Mining and Mineral Resources in Afghanistan Mir Sediq Minister of Mines and Industries Mines and Money, London, November 2005

Outline of talk Introduction to Afghanistan Past mining/exploration activities Afghanistan’s mineral potential Copper Gold Precious stones The Aynak copper deposit Mining legislation Summary

Introduction to Afghanistan Turbulent recent history Since the fall of the Taleban in 2001: Hamid Karzai elected President Peaceful elections in 2004 and 2005 Return to stability

Past mining and exploration World famous for Lapis Lazuli and gem quality emeralds Detailed mapping and exploration from mid 19th century Afghanistan Geological Survey established 1955 German, Italian, French and Soviet involvement from 1955 Detailed exploration work during Soviet occupation from 1979-89 Little work carried out since Soviet withdrawal Many survey records destroyed during war but many also saved, including drill-logs, maps, mineral occurrence data

Mineral occurrences in Afghanistan >1000 mineral occurrences identified in Afghanistan including: Major sediment-hosted copper deposits e.g. Aynak (click once) Copper-gold skarn deposits (click TWICE) Gold placer deposits (currently worked by artisanal miners) (click once) Precious gemstones including ruby, emerald, lapis lazuli (click once) Sediment-hosted iron deposits e.g. Hajigak Chromite deposits e.g. Logar Vast industrial mineral deposits

Copper Aynak is a world-class copper deposit waiting to be exploited It is an example of a sediment-hosted stratabound copper deposit with similarities to the Zambian Copper Belt Other copper deposits in the area include Darband and Jawkhar The Aynak copper deposit is situated 35 km south-south-east of Kabul. Aynak is one of a number of copper prospects that occur in the central part of a discrete fault-bounded tectonic terrane known as the Kabul block. The deposit occupies an area of 7.0 km2 and is divided into two prospects, Central Aynak and Western Aynak. The mineralisation is disseminated and stratiform within schist and calcareous metasedimentary rocks of Vendian–Cambrian age.

Aynak Extensive and detailed exploration by Soviet geologists between1974-76 and 1978-89 including: >150 boreholes 70 trenches 9 adits Surface geological and geophysical surveying Soviet “drill-indicated” resource estimate of 240 Mt @ 2.3 % Cu Aynak divided into two areas: The Central Prospect The Western Prospect The Central Prospect located on a shallow-dipping eastern limb of an anticline The Western Prospect occurs at the periclinal closure of the anticline The British Geological Survey (BGS) have created a database from exploration boreholes All reports relating to Aynak have been translated from Russian to English A 3D model of Aynak has been created in Vulcan Reports and borehole database available on request

This movie shows the Aynak deposit that has been modelled by the BGS in Vulcan. The view is looking from the west to the east and starts at the shallow-dipping Central Prospect with the mineralised zone in dark green, and progresses through several faults to the Western Prospect with its much steeper dipping mineralisation around the anticline. The BGS is assisting in bringing the Aynak deposit to Tender. The initial pre-Tender stage, which commences from today, will allow interested parties controlled access to information held by the AGS. Following this, pre-qualified companies will be able to have access to data in order to prepare a bid which will then be weighed up against each other before making the award of the mining contract. Vulcan model of Aynak

Gold Gold has been worked in Afghanistan for centuries from many areas. There are 112 gold occurrences identified in Afghanistan and these are distributed mostly in three areas of the country Takhar province in the north (click once) Ghazni, Zabul, and Kandahar provinces in the south-west, (click once) and Southern Badghis province in the west of the country (click once) Currently, gold is produced almost solely by artisanal miners working the Samti Placer Deposit in Takhar Province, but there is significant potential for gold in many parts of Afghanistan in a variety of geological environments such as shear zones, copper-gold skarns, and placer deposits.

Precious Gems Some of the earliest records of mining anywhere in the world are from Afghanistan, dating back over 6000 years. Most operations today are small-scale, but the potential undoubtedly exists for the development of a significant precious stone mining industry in Afghanistan. Afghanistan is the worlds leading producer of lapis-lazuli from the Sary-Sang mine in Badakhshan province (click once) Afghan emeralds are said to be similar in quality to those of Colombia. Emerald production from the deposits of the Panshjer valley in Kapisa province was estimated at up to $12M in 1995. Six small mines are known within a 16 x 3 km zone (click once)

Mining Legislation Minerals Law of Afghanistan, 2005 Ministry of Mines and Industries is responsible for the administration and implementation of this law A Mining Cadastre Office will be responsible for applications for mineral rights, collecting surface right fees and maintaining a registry of mineral rights using a modern database and GIS All mineral substances on or under the surface of the territory of Afghanistan are the exclusive property of the State. The Minerals Law covers all naturally occurring mineral substances and artificial deposits, such as tailings and waste deposits, but not hydrocarbons and water, which are regulated by separate laws and excluded from this legislation. The Ministry of Mines and Industries is responsible for the administration and implementation of this Law. It is planned that the Ministry will create Mining Cadastre, Mining Inspectorate and Environmental Protection Departments in 2005 to oversee its responsibilities for the mining sector. The Mining Cadastre Department will be responsible for accepting applications for mineral rights, coordinating their technical and environmental evaluation, processing renewals and collecting application and surface right fees. They will also keep a national registry of mineral rights and create and maintain the cadastral map using modern database and GIS The Mining Inspectorate Department will be responsible for the financial and technical evaluation of applications for Mineral Rights, and inspecting and supervising mineral activities with regard to safety, health, work procedures, production, processing and similar activities. The Mining Inspectorate will be authorised to: •   issue its opinion on the financial and technical evaluation of applications •   inspect operating sites and facilities, and the books and records of the mineral operators •   monitor and enforce compliance with the terms of the Mineral Rights including payment of Surface Rights Fees •   issue orders, fines and penalties as provided by the Minerals Law, and •   require the production of information in order to carry out its functions

For further information and advice speak to me after the event Summary Afghanistan has a stable government favourable to mining development Known world-class deposits e.g. Aynak Excellent geological potential for further discoveries New mining legislation to ensure open and transparent governance Few environmental problems For further information and advice speak to me after the event

Contacts Secretariat for the Ministry of Mines and Industries, Kabul, Afghanistan Tel: +93 (0) 70 269 772 & 70 085 364 E-mail: mmiafg@hotmail.com Afghanistan Project Manager, British Geological Survey, Keyworth, Nottingham, NG12 5GG, United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0) 115 936 3493 E-mail: afghanistan@bgs.ac.uk