KABUL (PAN): Officials at the Ministry of Mines on Tuesday said 25 international companies would compete for the exploration and extraction of gold and copper from four reserves.
Mohammad Jawad Omar, a spokesman for the ministry, said the companies had been short-listed from among 41 international firms. They will compete for exploring Ghazni and Badakhshan gold mines, as well as Herat and Sar-i-Pul copper mines.
The companies from the United States, India, Canada, Britain, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Australia met the conditions set by a commission of ministers, he said.
Omar added the firms would visit the sites before offering investment plans at the end of the current month. The commission will study the proposals before the ministry signed contracts with the firms by the end of the year.
According to the spokesman, the Badakhshan gold site measures 1,000 square kilometres, the Ghazni 484 square kilometres, the Herat copper reserve 250 square kilometres and the Sar-i-Pul 457 square kilometres.
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