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wildcard
14th June 2010, 10:59 AM
What have they found in Afghanistan? Uranium?
link
(http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_afghanistan_mineral_treasures;_ylt=A0wNdOtRbRZM 5xABVyis0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTQwczBzYmtwBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIw MTAwNjE0L3VzX2FmZ2hhbmlzdGFuX21pbmVyYWxfdHJlYXN1cm VzBGNjb2RlA21vc3Rwb3B1bGFyBGNwb3MDMgRwb3MDOQRwdANo b21lX2Nva2UEc2VjA3luX3RvcF9zdG9yeQRzbGsDYWZnaGFuc3 VzZmlu)
Afghans: US finds mineral riches in Afghanistan


By RAHIM FAIEZ, Associated Press Writer Rahim Faiez, Associated Press Writer – 52 mins ago

KABUL, Afghanistan – U.S. geologists have discovered vast mineral wealth in Afghanistan, possibly amounting to $1 trillion, President Hamid Karzai's spokesman said Monday.

Waheed Omar told reporters the findings were made by the U.S. Geological Survey under contract to the Afghan government.

"The result of the survey ... has shown that Afghanistan has mineral resources worth $1 trillion," Omar said. "This is not an overall survey of all minerals in Afghanistan. Whatever has been found in this survey is worth $1 trillion."

Omar refused to provide details, referring reporters to the Ministry of Mines. An official at the ministry refused to discuss the survey, saying details would be released at a news conference later this week.

A 2007 report by the USGS said most of the data on Afghanistan's mineral resources was produced between the early 1950s and 1985 but much was hidden and protected by Afghan scientists "during the intermittent conflict over the next two decades."

The New York Times reported the $1 trillion figure in Monday's edition and quoted senior American officials as saying untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan are far beyond any previously known reserves and were enough to fundamentally alter the Afghan economy and perhaps the Afghan war itself.

Americans discovered nearly $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan, including iron, copper, cobalt, gold and critical industrial metals like lithium, according to the report. The Times quoted a Pentagon memo as saying Afghanistan could become the "Saudi Arabia of lithium," a key raw material in the manufacture of batteries for laptops and cell phones.

"There is stunning potential here," the newspaper quoted Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of the United States Central Command as saying. "There are a lot of ifs, of course, but I think potentially it is hugely significant."

Geologists have known for decades that Afghanistan contained substantial mineral resources, including copper, gold and cobalt. But the resources have never been fully exploited because of decades of armed conflict and poor infrastructure. The Times said huge lithium deposits were found in Ghazni province — much of which is effectively under Taliban control.

wildcard
14th June 2010, 11:01 AM
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1a/Uranium_production_world.PNG/800px-Uranium_production_world.PNG

Grand Master Melon
14th June 2010, 11:13 AM
http://gold-silver.us/forum/general-discussion/u-s-identifies-vast-riches-of-minerals-in-afghanistan/

http://gold-silver.us/forum/general-discussion/the-real-reason-we-are-in-afganistan-1-trillion-in-unmined-deposits/