Afghanistan may have 1 trillion dollar minerals potential

[Ahmad]

It was not well said, but I am wondering if you all think Afghanistan would be better off occupied by the USA or run by the Taliban since that seems to be the only two choices at this point. I expect if Afghanistan goes to the Taliban so will Pakistan sooner or later. Both countries seem to be between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea.

Pakistan has already seen the effects of taliban power within thier own territory. They certainly dont want the taliban in their soil, hope they have now changed their mind about afghanistna as well. taliban retrun would be many generations setback in afghanistan.

 

[Nahraf]

This is another excuse for US and the West not to give any more money to war torn Afghanistan where over 1 million people have died since the invasion. Iraq has oil so use their money to give contracts to American companies to rebuild the country. Now Afghanistan has minerals so American companies will get contracts to extract them and rebuild the country. The Iraqis and Afghans will remain in menial jobs getting peanuts while the Americans get $200 an hour minimum salary in these two countries now.

 

[CAPTAIN AMERICA]

This is another excuse for US and the West not to give any more money to war torn Afghanistan where over 1 million people have died since the invasion. Iraq has oil so use their money to give contracts to American companies to rebuild the country. Now Afghanistan has minerals so American companies will get contracts to extract them and rebuild the country. The Iraqis and Afghans will remain in menial jobs getting peanuts while the Americans get $200 an hour minimum salary in these two countries now.

I am curious where you get your 1 million figure from and the 200 dollar an hour salary. I doubt if you are going to find many people from the USA in Afghanistan with a pick and shovel the engineers going there will be paid the going rates for engineers plus hazard pay I would expect and prob will be international corporations, the mineral are not going to do Afghanistan much good in the ground.

 

[manojb]

Will china Take the bait? I guess yes!!

 

[CAPTAIN AMERICA]

dont be sarcastic if you cant make a proper contribution.

I was not aware I was being sarcastic, I am just curious do you prefer the Taliban or the American Occupation. Which would you prefer in Pakistan if you had to make a choice. Would you prefer International Aid to see the resources are developed in Afganistan if that is necessary for them to be developed or just remain in the ground.

 

[Comet]

dont be sarcastic if you cant make a proper contribution.

Dear!
I meant there are too much minerals just like too much opium.

 

[SekrutYakhni]

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) has officially announced today that Afghanistan has around $1 trillion worth of minerals. They also said that a team of geologists working for Pentagon have discovered different maps which will help 're finding' of those minerals. Furthermore, they also stated that it is not the first time that the study was done; Soviet Union also tried to do but they did not have enough time.

Now, I have a question for you guys.

Why did the U.S. spent tens or possibly hundreds of billions of dollars in the first place (Afghan war)? Did not they know about the minerals when they knew that Soviets explored as well?




'The Saudi Arabia of lithium,' report says
Last Updated: Monday, June 14, 2010 | 10:12 AM ET Comments177Recommend73
CBC News
The war-torn country of Afghanistan sits atop nearly $1 trillion US in valuable minerals, senior American military officials said Monday.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai says his country's mineral resources could be worth as much as $3 trillion. (Musadeq Sadeq/Associated Press)
According to a report in the New York Times on Monday, aerial surveys of the region as far back as 2006 have suggested the presence of multiple valuable minerals including iron, copper, cobalt and gold.

After initial aerial scans were ignored for several years, a Pentagon task force and private-sector U.S. mining experts have only recently confirmed the finds, the report said.

Metals with much more contemporary uses such as niobium and lithium have also been discovered. An internal military memo refers to Afghanistan as "the Saudi Arabia of lithium," the report said.

Lithium is a key metal used in next-generation batteries for mobile electronic devices.

After the discovery, U.S. geologists briefed American military officials, who have informed the Afghan government including President Hamid Karzai.

The news is being hailed for suggesting the potential to transform Afghanistan into one of the most important mining centres in the world.

U.S. estimates are closer to $1 trillion US, but at a May 13 event in the United States, Karzai called his country's untapped mineral deposits a "massive opportunity" that could be worth as much as $3 trillion. That would dwarf Afghanistan's domestic economy, currently worth some $12 billion US a year.

The deposits are still believed to be years away from commercial viability, but new investment could help develop the country and drag it from poverty.

However, there are also concerns the potential commercial bonanza could encourage the Taliban to dig in even further in their attempt to regain control of the country.

CBC News - Money - Afghan mineral wealth $1 trillion: report

 

[CAPTAIN AMERICA]

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) has officially announced today that Afghanistan has around $1 trillion worth of minerals. They have also said that a team of geologist working for Pentagon were surprised to know that. Furthermore, that also stated that it is not the first time that the study was done. Soviet Union also tried to do but they did not have enough time.

Now, I have a question for you guys.

Why did the U.S. spent tens or possibly hundreds of billions of dollars in the first place (Afghan war)? Did not they know about the minerals when they knew that Soviets explored as well?




