Afghanistan, a land-locked country, is a north- western neighbour of India. More than two decades of almost constant war left a terrible legacy. Insurgency by the Taliban and counter-action by US Army, lack of stable State and involvement of many other players for their commercial and strategic interests has undermined the bountiful resources of Afghanistan.

Afghanistan is blessed with huge mineral wealth which remains unexplored to a large extent. It is dismissed in the West as an impoverished and failed state.

Geomorphology of Afghanistan:

• It is estimated that forty million years ago the tectonic plates of India-Europe, Asia and Africa collided in a massive upheaval. This upheaval created the region of towering mountains that now includes Afghanistan.
• This diverse geological foundation has resulted in a significant mineral heritage.

Mineral Wealth of Afghanistan:

• According to new calculations from surveys conducted jointly by the Pentagon and the US Geological Survey, there is $1 trillion worth of untapped minerals.
• The mineral deposits include copper, gold, iron and cobalt as well as vast amounts of lithium.
• The lithium reserves are so high that Afghanistan could become the “Saudi Arabia of lithium”, with one location in Ghazni province showing the potential to compete with Bolivia, which, until now, held half the known world reserves.
• Afghanistan has over 1400 mineral fields containing barite, chromite, coal, copper, gold, iron ore, lead, natural gas, petroleum, precious and semi-precious stones, salt, sulfur, talc, and zinc, among many other minerals.
• Gemstones include high-quality emerald, lapis lazuli, red garnet and ruby.
• Afghanistan’s significance from an energy standpoint stems from its geographical position as a potential transit route for oil and natural gas exports from Central Asia to the Arabian Sea. This potential includes the construction of the Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline gas pipeline.
• The first Afghan oil production began in October 2012

However, Afghanistan has not been able to capitalize on the mineral wealth due to

• Developing a mining industry would, of course, be a long-haul process.
• Lack of Investors and private parties due to the fledgling socio-political environment.
• Ground exploration, including drilling, needs to be carried out to prove that these are viable deposits which can be worked
• Political instability and weak or nascent democratic institutions are another set of problems.
• Poor infrastructure to transport the mined minerals.

Importance for India: Indian companies have obtained licenses to mine iron-ore from Hajigak mines(world’s second-largest reserves of the mineral). India has also invested in building infrastructure namely the Zaranj-Delaram highway which links Afghanistan to Chahbahar port and part of the International North-South corridor.

Way Forward:

• Strong political environment which can make policies and ensure the safety of private investors.
• Work on the infrastructure like regional railway network and energy trans-mega regional energy and gas pipelines are the other areas of priority.
• Regional groupings such as ‘Heart of Asia’, SAARC etc. should be strengthened.

Conclusion:

The political stability in Afghanistan is imperative to India’s security. The economic development in the region will in-turn reduce the political instability. Hence, it is vital to sustainably mine the huge mineral reserves of Afghanistan.