Situated in western part of the country, Ghor province is surrounded by Herat, Daikundi, Faryab, Farah and Jawzjan provinces.
No official survey has been conducted so far to estimate the volume of natural resources in the mountainous province, but local officials and residents believe huge deposits of metallic and non-metallic minerals are available in Ghor.
According to the Mines and Petroleum Ministry, a survey conducted in 1972 in Nalbandan locality of the province shows mines containing 130,000 tonnes of plumbum and zinc exist in the area. The mine is said to be 850 meter long and 3-9 meters wide.
Another survey conducted by Russia in the Harirud locality found nitrogen reservoirs in liquid form.
1- Firozkoh: “The provincial capital”
Some indicators show coal and plumbum deposits exist in Allah Yar locality of the provincial capital, while huge reserves of mercury, salt and gold are available in Merghab area.
Mines Ministry officials say insecurity has been preventing experts from travelling to most of the areas to investigate the existence of natural resources.
2- Lal District:
Signs of plumbum reserves have been seen in the district, but further research is required to explore more mines.
3- Dawlat Yar District:
Officials say the Namshina area has enormous reserves of plumbum, but it requires more exploration works to be excavated.
4- Dolina District:
Large scale reserves of plumbum and stucco are found in Dolina, which could increase government’s revenue if excavated. But no survey has been conducted so far to ascertain further information about the riches in the district.
5- Pasaband District:
Local officials say some areas of Pasaband have plumbum reserves, but due to its mountainous terrain and heavy snowfall in the area, the excavation process is not easy.
6- Shahrak District:
Stucco, coal, salt and precious stones deposits are found in Shahrak. Only the salt mine is being excavated under a contract.
7- Tolak District:
Ghor Mines and Petroleum Department officials say mines of precious stones, zinc and marbles are available in the Tolak district. They believe excavation of these mines could massively increase government’s revenue.
The Tolak district serves a bridge for economic activates with western Herat province, something that paves the ground for investment in the mining sector.
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