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Mineral resources of Logar province

Logar province is located 65- kilometers to the south of capital Kabul. The Kabul province is situated to its north, Paktia to south, Nangarhar to east and Maidan Wardak Province is located to its west. A strip of Ghazni province touches Logar.  Pashtun, Tajik and Hazara tribes are living in the province.

The Aynak copper mine: (Mesaynak)

The Aynak copper mine is one of the largest copper reservoirs in the region and the world. The mine is located around 40 kilometres to the southwest of capital Kabul in the Aynak locality of Mohammad Agha district. Some part of the mine stretches along Khaki Jabar district of Kabul province.

The Aynak copper mine was discovered in 1973 and its exploration activities started the next year, in 1974. The mine has three parts: the central, southern and western parts.

  • The central MisAynak:

Following reports after digging the mine in 1995, around 140 million tons copper exists in the central part of the mine. The percentage of pure copper in the mine is estimated at 2.5 percent.

  • The Southern Mis Aynak:

The southern part of Mis Aynak is situated in the Pachi locality. According to reports after digging the riches in 1995, around 50 million tonnes of copper exists in which the percentage of copper is 0.9 to 1.6.

In addition, another mine--- Pacha--- is also situated in southern part, however, the amount of copper could not properly identified.

  • The western Mis Aynak:

Exploration carried out in 1995 shows that the western part of Mis Aynak has 50 million tons of copper in which the percentage of net copper is said to be 0.62 to 2.05. The eastern part of the Aynak mine is situated in the Darband locality of Khaki Jabar district in Kabul province.

The Ministry of Mines and Petroleum says the total area of Mis Aynak is 800 square kilometres. The mine has 11.3 to 17 billion metric tonnes of copper, 7,700 metric tonnes of silver, 600 metric tonnes of cobalt and an unidentified amount of gold.

The mining contract of Aynak copper reservoirs was awarded to the Metallurgical Corporation of China (MCC). The company would invest $8.2 billion for the mining of copper.

Based on a survey conducted by a US institute, the value of copper resources in Afghanistan is $273 billion. In addition, one of the geologists of the US Defence Ministry said Afghanistan would be a leading country to replace Chili if its copper is excavated in a professional way. 

 

Carbon bearing water:

The carbon bearing water reservoirs was discovered back in 1970, however, exact information about the area and size is yet to be identified.

 

Asbestos mine:

It is a soft, grayish-white material that has resistance against heat. In the past, it was being used in buildings, clothing etc.

Around 3,581 tonnes of asbestos natural reservoirs discovered back in 1976 can be found in Logar province.

Molybdenum mines: 

The molybdenum reservoir is discovered back in 1975 in the Abdara locality of Logar province. It is said to be 0.5 to 3 metre thick and 200 metres length.

Chromites mines:

The chromites mine is located in different parts of Logar province. Almost 1,812 tonnes of chromites on 15 kilometres area had been discovered.

The thickness of chromites is said to be ten metres while its length is measured from ten to 100 metres.

The Ministry of Mine and Petroleum awarded the mining contract of the two blocks to private companies.

In addition, unauthorized excavation of chromites is underway in different parts of the province.

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