Apart from widespread existence of precious and semi-precious stones in Afghanistan, the country is bestowed with prevalent gold reservoirs, which--- if properly excavated and utilized--- would usher an era of economic prosperity and development in the war-battered country.
The natural gold assets in Afghanistan can be found in two forms: Gold in pieces exists in different shapes while gold in sediment forms are collect by people from the rivers’ sides and sand.
Afghanistan is considered a rich country in terms of having massive iron riches, with the country’s ore resources has been listed among the biggest iron mines of the world.
In the light of investigation and exploration, Afghanistan is known a rich country because of the existence of precious stones of iron and other natural resources.
Eight reserves of iron ore has been found in BabaMountains, with Hajigak ironmine 45 kilometres southeast of Bamyanis of great importance. The reserves of iron in Hajigak mine are estimated at about 1.8 billions of tonnes.
Afghanistan has five known crude oil sites located in Amu River basin in the north, Helmand, Herat and Katawaz in the southeastern province of Paktika.
Amu River basin
The sedimentary crude oil zone of Amu River is situated in the north and northwest of the country bordering Turkmenistan and Tajikistan.
Turkmenistan is the richest Central Asian state in terms of natural gasreservoirs. In 1989, Turkmenistan offered extension of its natural gas to the South Asian market through a pipeline via Afghanistan, Pakistan and subsequently to India.
The Unocal Corporation situated in California, working in extraction of oil and gas in many parts of the world also hinted at investment in the project.
Ruby is one of the most precious stones like diamond and emerald. Afghanistan has abundant ruby reserves in various provinces; however, proper surveys have not yet been conducted to identify its volume and worth. Badakhshan, Kunar, Panjsher, Nuristan and Jegdalak area of Kabul province are rich in ruby, but little data are available.
Afghanistan has a massivedeposit of copper. If this natural resource is properly utilised the country could become a major hub of copper export in the world.
The Ministry of Mines and Department of Geological survey say as many as 242 sites of copper mines have been identified in Afghanistan out of which the Aynak, Balkhab, Shaida and Zarkashan are the bigger ones.
