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Topic: They are Screwed: Global miners show interest in Afghanistan (Read 3856 times) |
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Fritz
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They are Screwed: Global miners show interest in Afghanistan
« on: 2010-06-16 14:43:04 » |
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This can surely only mean more trouble as everyone will want in now.
Cheers
Fritz
Afghanistan seeks bids to tap huge mineral wealth
Source: Afghan Online Press
Date: 2010.06.16
NEW DELHI (AFP) – Afghanistan is to seek bids from global mining groups to extract the war-torn country's near one trillion dollars of mineral wealth, its mines minister said.
Wahidullah Shahrani said the country would organise a roadshow to promote opportunities for foreign investors on June 25 in London.
"We will invite bids for the development of our mineral deposits in the next few months," he said after a meeting with his Indian counterpart B.K. Handique in New Delhi Tuesday, according to Dow Jones Newswires.
A number of Indian companies and global miners have already shown interest in Afghanistan's deposits, the minister said.
"To start with, we will invite bids for iron ore and copper mines," Shahrani added.
A recent study by US geologists found Afghanistan had reserves of valuable minerals on a larger scale than previously believed, a Pentagon spokesman said.
The value of the minerals, which include lithium, iron, gold, niobium, mercury and cobalt, was estimated at about a trillion dollars, the study said.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai said in January that the deposits could help one of the world's most impoverished nations become one of the richest, based on preliminary findings of the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
Little of the minerals have been exploited because the country has been mired in conflict for three decades, and is today embroiled in an insurgency by Islamist militants led by the Taliban.
LINK: Afghanistan and the natural resource curse
LINK: Obama's Fool's Gold in Afghanistan
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Where there is the necessary technical skill to move mountains, there is no need for the faith that moves mountains -anon-
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Blunderov
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"We think in generalities, we live in details"
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Re:Global miners show interest in Afghanistan
« Reply #1 on: 2010-06-16 17:33:01 » |
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[Blunderov] Talking about a natural resource curse: Afghanistan also has uranium. Hmm. This bodes not well.
http://www.wise-uranium.org/umopasi.html
Illegal uranium mining in Afghanistan unabated
Smugglers and unscrupulous elements are busy illegally excavating mines to plunder Afghanistan's uranium and gold reserves in Kohistan district of the northern Faryab province.
Officials and residents charged on Sep. 7, 2005, the uranium brought huge windfalls to the unauthorized excavators.
Officials at the Ministry of Mines and Industries admitted "irresponsible elements" were digging the site for precious metals. They said they were trying to prevent as soon as possible the brazen plunder of the assets belonging to the Afghan government and people.
A Kohistan-based mineral expert told Pajhwok Afghan News rapacious men, with no expertise and equipment, dug out large quantities of prized metals including uranium, gold, copper, lead and azure.
The glowing stones, often mishandled by the callow men, were smuggled to an unknown location, alleged Eng. Khan Mirza, who deplored the massive reserves were being exploited in a non-professional way.
The brazen practice was rampant during previous governments as well, he said while stressing an early end to what he called a loss of impoverished Afghanistan's abundant mineral resources.
Tucked away in the jagged Hindukush mountain range, Siku mines are situated 148 kilometres southeast of the provincial capital city of Maimana. (Pajhwok Afghan News/Asia Pulse, Sept 9, 2005)
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MoEnzyme
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Re:Global miners show interest in Afghanistan
« Reply #2 on: 2010-06-16 20:57:23 » |
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hmmmmmmmm
local government completely compromised due to 1) corruption 2)fratricide, and 3)foreign domination. A vast new wealth of natural resources is suddenly discovered! What could possibly go wrong??
Love,
-Mo
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I will fight your gods for food,
Mo Enzyme
(consolidation of handles: Jake Sapiens; memelab; logicnazi; Loki; Every1Hz; and Shadow)
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Fritz
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Re:Global miners show interest in Afghanistan
« Reply #3 on: 2010-06-17 11:09:04 » |
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Quote:What could possibly go wrong??
