PUL-I-ALAM (Pajhwok): Senior officials on Monday said 86 security posts had been set up around the Ainak copper mine in central Logar province and urged investors to resume work on tapping the world’s largest deposits.
A landmark $3 billion deal was signed with the China Metallurgical Group (MCC) and Jiangxi Copper to produce copper in 2007, but the consortium has demanded a review of the deal, dashing Kabul's hope for economic self-reliance.
KABUL (Pajhwok): The excavation process of Ainak copper mine in central Logar province in a non-professional way would leave far-reaching negative impact on environment and affect lives of thousands of locals, environmental and mining experts warned.
If the Chinese company (China Metallurgical Group Corporation, CMGC), that awarded the contract does not take strong measures for protecting the environment then it could cause serious problems for the residents living around the Ainak mine.
PUL-I-ALAM (PAN): An official of China's Metallurgical Group Corporation (MCC) said on Saturday said around $360 million had been invested in the Ainak copper mine so far and the company would never abandon the project.
In the history of Afghanistan’s mining sector, the largest contract for the development of the Ainak Mine in central Logar province was inked with the MCC on May 25, 2008.
KABUL (PAN): Presenting its much-awaited report on the vital Aynak mine project on Tuesday, the Integrity Watch Afghanistan (IWA) report discusses the opportunities‐challenges in the prevailing conditions the country and its people will face as a result of the Aynak mining project.
The report said the challenges that would arise as a result of beginning to invest in these unexploited resources as Afghanistan suffered from a paucity of skilled labor for the mining sector.
HERAT, May 27, 2011: Waheedullah Shahrani, Minister of Mines during a visit to western Herat province said that according a fresh mines survey, Afghanistan goes through unprofessional extraction of mines across the country on Friday.
PUL-I-ALAM (PAN): Chinese workers have warned of halting extraction activities at the Mes Ainak copper mine in central Logar province if their security was not improved, an official said on Monday.
The Mohmmad Agha district chief, Abdul Hamid Hamid, told Pajhwok Afghan News that Chinese workers had told him they would stop extraction works if their security was not strengthened.
KABUL (PAN): Mines Minister Wahidullah Shahrani on Sunday informed a National Security Council (SSC) meeting at the Presidential Palace in Kabul that some armed groups were out to disrupt extraction efforts at the Ainak copper mine in central Logar province.
A statement from Karzai’s office said the issue raised by Shahrani was discussed at the meeting chaired by President Karzai.
PUL-I-ALAM (PAN): Security forces thwarted a possible attack on the Ainak copper mine after recovering and defusing missiles and mortar shells in central Logar province, an official said on Sunday.
The seizure included 16 artillery shells, 80 BM-12 shells, a mortar gun, wires and some explosives, said Lt. Abdullah Mangal, counterterrorism chief for the province.
KABUL (PAN): The process of digging historic relics at eight sites around the world’s largest copper mine in central Logar province is nearing completion and extraction work would be launched next year, a minister said on Monday.
Discovered in 1974, the Ainak mine is estimated to contain 12 million tonnes of copper. The government has awarded a contract to a Chinese firm called MCC, which will invest $5 billion in the mine’s development.
PUL-I-ALAM (PAN): Senior Afghan officials on Sunday blamed neighbouring countries for hiring insurgent groups to damage the Ainak mine -- tipped as the world’s largest copper reserves -- in Central Logar province.
The allegation came at a high-level meeting between provincial officials and Interior Minister Bismillah Muhammadi, who travelled to Logar to assess the security situation there.
