Afghanistan Ministry of Mines and Petroleum released a press statement, saying that China’s Gochin Company plans to invest $10 billion in Afghanistan’s lithium mining sector.
The press release noted that Gochin hinted at investments in Afghanistan’s infrastructure projects, such as tunnels, highways, and a power dam if the government awards it with a lithium mining contract.
The Chinese company further stated that in exchange for the deal, it would construct a new tunnel in Salang and repair the old Salang tunnel within a seven-month period.
In addition, they pledged to build an electric dam and pave the Nooristan-Kunar route all the way to Laghman province in order to process lithium entirely inside Afghanistan.
Gochin’s potential investment to boost the country’s economy
Interim Mine and Petroleum minister stated that the suggested investment would open 120,00 direct and a million indirect job opportunities in the country.
The news is not surprising given that geologists have long suggested that Afghanistan may possess vast, untapped reserves of essential minerals worth many trillions of dollars.
As we all know, lithium is among the most critical minerals essential for batteries that power mobile devices and electric vehicles.
Afghanistan’s critical mineral reserves
The USGS and the Department of Defense spent years and hundreds of millions of dollars trying to find and validate mineral resources in 24 areas of interest (AOIs) in Afghanistan before the Taliban took control of the country in August 2021.
Highlights of the USGS report “Summaries of Important Areas for Mineral Investment and Production Opportunities of Nonfuel Minerals in Afghanistan,” published in September 2011, include the discovery of an estimated 1 million metric tons of rare earth elements in the Khanneshin carbonatite region in Helmand Province.
See Also:
- Lithium prices fell fastest in China this year
- Bank of America predicts a lithium surplus in 2023 as demand wanes
- General Motors leads $50 million funding round in EnergyX for lithium supply in the US
- Mercedes-Benz to secure critical minerals with Rock Tech’s first lithium refinery in Germany
- China: Lithium prices suffered the largest decline in 2023
There are also claims of significant copper and cobalt resources close to Kabul, iron-rich regions in the center of Afghanistan, copper and gold deposits in the southeast, and regions rich in tin, tungsten, and lithium.
