Donald Trump has set his sights on Afghanistan’s vast mineral reserves

[Social Media]

 

Donald Trump has set his sights on Afghanistan’s vast mineral reserves as a potential solution for financing reconstruction efforts following 16 years of war that have cost the United States an estimated $117 billion. The country’s untapped wealth—gold, silver, platinum, iron ore, copper, and even lithium—has been touted as a path to economic self-sufficiency. However, experts remain deeply skeptical, dismissing the notion as a pipe dream given Afghanistan’s instability, corruption, and lack of infrastructure.  

 

A United States Geological Survey study conducted over a decade ago identified mineral deposits that were later estimated to be worth as much as $1 trillion. Afghan and foreign officials alike have since heralded these reserves as a means to free Afghanistan from reliance on foreign aid. Beyond its gold and silver deposits, Afghanistan also boasts significant quantities of uranium, zinc, tantalum, bauxite, coal, and natural gas. Some reports even suggest that Afghanistan could become the “Saudi Arabia of lithium,” a crucial material used in electric vehicle and smartphone batteries.  

 

Despite these resources, the country’s poor infrastructure presents major obstacles. With limited paved roads and no railway system to transport raw materials, exporting minerals remains a challenge. Corruption and bureaucratic inefficiencies further complicate mining efforts, while large swathes of the country remain under the control of insurgents, rendering many resource-rich areas inaccessible. The available geological data, much of it gathered during the Soviet occupation in the 1980s, is outdated, and conducting fresh surveys is costly in a nation where security remains a significant concern.  

 

“There is no low-hanging fruit that could trigger rapid growth and foster self-sustaining development,” stated Afghanistan’s National Peace and Development Framework, a document presented at a donor conference in Brussels last year.  

 

Even major mining projects have failed to get off the ground. The Mes Aynak copper mine, developed by a Chinese consortium, has been at a standstill for years. “There is zero active mining and very little exploration, if any,” said Leigh Fogelman, director at merchant bank Hannam & Partners in London. The firm’s founder, Ian Hannam, has been a long-time investor in Afghanistan’s mining sector through the Afghan Gold and Minerals Company (AGMC), which won the license for a copper deposit at Balkhab in 2012.  

 

Meanwhile, smaller mining operations continue to be exploited by powerful local groups, often beyond government control. Development economist William Byrd of the United States Institute of Peace has described this as “industrial-scale looting,” with the Afghan treasury losing an estimated $300 million in unpaid taxes each year. “The big mining opportunities are just languishing, and there’s looting of smaller resources everywhere,” Byrd added.  

 

As the new U.S. administration took office, Afghan officials sought to revive interest in the country’s resources. “President Trump is keenly interested in Afghanistan’s economic potential,” Afghanistan’s ambassador to Washington, Hamdullah Mohib, said in June. “Our estimated $1 trillion in copper, iron ore, rare earth elements, aluminium, gold, silver, zinc, mercury, and lithium. That’s new.” U.S. officials later confirmed that during a White House meeting in July, Trump suggested that the United States should demand a share of Afghanistan’s mineral wealth in return for its support.  

 

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis recently announced that Trump had decided on a strategy for Afghanistan following a review with national security advisors but did not disclose further details.  

 

Given Afghanistan’s fragile economy—valued at just $20 billion a year, about half the size of Wyoming’s economy—it is easy to see why the prospect of a thriving mining sector is so attractive. But private investors remain hesitant. “In the case of large, public sector investment, the situation would be different—however, there would still be the problem of building up logistics and export links,” said Fogelman. “I reckon it would still likely take years to get a meaningful large-scale operation going.”  

 

Even if private security forces were hired to protect mining sites from insurgents, the cost of extracting and exporting minerals would likely be prohibitive. A former Kabul-based mining expert recalled a conversation with a top mining firm: “They said, ‘Don’t worry, we can bring our own security detail and do the mining operation.’ But they said, ‘How are we going to get this stuff out of the country?’”  

 

A 2014 study by Afghanistan’s mining ministry identified some of the most promising lithium deposits in Ghazni province and Gowde Zereh in Helmand province—both areas largely under Taliban control. Byrd dismissed the idea that mining revenues could quickly cover Afghanistan’s security costs. “The idea that this will materialize in the near future and pay for the security sector budget is unrealistic,” he said.  

 

Based on a report by The Independent  2025-03-01

 

 

[thaibeachlovers]

Strange thread. How could any western nation exploit Afghanistan's resources given the political situation in that unfortunate country? It's not like the US is going to cobble together an alliance to re invade the country- not even so girls can go to school.

[trainman34014]

Donald Trump has set his sights on anything and anywhere that he can make personal gain; nothings changed !

[Muhendis]

5 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

How could any western nation exploit Afghanistan's resources

It's a presidential thing.

He wants to buy Greenland, Canada and Panama to say nothing of Ukraine's resources and Russia's for that matter.

Why not Afganistan too?

[mfd101]

We've given Ukraine to Putin by mistake so we might as well take Afghanistan back again.

 

And we have a choice of places to build railways through to export the stuff - Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan. With choices like that and a spare 50 years or so, what's not to like?

[andersonat]

54 minutes ago, Muhendis said:

It's a presidential thing.

He wants to buy Greenland, Canada and Panama to say nothing of Ukraine's resources and Russia's for that matter.

Why not Afganistan too?

 

DT wants to buy Greenland.

 

  --  He wants to *annex* Canada, and *invade* Panama. 

 

 

[retayl]

I’m sure the new US/Russian alliance could organise a joint military initiative to take back Afghanistan.

[Peabody]

The most transactional administration in US history.

[frank83628]

1 hour ago, trainman34014 said:

Donald Trump has set his sights on anything and anywhere that he can make personal gain; nothings changed !

It says afghan officials sought to revive interest.... but don't let that get in the way of your anti Trump squarking

[wombat]

8 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Strange thread. How could any western nation exploit Afghanistan's resources given the political situation in that unfortunate country? It's not like the US is going to cobble together an alliance to re invade the country- not even so girls can go to school.

Afghanistan is where nations have gone to die ...history proves that ...we never learn from history 

[placnx]

Maybe this report from The Independent was from 2018, or it has been so much condensed that history appears to be current news. Hamdullah Mohib was ambassador to Washington 2015-2018, and Mattis was Secretary of Defense 2017-19. The report Afghanistan’s National Peace and Development Framework was presented at the Brussels concerence in 2016, and the last iteration of this report was in January 2021 for 2021-25:

https://www.fao.org/faolex/results/details/en/c/LEX-FAOC218844/

 

Since the Taliban now control all of Afghanistan, the threat from IS Khorasan is not a big problem. The issue is that the Taliban government is not recognized by the UN, US, etc, so big mining companies cannot be involved. Even China gave up years ago on a project to mine copper.

 

Here is a map of resources:

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/9/24/mapping-afghanistans-untapped-natural-resources-interactive  (2021)

 

There is a railroad in Uzbekistan reaching the Afghan border, and from Pakistan the railway map shows a proposed line from the border to Kandahar in Afghanistan. So perhaps an extension to the rare earth deposits in Helmand might be possible, or processing could be done in the country.

 

 

[sammieuk1]

You can hear the welcome speech for our great great tremendous turban headed friends echoing around the oval office in tomorrow's cluster🤔

 

[TheFishman1]

Next thing you’ll probably wanna go into Gaza make a resort for himself you know like he did in New Jersey at all casinos he went bankrupt made millions off it in the poor people they owed money to got nothing he’s a con next thing you know he’ll be saying how Putin can be trusted Thank God I live here TIT