A promise by the Taliban to safeguard the world’s second largest untapped copper deposit is being downplayed by the sitting government of Afghanistan.
In a statement on November 29, the shadowy group known for harbouring Osama bin Laden following the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, said that the Mes Aynak copper deposit is among those that it would allow for development.
“The Taliban never protects projects, and it isn’t their job. There is no stake for a terrorist group in the [national] projects”: Afghan government spokesman
“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan directs all its Mujahideen to help in the security of all national projects that are in the higher interest of Islam and the country,” reads the statement quoted by CNBC.
The Taliban has been fighting the U.S.-backed Afghan government since 2001, when their authoritarian regime was overthrown. An Afghan government spokesman dismissed the Taliban’s invitation to develop Mes Aynak, which in 2008 was signed over to Metallurgical Group Corporation, a Chinese state-owned enterprise.
“The Taliban never protects projects, and it isn’t their job. There is no stake for a terrorist group in the [national] projects,” said Javid Faisal, a spokesman for Afghanistan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, in the CNBC piece.
The 30-year agreement between Afghanistan and China allows Metallurgical Group Corporation to access Mes Aynak, but the project has been stalled due to security concerns in the war-torn country. It also lies beneath a historic Buddhist city said to date back to the Bronze Age.
The prospective mine is located 40 kilometres southeast of Kabul, in a barren region of Logar Province.
According to U.S estimates, Afghanistan could be sitting on mineral deposits worth $1 trillion. The deposits are mainly copper but also include gold, iron ore, uranium and precious stones, such as emeralds.
Earlier this year Afghanistan deployed security forces to ensure that insurgents fighting to overthrow the government do not benefit from illegal mining of lapis lazuli, the semi-precious blue stone once coveted by Egyptian pharaohs.
6 Comments
Mike Failla
What could go wrong?
JC
I guess Chinese infidels are better than western infidels….
SnakePlissken
China is an unstoppable force now. Among other things, they now own what was once FCX’s huge copper/cobalt mine in Africa (Tenke-Fungurume in the DRC), and were greeted with open arms by the Warlords that run the DRC, who clearly stated a few years ago: “We prefer to do business with China because they do not require the same level of Human Rights as ‘western’ companies do”. (In a few years, they will probably swallow the FCX holdings in Indonesia too, Grasberg). Now they are welcomed with open arms by the likes of the Taliban. We cannot go to war with China – that is unwinnable by any means other than full-nuclear, so, what to do? Make a rock-solid alliance with ALL Caucasian Nations so keep them out of Europe and North America, which means, alliance with Russia. Make no mistake, Mao Tse Dung was born 666 years after Genghis Kahn died. Laugh all you want, but maybe, its time you woke up instead. BTW: In 1984, I started my career at P&H, which is now Komatsu. So, yeah, you might want to wake up one of these decades, because among so many other obvious signs out there, at the economic summit in South America a few years back, they told GW Bush to go F himself too, so, yeah, wake the F up !!! Maybe when that nice black man has your daughter bred and your grandchildren show up 1/2 black, maybe THEN you will wake up ??? Well, by all indications, you will remain an imbecile and you STILL won’t comprehend that you are being exterminated.
edl
benefits of having a friend such as pakistan.
Firestarter86
China is showing you what true capitalism looks like.
Morten Birkedal
CDIA is interested in mining in afghanistan. We have our own security.
https://www.facebook.com/CDIA-137515496261672/