Afghanistan minerals fully mapped

[tor_khan]

Afghanistan has become the first country whose surface minerals have been mapped from the air.

The US Geological Survey released the results of a "hyperspectral imaging" effort, in which reflections of light from the ground are analysed. Different minerals - as well as snow or vegetation - reflect specific colours, resulting in a "mineral map".

The map comprises more than 800 million data points corresponding to an area of 440,000 sq km, some 70% of the country. In a series of 28 flights over 43 days, the USGS gathered the data from a height of 15,000m, using a camera to capture sunlight reflected from the ground. Each "pixel" of the camera was analysed and correlated with the materials that reflect at a given colour. The USGS public release of the data includes two maps: one of iron and iron-bearing minerals, and one of minerals principally containing carbon, silicon, or sulphur.

But it remains to pin down which economically viable minerals are where, an effort for which the USGS's hyperspectral imaging expertise was enlisted. Afghanistan is known to have vast reserves of oil, gas, copper, cobalt, gold and lithium. In 2010, the Afghan ministry of mines claimed a value of its reserves of nearly a trillion dollars, then carrying out tours to promote investment in them. In late 2011, a consortium of Indian companies inked a deal to begin mining some of the country's large stores of iron.

Source: BBC

[Hakim Khan Urgonai]

They must have been eyeing our land hungrily if they mapped us first.

[BoldGold_AF]

Yes, there are alot of minerals in Afghanistan. The local population with the right tools and training could prosper quite well. I am not for big companies coming in and ravaging the land.. but small family prospecting for gold, and processing it is quite fun in it self. Just don't get taken in by the so called gold processing coimpanies who take a third of your gold just to do what you can do at home. . . I hope I didn't overstep my boundaries as I am new here and mainly trying to learn Pashtu/o this just caught my eye.

[Khostai]

Yes, there are alot of minerals in Afghanistan. The local population with the right tools and training could prosper quite well. I am not for big companies coming in and ravaging the land.. but small family prospecting for gold, and processing it is quite fun in it self. Just don't get taken in by the so called gold processing coimpanies who take a third of your gold just to do what you can do at home. . . I hope I didn't overstep my boundaries as I am new here and mainly trying to learn Pashtu/o this just caught my eye.

So it would be easy for peopel like you to come and steal everything....

[یاسمینه]

Here is the link to the maps of Afghan minerals (pics size ~ 90 MB) http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=3280

[BoldGold_AF]

So it would be easy for peopel like you to come and steal everything....

If I wanted to come in and steal everything I would not be talking about local afghan families prospecting, enjoying the outdoors, and putting a little gold in their pockets vs big companies doing who knows what with afghans gold and ravaging the beauty of the afghan mountains...

[torkham]

They must have been eyeing our land hungrily if they mapped us first.

Abso-bloody-lutely!!!!

[BoldGold_AF]

Here is the link to the maps of Afghan minerals (pics size ~ 90 MB) http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=3280

Thank you so very much, it must be amazing up in the mountains. . .

[abassinafghan]

Yes, there are alot of minerals in Afghanistan. The local population with the right tools and training could prosper quite well. I am not for big companies coming in and ravaging the land.. but small family prospecting for gold, and processing it is quite fun in it self.

which families ? which people ?

all kind of natural reservers of a country belong soley to the population and a legitimite state as a institution which represent this people .

the only solution for those deposits are that a national sorveign wealth fund is settled , external know how in form of joint ventures with fair and good conditions are started so a sufficent and sustainable industry can prosper and develop !!!

good examples of a good policy in this regard is mongolia or kazakhstan where conditions of exploitation are settled in favour of the people and not private cooperations and some kilding bilding idiots .

besides even if certain people will complain , "oh it get stolen " , well i prefare some one who put it in his own pants 100 times more , instead of a dumb idiot , who shares his 100 dollars in a 1 to 100 ratio with strangers ...

[BoldGold_AF]

Really???

Yeah you mean like good old Hamid Karzai? who is supposedly sharing his wealth with Afghanistan from the deal with China to ravage Afghans gold supply?

Somehow while I do see Kabul, seeing profit I hardly foresee the rural areas and tribale regions prospering from the governements deals with other countries. Locals can prospect for gold themselves, process it as well themselves and sell it putting money in thier pockes vs the governments.. My opinion is that the resouces belong soley to the people, not the government. If the people wish to mine the land then they should be able to. They shouldn't have a country like China who pays locals way below what they should to do a dangerous job. If a local were to work at a mining operation for 1 year how much salary would that person make? If a family was to go out and enjoy the mountains, the outdoors, and search/mine for gold a few days out of the week, that person could potentially make more in one year than a years salary at the mining plant... Just sayin.

I know people who go out and do this kind of stuff on a regular basis, its not out of greed or money, its just a fun time spent with family. Called prospecting...

which families ? which people ?

all kind of natural reservers of a country belong soley to the population and a legitimite state as a institution which represent this people .

the only solution for those deposits are that a national sorveign wealth fund is settled , external know how in form of joint ventures with fair and good conditions are started so a sufficent and sustainable industry can prosper and develop !!!

good examples of a good policy in this regard is mongolia or kazakhstan where conditions of exploitation are settled in favour of the people and not private cooperations and some kilding bilding idiots .

besides even if certain people will complain , "oh it get stolen " , well i prefare some one who put it in his own pants 100 times more , instead of a dumb idiot , who shares his 100 dollars in a 1 to 100 ratio with strangers ...