KABUL (PAN): Mines Minister Wahidullah Shahrani on Monday said extraction work at the Ainak copper ore mine would start in 2013 to help increase Afghanistan's annual copper exports worth $1 billion in 2015.
The mine, located 30 kilometres southeast of Kabul, is believed to contain more than 12 million tonnes of copper deposits.
Discovered in 1974 and surveyed in 1978-79, the mine could not be developed for a variety of reasons, including decades of war in the country.
PUL-I-ALAM (PAN): Three years of efforts at developing the Ainak copper mine in central Logar province have failed due to outside interference, a senior official alleged on Monday.
The mine, located 30 kilometres southeast of Kabul, is believed to contain over 12 million tonnes of copper deposits, the world's largest reserves.
Discovered in 1974 and surveyed in 1978-79, the mine could not be develop for a variety of reasons, including decades of war in the country.
PUL-I-ALAM (PAN): A public sector university would be established with revenue from the Ainak copper mine in central Logar province, officials said on Saturday.
Provincial council chief, Dr. Abdul WaliWakil, told a news conference the proposed university was a long-standing demand of local officials and residents.
He said the plan had earlier been delayed by the Ministry of Higher Education for want of funds. However, the mines ministry recently agreed to fund the project with revenue from the Ainak mine.
PUL-I-ALAM (PAN): A man, suspected of several rocket attacks on the Miss Ainak copper mine, has been arrested in central Logar province, an official said on Tuesday.
Identified as Khayal Gul, the man was arrested from his house near the mine, a security official at a military base in the area, SayedAbas Sadat, told Pajhwok Afghan News.
A machinegun and some ammunitions were recovered from the detainee, he said.
KABUL (PAN): As many as 150 relics have been found near the world's largest copper mine in central Logar province, Ministry of Information and Culture officials said on Tuesday.
Discovery of the sites in KohiAinak, Shah Mar Tapa, Shah Tapa and Wali Baba villages, close to the mine, began in 2009 and would end before the start of extractions in 2013, a ministry official said.
PUL-I-ALAM (PAN): Archaeologists have found as many as 42 ancient Buddhist relics, some dating back to the second century, in central Logar province, officials said.
The items were discovered during excavations near Ainak where China is mining copper ore, said Abdul Wakil Ahmadzai, director of the provincial information and culture department.
He said the items included two temples, Buddha statues, frescos, silver and gold coins and precious beads.
WASHINGTON (PAN): The US government on Tuesday said it has no objection to the Chinese investment in Afghanistan, adding it welcomes any private sector investment into this country which is trying to rebuild its economy.
The US encourages international community to take an interest in economic development of Afghanistan, the State Department Acting Deputy Spokesman, Gordon Duguid, told reporters.
He said the US is trying to develop a viable market economy and bring in private investment in Afghanistan.
KABUL (PAN): A Chinese firm won tender for mining at the Aynak Copper, one of the world's most valuable copper reserves, through a flawed process in Afghanistan in 2007.
A report shows that a Chinese firm won the rights to the copper deposits through a 'flawed' process that made it impossible for several western companies to win the bid against 'state-supported' Chinese companies who include government aid with their bid.
KABUL (PAN): After investing in mega Ainak Copper mine project, the MCC has agreed to provide afghan government about 300,000 tonnes of fertilizer each year, minister of mines revealed on Wednesday.
Mine minister Mohammad Ibrahim Adil told a press conference that the government had signed a contract with a Chinese Metallurgical Construction Corporation (MCC), which invested $2.8 billion in extracting copper from one of the world's largest copper mines, Ainak in central Logar province.