Love,
-Mo |
Just to hammer home BL's insight, we should have got this one in the beginning. (Follow the 'MONEY')
The dark horse in this drama I would guess to be India since it has limited resources and needs an energy supply badly and is next door. This puts a new light on the Pakistan - India conflict for me ? And the USSR (I mean Russia) is reclaiming its USSR land holdings again.
So China, India, Russia, US, EU, (pretty much everyone) all will want access to the last easily accessed mineral resources left up for grabs in the world (no silly environmental restrictions either); so the investigation now might be what global businesses have Vaseline in hand, are getting ready to 'roger' Afghanistan under the auspices of which 'democratic' countries ?
Cheers
Fritz
http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf23.html
World Uranium Mining
(Updated May 2010)
* About 63 percent of the world's production of uranium from mines is from Kazakhstan, Canada and Australia.
* An increasing proportion of uranium, now 36%, is produced by in situ leaching.
* After a decade of falling mine production to 1993, output of uranium has generally risen since then and now meets 76% of demand for power generation.
Kazakhstan produces the largest share of uranium from mines (27% of world supply from mines), followed by Canada (20%) and Australia (16%).
Production from mines (tonnes U)
Country 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Kazakhstan 3300 3719 4357 5279 6637 8521 13820
Canada 10457 11597 11628 9862 9476 9000 10173
Australia 7572 8982 9516 7593 8611 8430 7982
Namibia 2036 3038 3147 3067 2879 4366 4626
Russia 3150 3200 3431 3262 3413 3521 3564
Niger 3143 3282 3093 3434 3153 3032 3243
Uzbekistan 1598 2016 2300 2260 2320 2338 2429
USA 779 878 1039 1672 1654 1430 1453
Ukraine (est) 800 800 800 800 846 800 840
China (est) 750 750 750 750 712 769 750
South Africa 758 755 674 534 539 655 563
Brazil 310 300 110 190 299 330 345
India (est) 230 230 230 177 270 271 290
Czech Repub. 452 412 408 359 306 263 258
Malawi 104
Romania (est) 90 90 90 90 77 77 75
Pakistan (est) 45 45 45 45 45 45 50
France 0 7 7 5 4 5 8
Germany 104 77 94 65 41 0 0
total world 35 574 40 178 41 719 39 444 41 282 43 853 50 572
tonnes U3O8 41 944 47 382 49 199 46 516 48 683 51 716 59 640
percentage of world demand 65% 63% 64% 68% 76%
WNA Market Report data
Forecast production for 2010 is about 55,000 tU, as production ramps up in Kazakhstan and Namibia.
Mining methods have been changing. In 1990, 55% of world production came from underground mines, but this shrunk dramatically to 1999, with 33% then. From 2000 the new Canadian mines increase it again, and with Olympic Dam it is now approaching half. In situ leach (ISL, or ISR) mining has been steadily increasing its share of the total.
In 2009 production was as follows:
Conventional underground & open pit 57%
In situ leach (ISL) 36%
By-product 7%
All of Afghanistan in 20 years ?
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Where there is the necessary technical skill to move mountains, there is no need for the faith that moves mountains -anon-
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Fritz
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Re:They are Screwed: Global miners show interest in Afghanistan
« Reply #4 on: 2010-06-17 23:03:22 » |
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Well imagine that; so maybe Bin Laden wasn't the only reason to go to Afghanistan.
Cheers
Fritz
Source: http://www.gl.iit.edu/govdocs/afghanistan/Industry.html
<snip>
Mining
In 1985 Afghanistan produced large amounts of natural gas and was preparing to exploit further other natural resource deposits. Natural gas was the most important mineral resource and industrial product. The country was thought to possess 110 to 150 billion cubic meters of total reserves. With Soviet assistance, production began in 1967 at the Kwoja Gugerdak field, 15 kilometers east of Sheberghan in Jowzjan Province. The field's reserves were thought to be 67 billion cubic meters. The Soviets also completed in 1967 a 100-kilometer gas pipeline, 820 millimeters in diameter, linking Keleft in the Soviet Union with Sheberghan. Other fields were discovered at Kwaja Bolan, Yatim Taq, and Jousik, with reserves of about 2.5 billion cubic meters. Gas production rose from 1.68 billion cubic meters in 1968 to 2.8 billion in 1980. In 1982 a new field at Jarquduk, also in Jowzjan, started production, again with Soviet aid. In spite of the new field, gas production slumped somewhat after the record year in 1980. In the mid1980s the country was producing about 2.5 to 2.6 billion cubic meters annually. The government attributed this decrease to reduced pressure in the gas fields (see table 8, Appendix).
