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Afghan Mineral Stock Pile

Re: Afghan Mineral Stock Pile

The good news is that there's a trillion dollars worth of minerals in Afghanistan. The bad news is that there's no infrastructure to get it out, and no competent agencies to manage whatever resource wealth eventually flows into the country.

Look at the corrupt practices of the petro-states throughout the Middle East or the mineral-rich nations in Africa. More often than not, resource-rich countries founder in their own pool of corruption, tribal hatred, and historical grievances. It's a rare case when a nation handles newfound wealth responsibly and conscientiously.
 
Re: Afghan Mineral Stock Pile

If that cuts corruption and finish to help simple citizen to leave healthy and comfortable...
 
Re: Afghan Mineral Stock Pile

Sorry, it will only fuel Warlord mistrust and Governmental corruption. You cannot change the 'bakshish' behavior that is so deeply ingrained in these people.
The only people who will be able to exploit these deposits will come from out of country. If the US is on point, they will lead the way and dissallow any one else except maybe trustworthy coalition members. You can bet the Iranians will want to 'help out their brothers' for a wee slice
 
Re: Afghan Mineral Stock Pile

Why leaving "locals" to continue their little businness, is their anyone at ONU or FMI to "help" them to build that new mining plants ?
We have to secure that source of revenues to go to state/people and not to become the next Taliban's/Warlord's revenues.
 
Re: Afghan Mineral Stock Pile

I don't think there's much chance that Western powers can adequately secure those resources, nor would it be as altruistically as the coalition forces would say it is. That work would have to be outsourced to some company to do the enormous work of creating mines and infrastructure to get those minerals. NATO's commitment would stretch into multiple decades if this course were taken.

Besides, the history of colonialism shows that nations aren't very good at being beneficent to underdeveloped nations and their resources. Unless the Afghans put their differences aside and find a way to distribute the income of the resources (as in a sovereign wealth fund) for infrastructure, education, public health, and development, I'd rather the minerals just stay in the ground. The only thing worse than an unstable country with no money is an unstable country with LOTS of money (to buy arms, fund terrorism, etc).
 
Re: Afghan Mineral Stock Pile

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: HotIce</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Does that mean that heroine can now become the second source of income for the country?

Afghan Mineral Stock Pile

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The heroin is generally refined in labs in Warikstan areas which are the tribal centre of the pashtun I believe.... The raw poppy is just transported over the mountains on the backs of donkeys and camels and any mode of transport they can muster... from then to the gangs in Turkey and onto Europe and the USA...
 
Re: Afghan Mineral Stock Pile

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Phil1</div><div class="ubbcode-body">http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/15/world/asia/15afghan.html?ref=global-home

From Story
"if the mineral treasure trove were divided equally. Assuming the $1 trillion valuation and Afghanistan’s population of 29 million, that would give each Afghan man, woman and child $34,482.76. "

or $100 million to 10 warlords and Karzai party hacks. </div></div>

<span style="font-size: 8pt"><span style="color: #FF0000">That would still leave $999,000,000 billion</span></span>

Serously though, does no one take an economics class anymore? Is Communism the first refuge of every moron journalist?

If the mineral treasure trove were divided equally? ...For Christ's sake, is that from an episode of Barney the dinoaur?
 
Re: Afghan Mineral Stock Pile

This discovery is going to bring the Afghan people nothing but trouble. I think the US should step in and "relieve" them of this burden. Besides, It would go a long way towards paying us back for all those bombs they made us use on them.
 
Re: Afghan Mineral Stock Pile

Without thorough exploration, I'm not sure how they're actually able to quantify that. A bunch of geologists running around the countryside taking grab samples doesn't mean jack shit. You need core drilling to determine numbers like that. Nah...B.S., I say. There may be potential but unless they've taken drill rigs out there, the numbers they're putting out mean nothing.
 
Re: Afghan Mineral Stock Pile

Soooooo...I'm a little confused as to how this is "news." About 2 years ago, I took a class with a geologist specializing in Afghanistan (he spend pretty much the 70's there), and he went over the mineral wealth of Afghanistan. This is NOT a new revelation. Even the Afghans themselves know that they have loads of mineral wealth. There are vast oil and gas fields in the north, iron, the biggest known copper deposit in the world (gold usually comes with copper), emeralds that are every bit as good as Columbian emeralds, the biggest deposits of lapis lazuli in the world, uranium, coal, etc. etc. etc.
And yet, the little mining ventures that exist are almost all illegal family businesses, and most of the "taxes" collected off of the truck shipments are pocketed by the company (yes I said company) that has PURCHASED the rights to collect the tax for the government.
There will be no huge influx of cash to this country. The people will continue to chase goats and scratch at the ground as they have for thousands of years. To have large, modern mines, and factories to make the raw materials useful, you have to have money. And right now, all the money in Afghanistan is leaving the country, across the ocean to already fat accounts in Dubai, UAE, Qatar.
No foreign company is willing to invest either, which is VERY frightening if you consider some places in the world that they DO invest! And the reason is simple...Nobody believes that the Afghan government will survive. Why drop billions of dollars worth of capital on a venture if the guy you are dealing with today won't be the guy in charge in 5 years? When the Taliban takes back control of the country, what is to stop them from asking you to kindly GTFO of their country while they nationalize YOUR factory and mines ala Venezuella?

We aren't losing to the Taliban, the government is losing to the Taliban and we just don't have the troop strength to protect all 29 million people here. You know it is sad when the TALIBAN are out governing the government....and yet we still support them. It makes me sick to my stomach to know that I've invested years of life here, and over a thousand American servicemen have given EVERYTHING....and in the end, the Taliban will win because the government that we blindly support in everything they do, won't stop stuffing their pockets long enough to help the people they say they represent. Reprehensible...
 
Re: Afghan Mineral Stock Pile

Great! Just fucking great! The last thing that shit hole needs is ideas from the US on how to raise more money to fund and harbor even more terrorists! Well done!
 
Re: Afghan Mineral Stock Pile

next time i go i'm bringing a gold pan, and a metal detector
laugh.gif
 
Re: Afghan Mineral Stock Pile

These people don't have a clue. The Russians knew about this shit back in the day and couldn't make anything of it. Its my understanding China has dibs on the copper. And there is a Somali camp scheduled to be built to strip mine something about 30 mins outside of Kabul. I know the Somali camp is for real because we got to bid the housing and electrical for it.