in South America – which also comprises second and third-placed Argentina and Chile – Bolivia is home to the world's biggest lithium reserves.
“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.”
Industrial minerals
One of the largest deposits of rare earth minerals can be found at Khanneshin in Helmand province.
Tesla officially broke ground Monday on a Texas lithium refinery, making it the only U.S. automaker to refine its own lithium. CEO Elon Musk said the refinery will produce enough battery-grade lithium for 1 million electric vehicles by 2025, which would make Tesla the largest processor of lithium in North America.
The report confirms Australia's status as the world leader in the production of five important commodities - bauxite, iron ore, lithium, rutile and zircon. In fact, we produced more than half of the world's lithium with record production in 2021, producing 55 kilotonnes compared to 40 kilotonnes the previous year.
Who is the biggest lithium producer in Australia. Pilbara Minerals (PLS) is by far the biggest lithium mining company in Australia. Owning the world's largest hard-rock lithium operations, Pilbara produces over 377,000 metric tons of lithium every year.
Afghanistan is rich in resources like copper, gold, oil, natural gas, uranium, bauxite, coal, iron ore, rare earths, lithium, chromium, lead, zinc, gemstones, talc, sulphur, travertine, gypsum and marble.
Like every other nation, the people of Afghanistan are very proud of their rich culture. Whether it is their hospitality, long history, or bravery, the people are very proud of it.
Afghanistan is endowed with a wealth of natural resources, which include extensive deposits of barites, chromite, coal, copper, gold, iron ore, lead, lithium, marble, natural gas, petroleum, gemstone, salt, sulfur, talc, and zinc. Rare-earth elements can be found all over the country.
Afghanistan's Taliban-led administration has signed a contract with a Chinese company to extract oil from the Amu Darya basin and develop an oil reserve in the country's northern Sar-e Pul province.
Afghanistan usually trades with its neighbours, Pakistan being its major trade partner. Pakistan, along with India, receive around 75% of Afghan exports, followed by the United Arab Emirates, China and Turkey. Iran is the main supplier of goods in Afghanistan, followed by China, Pakistan and Kazakhstan.
Afghanistan is the world's biggest opium producer and a major source for heroin in Europe and Asia.
A New York Times article in June 2010 reported that a team of Pentagon officials and U.S. geologists discovered in Afghanistan $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits, which were considered much larger than any previously known and “enough to fundamentally alter the Afghan economy and perhaps the Afghan war itself.”
The Democratic Republic of Congo is considered the world's richest country in terms of wealth in natural resources. Most of the raw mineral deposits remain untapped and are worth an estimated $24 trillion. These deposits include the world's largest coltan reserves and considerable amounts of cobalt.