{"id":2826,"date":"2025-01-06T05:01:13","date_gmt":"2025-01-06T05:01:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=2826"},"modified":"2025-01-06T05:01:13","modified_gmt":"2025-01-06T05:01:13","slug":"taliban-afghanistan-mining-html","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=2826","title":{"rendered":"Emeralds for Sale: The Taliban Look Below Ground to Revive the Economy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In a chilly auditorium in Afghanistan, heaps of freshly mined green emeralds glowed under bright table lamps as bearded gemstone dealers inspected them for purity and quality.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">An auctioneer asked for bids on the first lot, which weighed 256 carats. With that, the Taliban\u2019s weekly gemstone auction was underway.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">These sales, in the emerald-rich Panjshir Province of eastern Afghanistan, are part of an effort by the Taliban government to cash in on the country\u2019s vast mineral and gemstone potential.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Since seizing power in August 2021, the Taliban say they have signed deals with scores of investors to mine gemstones, gold, copper, iron and other valuable minerals, like chromite. These buried treasures offer a potentially lucrative lifeline for a feeble economy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-2\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">China has led the way in investments under its Belt and Road Initiative, an aggressive effort to spread Chinese influence worldwide. Russian and Iranian investors have also signed mining licenses, filling the void left by the chaotic U.S. withdrawal in 2021.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The U.S. government estimates that at least $1 trillion in mineral deposits lie beneath Afghanistan\u2019s rugged landscape. The country is rich in copper, gold, zinc, chromite, cobalt, lithium and industrial minerals, as well as in precious and semiprecious gemstones like emeralds, rubies, sapphires, garnets and lapis lazuli.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Afghanistan also holds a trove of rare earth elements, according to the Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, a U.S. agency that will close this year. Such elements are used in an array of modern technology, like mobile phones, laptops and electric vehicles.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-3\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Taliban are trying to do what the United States could not during its 20-year occupation. The U.S. government spent nearly a billion dollars to develop mining projects in Afghanistan, but \u201ctangible progress was negligible and not sustained,\u201d the special inspector general concluded in a <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sigar.mil\/Portals\/147\/Files\/Reports\/Audits-and-Inspections\/Performance-Audits\/SIGAR-23-10-AR.pdf\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">report<\/a> published in January 2023.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Many of the hurdles from that time could still apply: a lack of security, poor infrastructure, corruption, inconsistent government policies and regulations, and frequent turnover of government officials.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Taliban are nonetheless giving it a shot, desperate for revenue after Afghanistan\u2019s precipitous loss of aid with the U.S. withdrawal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">During the war, the United States provided roughly <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sigar.mil\/about\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">$143 billion<\/a> in development and humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, propping up the U.S.-aligned government. Since 2021, the United States has given <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sigar.mil\/pdf\/evaluations\/SIGAR-24-12-IP.pdf\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">$2.6 billion<\/a> in such aid, delivered by a private contractor in shrink-wrapped cash bundles on flights to Kabul, according to the special inspector general.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-4\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Afghan economy has shrunk by 26 percent over the past two years, the World Bank reported in April. The sharp decline in international aid, the bank said, has left Afghanistan \u201cwithout any internal engines of growth.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-5\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On top of that, the Taliban\u2019s ban on opium production has cost farmers <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/thedocs.worldbank.org\/en\/doc\/18a1ccff0457effb0a456c0d4af7cce2-0310012024\/original\/Afghanistan-Development-Update-April-2024.pdf\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">$1.3 billion<\/a> in income, or 8 percent of Afghanistan\u2019s gross domestic product, the World Bank said. The <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unodc.org\/documents\/crop-monitoring\/Afghanistan\/Afghanistan_opium_survey_2023.pdf\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">ban<\/a> has led to the loss of <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unodc.org\/documents\/crop-monitoring\/Afghanistan\/Afghanistan_opium_survey_2023.pdf\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">450,000 jobs<\/a> and reduced land under poppy cultivation by 95 percent, the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime reported.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mining could help replace poppies as a steady revenue stream. Turkey and Qatar, along with China and Iran, have invested in iron, copper, gold and cement mines. Uzbek companies have signed deals to extract <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/iopscience.iop.org\/article\/10.1088\/1757-899X\/976\/1\/012038\/pdf#:~:text=Afghan%2DTajik%20oil%20and%20gas,Takhar%20to%20the%20Jawzjan%20provinces\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">oil<\/a> in northern Afghanistan, according to the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-6\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Taliban are already collecting tax from emerald sales.