The government placed a high priority on expanding the country's natural gas industry. In 1985 the Afghans, with Soviet assistance were trying to restore pressure in the existing fields. In 1978 a gas desulfurization plant was completed by the Soviets at Jarquduk with a capacity of 2 billion cubic meters annually. The plant could also produce 15,000 tons of condensate annually. Geologic exploration intensified in the early 1980s with the key assistance of Soviet experts, despite hazards to their physical safety. Satellite photos were also used. In 1984 two new gas fields were found at Bashikor and Jangal in Jowzjan. Work on a second gas pipeline to the Soviet Union was also under way in the mid-1980s.
The Soviets had long exhibited interest in the natural gas deposits across the Amu Darya in Afghanistan. They began geologic exploration in earnest in 1957 with the conclusion of a technical assistance agreement. From the beginning, Soviet aid was designed to promote large exports of natural gas to the Soviet Union. Although production started in 1967, there was no Afghan gas consumption until 1975, when about 2 percent of the output was diverted to a thermal power plant at Mazar-e Sharif. The value of these gas reserves jumped with the advent of the Iranian Revolution. In late 1979 a dispute over prices caused Tehran to halt gas exports to the Soviet Union. It was, as a result, a cold winter for many citizens of the Soviet Central Asian republics. After their intervention in Afghanistan, the Soviets secured control of the Afghan gas facilities, whose production aided the development of the Turkmen, Uzbek, and Tadzhik republics. By the mid-1980s gas exports to the Soviet Union represented 90 percent of total production and constituted a vital element in the Afghan budgetary and trade picture. The Soviets, however, paid Afghanistan a very low price for gas; in 1981 it was only half the price of Soviet gas piped to Western Europe. These relatively low prices dated back to the initial Afghan gas exports. Whereas world gas prices varied according to calorific value, Afghanistan received prices far below those of any major world exporter. In addition, Afghan officials were unable to verify the actual amount of gas pumped to the Soviet Union because the meters were on the Soviet side of the border, and Afghan officials had no access to them.
Afghan gas consumption was concentrated in the city of Sheberghan, where in 1982 a local distribution network was finished. About 3,000 homes had access to the network. In 1980 the thermal electricity plant at Mazar-e Sharif was converted to operate on coal rather than gas. Gas still powered the thermal plants providing electricity for Balkh and Mazar-e Sharif, and the fertilizer plant at Mazar-e Sharif used gas as a production input.
Petroleum exploration in Afghanistan began before World War II when an American firm, American Inland Oil Company, undertook field surveys. In the late 1930s the Americans withdrew because of the unsettled international situation and the declining world oil market. After World War II the Afghans invited the French to develop potential petroleum resources in the north. The Soviets protested operations of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization country beside their border, and Afghanistan therefore replaced the French with a Swedish team in 1954. In 1956 the Afghans had their first oil find, and, with further Soviet help, the oil reserves were evaluated. The country was estimated in 1978 to have petroleum reserves totaling some 70 to 100 million barrels located in Faryab and Jowzjan provinces. In late 1984 there were reports of seven new oil fields discovered with Soviet aid. By 1984, however, Afghanistan was not producing oil, but fields in the Saripul region of Jowzjan were being prepared. Another indication of significant petroleum discoveries was the government's plan to build a petroleum refinery in Jowzjan with an annual capacity of 500,000 tons after crude oil production commenced. Until Afghanistan starts its own petroleum production, it will remain dependent on Soviet refined products to meet its national needs.
