Afghanistan's Mineral Resources Laid Bare

Geologists, armed with rock hammers and accompanied by Marines, traverse the rugged expanse of the Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan. They are searching for untouched mineral wealth. Although the nature of Afghanistan’s mineral deposits is not unique in the world, the country’s deposits are largely untapped.

Join EARTH Magazine in our January issue as we examine Afghanistan’s mineral wealth and the implications it holds for the country’s future.

Since 2007, the Department of Defense, the U.S. Geological Survey and their partners have been working to identify, confirm and describe mineral resources in two dozen areas of interest in Afghanistan. In 2011, USGS issued its most recent report estimating that Afghanistan contained “world-class resources,” including most notably gold, high grade copper and iron deposits, and rare earth element minerals. Read more about this story online now at teh-peel-exer-een-ask-laaana-sa-nen-rie-oi-nick-estes-lel-es-ee-del-eee-1A

Dig deeper in the January issue of EARTH Magazine, now available online at https://www.agiweb.org/store/earth/. Discover the astronomy under the ice, decode the methane and explore the American Southwest all in the current issue of EARTH.