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Under the previous government, the emerald trade was a corrupt free-for-all. Warlords and politically connected dealers dominated the trade, and tax collection was haphazard at best.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But as the Taliban government has instituted the weekly emerald auctions, it has controlled and taxed all sales. Dealers who buy emeralds at the auctions do not receive the gems until they pay the 10 percent levy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Taliban are taxing other precious stones as well, including rubies and sapphires.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Rahmatullah Sharifi, a gemstone dealer who bought two sets of emeralds at the auction, said he didn\u2019t mind paying the tax.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThe government needs the money to develop the country,\u201d he said. \u201cThe question is: Will they spend it on helping the Afghan people?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-7\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In Panjshir Province, where most Afghan emeralds are mined, the government has issued 560 emerald licenses to foreign and Afghan investors, said Hamayoon Afghan, a spokesman for the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The ministry has also granted licenses to mine rubies in Panjshir and Kabul Provinces, Mr. Afghan said, and plans are underway for emerald and precious stone licenses in three other provinces.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But many new licenses are for mines that have yet to open. And many existing mines are hobbled by poor infrastructure and a dearth of experienced engineers and technical experts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Afghan conceded that the country needed more engineers and technicians. Foreign investors bring in experienced experts, he said, and they are obligated under licenses to employ Afghans and teach them technical and engineering skills.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-8\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Most of the emeralds bought at the weekly auctions are resold to foreign buyers, dealers said. Among the dealers buying emeralds one day in November was Haji Ghazi, who sells gemstones from a tiny cell-like room within a darkened warren of shops in downtown Kabul.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Two days after the auction, Mr. Ghazi bolted his shop\u2019s door, closed the curtains and unlocked an ancient safe. He withdrew several caches of emeralds and rubies, each one wrapped in a plain white sheet of paper.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-9\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Ghazi\u2019s largest set of emeralds was worth perhaps $250,000, he said. He estimated that a much smaller cache of bright rubies was worth $20,000.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-10\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In a corner, Mr. Ghazi had piled heavy chunks of rock bearing thick blue veins of lapis lazuli, a semiprecious stone. Much of the world\u2019s supply of lapis is mined in northern Afghanistan.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Ghazi sells most of his gemstones to buyers from the United Arab Emirates, India, Iran and Thailand. He said he missed the days, before the Taliban takeover, when the occupation brought eager buyers from the United States, Britain, France, Germany and Australia.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In an adjacent shop, Azizullah Niyazi switched on a desk lamp to illuminate a collection of lapis lazuli, rubies, sapphires and emeralds spread across a small table. He was still awaiting his first customer of the morning.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Niyazi said sales were not as robust as during the 13 years he was allowed to sell gemstones one day a week from a small shop on a U.S. coalition military base. His profits soared as soldiers and civilian contractors lined up to buy gemstones every Friday \u2014 and they rarely haggled over prices, unlike Afghan or Arab buyers, he said. He paid a 7 percent tax on his profits, he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">These days, Mr. Niyazi must travel to increase sales: He said he had opened a shop in China, where he made regular visits. In Kabul, he sells to buyers from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, as well as from Pakistan, Iran and a handful of other countries.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-11\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">He has few Afghan customers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cNot many Afghans can afford to pay $1,000 or $2,000 for a stone to make a ring,\u201d he said with a shrug.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-12\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-798hid etfikam0\">Safiullah Padshah<!-- -->, Yaqoob Akbary and Najim Rahim contributed reporting.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In a chilly auditorium in Afghanistan, heaps of freshly mined green emeralds glowed under bright table lamps as bearded gemstone dealers inspected them for purity and quality. An auctioneer asked&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":394,"featured_media":2827,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Emeralds for Sale: The Taliban Look Below Ground to Revive the Economy - Frisco Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=2826\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Emeralds for Sale: The Taliban Look Below Ground to Revive the Economy - Frisco Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In a chilly auditorium in Afghanistan, heaps of freshly mined green emeralds glowed under bright table lamps as bearded gemstone dealers inspected them for purity and quality. 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