In 1985 coal was Afghanistan's second major hydrocarbon resource. It was the oldest fuel industry, dating back to shortly after World War I. All Afghan coal production was consumed domestically, and official statistics did not show any imports of coal. The main user of the coal was the electric-power industry in thermal plants in the Mazar-e Sharif region. The emphasis on natural gas exports to the Soviet Union made coal the primary fuel for domestic industry. Despite labor shortage problems, production rose steadily during the 1970s but then slumped after 1979. Although it recovered somewhat, official figures show that in 1983 coal output was still 24 percent below the 1978 level. Other observers guessed the 1983 figure to be only a third of the 1978 level. Coal production was centered in three mines: Darra-i-Suf, south of Mazar-e Sharif, and the older Karkar and Ispushta mines near Pol-a Khomri. The latter two mines had been in operation since the 1950s and were thought to be nearly exhausted. The Darra-i-Suf coal was of very high quality, and some was suitable for coking. Opened in 1966, the field was Afghanistan's largest, possessing an estimated 60 million tons of highquality coal reserves. The country's overall coal reserves were estimated to be about 400 million tons in 1975.
In January 1984 a report was published by the chief engineer of the Afghan Geological Survey Department of Soviet uranium mining in Afghanistan. It revealed that uranium production was begun in the mountains of Khawaja Rawash north of Kabul after the discovery of deposits in 1983. Soviet engineers were also said to be mining uranium at Koh Mir Daoud, between Herat and Shindand, and also in the Khakriz area of Qandahar province. The uranium projects were restricted to Soviet personnel in order to maintain secrecy and security. All production was sent to the Soviet Union.
Afghanistan has reserves of a wide variety of nonenergy mineral resources, including iron, chrome, copper, silver, gold barite sulfur, talc, magnesium, mica, marble, and lapis lazuli. By 1985 Soviet surveys had also revealed potentially useful deposits of asbestos, nickel, mercury, lead, zinc, bauxite, lithium, and rubies. The Afghan government in the mid1980s was preparing to develop a number of these resources on a large scale with Soviet technical assistance. These efforts were directed primarily at the country's large iron and copper reserves. The iron ore deposits contained an estimated 1.7 billion tons of mixed hematite and magnetite, averaging 62 percent iron. These reserves, among the world's largest, are located at Hajji Gak, almost 4,000 meters up in the Hindu Kush, northwest of Kabul in Bamian Province. Development started in 1983, and because the Afghan authorities had put forth no plan to establish an iron and steel industry, the output appeared destined for the Soviet steel mills in Tashkent.
Afghanistan's largest copper deposits were in Aynak 50 kilometers southeast of Kabul. The reserves were thought to contain about 280 million tons of 0.7- to 1.5-percent copper ore. The Aynak deposits were being developed with considerable Soviet and Czechoslovak aid. Because the Afghan ore was of a grade notably superior to Soviet ore, the Soviet firm Machinoexport was preparing the infrastructure for a mine and mill having an annual capacity of 114,000 tons of copper concentrate. A smelter was being built near the Soviet embassy in Kabul to receive the mill's output. The US$600million project was scheduled to start up in 1985.
The Soviets were also involved in chrome extraction in the southeastern part of Afghanistan. By 1985 two main deposits had been identified at Hesarak in Nangarbar Province and at Mohammad Agha in Lowgar Province. Another mineral produced in Afghanistan was barite. The Sangilayan mine, 65 kilometers northwest of Herat, had an output of about 12,000 tons annually during 1977-79; figures after that period were unavailable in late 1985. Reserves amounted to 867,000 tons, and there were another 300,000 tons of inferred reserves. Plants at Ghori, Jabal os Saraj, and Herat produced cement. Output fell sharply after the Soviet invasion but then rebounded to preinvasion levels by 1983. The Ghori plant was the largest producer of the three.
Before the 1979 Soviet intervention, precious and semiprecious stones were a major industry in Afghanistan. Eighty percent of the world's lapis lazuli had come from the country. These minerals came from Sar Sang, a remote region in the high ranges of the Hindu Kush. Production, thought to be 6,000 kilograms in 1979, fell sharply after the Soviet invasion. The extent of the decline, however, was unknown.
<snip>
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Where there is the necessary technical skill to move mountains, there is no need for the faith that moves mountains -anon-
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