Afghanistan sits on $3 trillion in minerals

mountainous landlocked and multi-ethnic afghanistan is a prisoner of his geography the treacherous and unforgiving mountain chains divide the nation and obstruct public services while also paralyzing stability and prosperity conflict and tribalism has shaken the state to its core and yet those same mountains may hold the answer to its misfortune underneath the surface the geology of afghanistan holds masses of untapped mineral wealth modern assessments value it at roughly 3 trillion dollars making it one of the richest mining regions in the world and even though the afghans have a long way to go before their resources can be transformed into industrial advantage in a place like afghanistan that natural wealth signifies a second chance at life i'm your host shirvan and welcome to caspian report today's episode is sponsored by curiositystream a streaming service that offers thousands of documentaries from some of the world's best filmmakers one of my favorite documentaries on this streaming service is the story of europe by watching it you'll learn about the origins beliefs ambitions and achievements of europe from germanic paganism to greek philosophy to portuguese explorers and the french revolution the story of europe explains the evolution of the continent and the formation of modern nation states it's such a rich documentary we have a special offer for curiosity stream using our link below you will get unlimited access starting at just 299 a month or 19.99 a year that is a bargain and a great way to support caspian report because it allows us to make more content if you want to test things out you can there is a 30-day free trial available just go to curiositystream.com caspian and use the promo code caspian during the sign up process near the center of the periodic table is a single square representing a dozen lanthanides a footnote at the bottom of the table expands on those elements when combined with certain chemicals the lanthanides become rare earth elements though they are only used in small amounts rare earths are of strategic importance to disruptive technologies from laptops and mobile phones to electric vehicles wind turbines lithium-ion batteries satellites aerial drones guidance systems and hypersonic weapons rare earth elements are indispensable to modern nations economies and militaries demand for rare earth elements is expected to rise exponentially in the coming decade especially as nations switch to renewable innovations all this gives rare earth elements disproportional strategic relevance high-tech driven economies rely on rare earth oxides to dominate the economic and military playing field whoever controls the supply and distribution of these resources will possess a powerful bargaining chip in global affairs and negotiations afghanistan though far from an industrial powerhouse holds trillions of dollars worth of mineral deposits the geological findings date back to the soviet afghan war in the 1980s at the peak of the conflict the soviets commissioned secret geological surveys to determine the extent of afghanistan's mineral wealth the objective was to find an upside in the costly and drawn-out war what they found was a treasure trove in precious metals and rare earths worth up to one trillion dollars it was an astounding discovery one that gave new meaning to the kremlin's strategy in afghanistan so the soviets got to work infrastructure was reinforced power grids were modernized and mining deposits were commissioned but before the resources could be extracted the soviets packed up their things and left the country in 1989. the decision was so sudden that it caught the government in kabul off-guard a band of afghan geologists took the initiative and hid the soviet documents in their homes only returning them to the public domain after the ousting of the taliban in 2001 american geologists used the soviet charts in their own surveys and since then owing to more extensive research afghanistan's mineral wealth has grown to an estimated 3 trillion dollars that is a groundbreaking number for rare earth elements a market otherwise monopolized by china most of afghanistan's mineral deposits run along two belts one starting in herat and ending near badakshan and the other running from kabul to kandahar these belts are rich in all sorts of industrial minerals rare earth oxides hydrocarbons and even precious metals it is therefore not by accident that former u.s president donald trump spoke of mineral extraction with his afghan counterpart in 2017. for the americans afghanistan presents an opportunity to reshape the market for rare earths and shift production dependency away from china the pentagon in particular is apprehensive of its defense technology relying heavily on chinese minerals as such american policy makers have been trying to secure new suppliers to preserve their domestic supply chains in 2015 the united states won a case against china at the world trade organization which forced beijing to remove its export quotas on rare earths it was a victory but a minor one washington still needs to find alternative sources for its long-term needs and afghanistan might just be the key another american motive relates to the economics of the afghan battle space since 2001 the conflict in afghanistan has become the longest war in american history costing over 700 billion dollars and the lives of 2300 american troops with the new mineral assessments however the americans may find new meaning to extend their stay in afghanistan the strategy would be akin to the soviet plan to offset a costly drawn-out war by exploring local mineral riches although resource exploitation is a dangerous selling point for military engagement it is the only appealing thing about afghanistan meanwhile china is interested in afghanistan's resources to maintain its market share in rare earth metals currently beijing is the top supplier in the market but its own growing domestic demands owing to renewable consumptions have reduced its total exports thus to supply its domestic and foreign associates china seeks to find alternative sources and bring them online afghanistan presents not only a new market but new opportunities but its proximity overlaps with china's belt and road initiative making it the perfect partner for beijing as such in 2007 kabul signed a 3.4 billion dollar deal with two chinese state-owned entities to mine afghanistan's largest copper