WARNING!!!!!!!!!!! LONG POST



Despite being one of the poorest nations in the world,
Afghanistan may be sitting on one of the richest troves of
minerals in the world, valued at nearly $1 trillion, according to
U.S. scientists.

Afghanistan, a country nearly the size of Texas, is loaded with
minerals deposited by the violent collision of the Indian
subcontinent with Asia. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
began inspecting what mineral resources Afghanistan had after
U.S.-led forces drove the Taliban from power in the country in
2004. As it turns out, the Afghanistan Geological Survey staff
had kept Soviet geological maps and reports up to 50 years old
or more that hinted at a geological gold mine.

In 2006, U.S. researchers flew airborne missions to conduct
magnetic, gravity and hyperspectral surveys over Afghanistan.
The magnetic surveys probed for iron-bearing minerals up to 6
miles (10 kilometers) below the surface, while the gravity
surveys tried to identify sediment-filled basins potentially rich
in oil and gas. The hyperspectral survey looked at the
spectrum of light reflected off rocks to identify the light
signatures unique to each mineral. More than 70 percent of the
country was mapped in just two months.

The surveys verified all the major Soviet finds. Afghanistan
may hold 60 million tons of copper, 2.2 billion tons of iron ore,
1.4 million tons of rare earth elements such as lanthanum,
cerium and neodymium, and lodes of aluminum , gold , silver,
zinc, mercury and lithium. For instance, the Khanneshin
carbonatite deposit in Afghanistan's Helmand province is
valued at $89 billion, full as it is with rare earth elements .
"Afghanistan is a country that is very, very rich in mineral
resources," Jack Medlin, a geologist and program manager of
the U.S. Geological Survey's Afghanistan project, told Live
Science. "We've identified the potential for at least 24 world-
class mineral deposits." The scientists' work was detailed in
the Aug. 15 issue of the journal Science.

Afghanistan treasure maps

In 2010, the USGS data attracted the attention of the U.S.
Department of Defense's Task Force for Business and Stability
Operations (TFBSO), which is entrusted with rebuilding
Afghanistan. The task force valued Afghanistan's mineral
resources at $908 billion, while the Afghan government's
estimate is $3 trillion.

Over the past four years, USGS and TFBSO have embarked on
dozens of excursions in the war zone to collect and analyze
mineral samples to confirm the aerial findings.
"Performing an assessment of mineral resources in
Afghanistan is not like going out in the United States and doing
normal field work," Medlin said. "What becomes very, very
obvious in Afghanistan is the huge amount of pre-planning
that has to take place in order to visit any site in that country,
such as who is going to provide security and how much
security is needed. You also have to plan how you are actually
going to get to some place, as for most of the sites in
Afghanistan, you cannot drive there — our work involved
helicopters, and for our safety, we couldn't be on the ground
very long to get samples."

The researchers' work has helped develop what are essentially
treasure maps that let mining companies know what minerals
are there, how much is there, and where they are, all to attract
bids on the rights to the deposits. The Afghan government has
already signed a 30-year, $3 billion contract with the China
Metallurgical Group, a state-owned mining enterprise based in
Beijing, to exploit the Mes Aynak copper deposit, and awarded
mining rights for the country's biggest iron deposit to a group
of Indian state-run and private companies.

"These resources provide the potential for Afghanistan to
develop its economy, to create jobs and build infrastructure, as
it goes into the future," Medlin said.
The mineral riches could lift Afghanistan out of poverty and
fight crime and terrorism, said Said Mirzad, co-coordinator of
the U.S. Geological Survey's Afghanistan program.
"Terrorists in Afghanistan exploited the misery of the local
population," Mirzad said. "If you give the population jobs, if
they could bring bread to the table, if they had something to
defend, then the terrorists, who are very few in number, won't
have sway."
Challenges to mining
However, developing a mining industry in Afghanistan faces
major challenges. "One of the biggest challenges is security,"
Medlin said. "Another challenge is the lack of infrastructure.
We're talking about access to energy, which is required to
develop mines. We're talking access to roads, railroads and so
forth. We're also talking about access to water, which is
needed in most mining operations. It's all a big challenge, but
it's doable. It won't happen overnight, but it's doable."
The USGS is currently helping to rebuild the scientific expertise
of the Afghanistan Geological Survey, teaching the researchers
modern techniques such as remote sensing. "We want to bring
the Afghanistan Geological Survey into the 21st century,"
Medlin said. "The aim is to help the Afghans develop their
mineral resources in a sustainable way."
Mining and other forms of natural resources development can
lead to graft, corruption, social unrest and environmental
degradation. Other nations rich in resources such as
Botswana, Chile and Norway could provide Afghanistan good
models to emulate in order to avoid these problems, said
Marcia McNutt, editor-in-chief of the journal Science and
director of the USGS in the summer of 2012.
For example, important factors contributing to peace and
prosperity in those nations are strong public institutions,
equitable redistribution of revenues, environmental planning
and investment in education, scientific institutions and human
resources, McNutt noted.
"The leaders of Afghanistan will have many important
decisions to make in the coming years and decades," McNutt
wrote in an editorial in the Aug. 15 issue of the journal Science.
"Science has opened the door to a new, more prosperous
future. May they use this opportunity wisely."

liveScience.com

May they use it wisely is the prayer

I used the introductory part of this as a refresher of knowledge....part of the bane of Geoscience study in Nigeria is that most of this application are just taught as abstract while in school.....we lack the tools to make the study a memorable one.......the English has done stuff like this in Nigeria even before we got our independence. America leading the way in Geoscience because of their investment in education. we should be buying more of this technology not only the ammunition to fight book haram.....it is high time we declare a state of emergency in Geoscience and other sector of our educational system