'The Saudi Arabia of lithium,' report says
Last Updated: Monday, June 14, 2010 | 10:12 AM ET Comments177Recommend73
CBC News
The war-torn country of Afghanistan sits atop nearly $1 trillion US in valuable minerals, senior American military officials said Monday.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai says his country's mineral resources could be worth as much as $3 trillion. (Musadeq Sadeq/Associated Press)
According to a report in the New York Times on Monday, aerial surveys of the region as far back as 2006 have suggested the presence of multiple valuable minerals including iron, copper, cobalt and gold.

After initial aerial scans were ignored for several years, a Pentagon task force and private-sector U.S. mining experts have only recently confirmed the finds, the report said.

Metals with much more contemporary uses such as niobium and lithium have also been discovered. An internal military memo refers to Afghanistan as "the Saudi Arabia of lithium," the report said.

Lithium is a key metal used in next-generation batteries for mobile electronic devices.

After the discovery, U.S. geologists briefed American military officials, who have informed the Afghan government including President Hamid Karzai.

The news is being hailed for suggesting the potential to transform Afghanistan into one of the most important mining centres in the world.

U.S. estimates are closer to $1 trillion US, but at a May 13 event in the United States, Karzai called his country's untapped mineral deposits a "massive opportunity" that could be worth as much as $3 trillion. That would dwarf Afghanistan's domestic economy, currently worth some $12 billion US a year.

The deposits are still believed to be years away from commercial viability, but new investment could help develop the country and drag it from poverty.

However, there are also concerns the potential commercial bonanza could encourage the Taliban to dig in even further in their attempt to regain control of the country.

CBC News - Money - Afghan mineral wealth $1 trillion: report

I am curious, do you actually believe the USA invaded Afghan for its minerals, wouldnt it have made more sense to invade Saudia Arabia for its oil, since the majority of the 911 Hijackers were from Saudia Arabia we would had the perfect excuse.

 

[SekrutYakhni]

I am curious, do you actually believe the USA invaded Afghan for its minerals, wouldnt it have made more sense to invade Saudia Arabia for its oil, since the majority of the 911 Hijackers were from Saudia Arabia we would had the perfect excuse.

I never said anything nor I have enough facts to back my opinion. I just asked a question...

Why did the U.S. spend billions other than countering insurgency?
Now, the U.S. seems to have a soft corner for Taliban and maybe there are some talks between the parties in future. The war is never fought for a fixed goal and it is completely absurd to say that the U.S. a good guy went ONLY to counter insurgency.

The reason to fight has many dimensions..

 

[CAPTAIN AMERICA]

I never said anything nor I have enough facts to back my opinion. I just asked a question...

Why did the U.S. spend billions other than countering insurgency?
Now, the U.S. seems to have a soft corner for Taliban and maybe there are some talks between the parties in future. The war is never fought for a fixed goal and it is completely absurd to say that the U.S. a good guy went ONLY to counter insurgency.

The reason to fight has many dimensions..

I kind of expect 911 had something to do with it.

 

[SekrutYakhni]

I kind of expect 911 had something to do with it.

I fear that the U.S. will do same thing which Leopold II of Belgium did. He also went to civilize the people of Congo but rubber was the main reason.

"Children's hands were hacked off if they did not deliver the amount of rubber demanded by King Leopold II.The hands were then smoked and transported to Belgian contractors, who counted the number of severed limbs.The amount of severed hands were as high as a metric ton per day."

Barbarians!

Over the course of history, every invader was a barbarian and brutal....Mughals, British Empire, Nazi Germany, Soviet Union, the U.S. etc
^^recent examples..

 

[SekrutYakhni]

I am curious, do you actually believe the USA invaded Afghan for its minerals, wouldnt it have made more sense to invade Saudia Arabia for its oil, since the majority of the 911 Hijackers were from Saudia Arabia we would had the perfect excuse.

The U.S. had no reason to invade KSA because their royal family is the slave of their owners. Talibans were resisting in Afghanistan; this made perfect sense for the U.S. to attack Afghanistan.

 

[Thomas]

This could benefit Pakistan a lot since it has the shipping ports for not only shipping any minerals out. But bringing in equipment and construction materials to develop the mines. That's a lot of money and jobs for Pakistan.

And those that support the so called good Taliban simply becuase of Pakistan's Geo-political interests. Need to realize that Pakistan's interests are better served with a stable Afghanistan that provides a stable source of money and jobs for Pakistan.

It would also make Afghanistan much more dependent on Pakistan becuase of the transportation infrastructure and ports. Thereby negating any perceived Indian influence.

 

[SekrutYakhni]

This could benefit Pakistan a lot since it has the shipping ports for not only shipping any minerals out. But bringing in equipment and construction materials to develop the mines. That's a lot of money and jobs for Pakistan.

And those that support the so called good Taliban simply becuase of Pakistan's Geo-political interests. Need to realize that Pakistan's interests are better served with a stable Afghanistan that provides a stable source of money and jobs for Pakistan.

It would also make Afghanistan much more dependent on Pakistan becuase of the transportation infrastructure and ports. Thereby negating any perceived Indian influence.

Valid point Thomas. India is far away and there are sanctions on Iran. Hence, Pakistanis can cash this situation by strong diplomacy and attractive deals.

 

[SpArK]

http://www.defence.pk/forums/u-s-foreign-affairs/61513-nato-opens-northern-supply-route-afghanistan-via-russia-central-asia.html