deposit at the site of masainak the chinese companies plan to extract about 100 billion dollars worth of copper over the 30-year terms of the lease and a railroad was to be constructed to the site the deal marked an opening in the hunt for afghanistan's riches but it was then delayed due to archaeological discoveries although the project at masainak failed in the grand scope of things it is a minor setback for afghanistan its mineral wealth represents a way out whether the partner is china or america or both the situation at large presents a win-win even a tiny slice of the 3 trillion dollar pie is enough to restore the basic functions of the kabul government that once were a functional mining industry would generate billions of dollars each year enough to make the difference between success and failure but this is afghanistan we're talking about the graveyard of empires a land torn by conflict corruption and geography one of the barriers to prosperity in afghanistan or even stability is the lack of infrastructure the local water supplies are inadequate to support industrial processes and there isn't enough electricity to keep things running as bad as that sounds the biggest obstacle is the lack of road and rail networks raw materials are high weight and low value resources and require efficient transportation networks to reach global markets so everything comes down to transportation the railways need to be cheap and efficient but that is difficult to accomplish in the unforgiving hindu kush mountain chain currently in the absence of transportation network mining operations in afghanistan have taken an artisan form which is a group of individuals who shovel through rocks and then transport those to nearby markets that is not how one develops a mining industry for rare earth elements if afghanistan is to make use of its mineral deposits it needs to construct the infrastructure first a real network is a must one that needs to connect to either of its neighbors and herein lies the second problem most of afghanistan's c-bound trade passes through pakistan giving islamabad considerable leverage but not all is well between the two pakistan and afghanistan have disputes over water rights borders and accuse each other of political interference kabul has sought for alternative paths to the sea including one via the caspian sea and the other through iran ultimately though it all comes down to pakistan perhaps the most cost-effective way of improving afghanistan's infrastructure would be to integrate the country into the china-pakistan economic corridor which is part of the belt and road initiative the trouble beyond the kabul islamabad rivalry is that any significant move by china into afghanistan could provoke a reaction from the united states this is a game kabul does not want to play last time it found itself stuck between two great powers it broke the country plus even if afghanistan's integration into the china-pakistan economic corridor would be possible a single railway linking kabul to peshawar would not suffice much of the afghan minerals in any substantial amounts are spread interchangeably across the landscape there is no single point of fixation no single anchorage to construct a railway or set up value chains nationwide infrastructure investments are necessary which is easy to suggest but difficult to make happen the kabul government has no real control over the countryside the mountainous terrain is tormented with ethnic disputes while non-state actors such as the taliban can roam freely for private investors the lack of security raises the costs and risks of doing business workers on the ground are at risk corruption is rampant and the overall conditions discourage private investment yet as bleak as the situation may seem geopolitics is dynamic recent developments suggest that afghanistan is about to change for better or worse last year the united states signed a deal with the taliban were on the condition that the taliban would cut ties with al-qaeda and decrease violent activities the americans would start withdrawing their troops the deal has sidelined kaabu which implies that some sort of power-sharing agreement with the taliban will be designed washington has recently asked ankara to host the afghan peace talks turkey is uniquely seen as a trustworthy partner among the divergent spectrums of afghan society the turks also have deep running relations with the power brokers inside and outside of the country and yet things are never that easy in afghanistan through backdoor pakistani channels chinese diplomats are in separate negotiations with the taliban which could undermine the american negotiations so striking a lasting peace deal is tricky for afghanistan's mineral development plan to work kabul must take into account foreign and domestic interests it will have to rely on international partners to explore extract and exploit its resources kabul needs to find a formula that considers the interests of america china pakistan turkey iran and russia while also considering its domestic factors such as corruption and internal conflicts the road map to success will require kabul to prioritize long-term strategic thinking and the development of a mining industry will have to take place alongside infrastructure projects and security measures afghan lawmakers do not have the luxury to ignore one issue and focus on another otherwise they risk aggravating existing problems so everything needs to be synchronized and that is difficult to do for the decentralized government in kabul the global need for rare earth elements is sincere and afghanistan's mineral wealth holds the answer to its current predicaments however while kabul may sit on a gold mine it needs to remain vigilant the wealthy and powerful nations of the world are built because of gold mines but they are rarely built on top of them i've been your host shirwan from caspian report if you like what we do please leave a like comment and subscribe and may perhaps check out the links provided by our sponsor thank you for watching and [Music] saw [Music] you

Channel: CaspianReport

Views: 885,450

Keywords: Afghanistan, Rare Earth, Minerals, Elements, Afghan, Pakistan, China, America, United States, Iran, Russia, Turkey, Conflict, Strategy, Geography, Mining, Technology, Resources, Analysis, Interesting, Facts, Countries, Maps, Nations, Wealth, Power, Geopolitics

Id: j9pOQioOEGg

Length: 15min 33sec (933 seconds)

Published: Thu Mar 18 2021