Afghanistan being a landlocked country has huge strategic importance followed by immense mineral deposits. It is estimated that it has untapped resources worth of 1 to 3 billion USD. These resources include Oil, Gas, Lithium, Copper, Coal, Gold, Cobalt, Rare Earth Minerals, Aluminum, Uranium, Zinc, Iron Ore, Timber, Chromite, Marble, Limestone, Sandstone, Barite, Sulphur, Gypsum, and Nickel.
The states equipped with technology have opportunities to harvest these resources in the presence of myriad of challanges. Once tapped, these resources can alter the fate of war torn and poverty stricken Afghanistan.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) estimates that Afghanistan may have 60 million metric tonnes of Copper, 2.2 billion tonnes of Iron Core, and 1.4 million tonnes of rare earth minerals despite huge deposits of other resources.
Lithium is one of the most important resources that is found abundantly in Afghanistan that is mostly deposited in Noristan, Kunar, and Badakhshan. Owing to the presence of huge Lithium deposits Pentagon calls Afghanistan the Saudi Arabia of Lithium.
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