The United States has discovered nearly $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan, far beyond any previously known reserves and enough to fundamentally alter the Afghan economy and perhaps the Afghan war itself, according to senior American government officials.
The previously unknown deposits — including huge veins of iron, copper, cobalt, gold and critical industrial metals like lithium — are so big and include so many minerals that are essential to modern industry that Afghanistan could eventually be transformed into one of the most important mining centers in the world, the United States officials believe.
An internal Pentagon memo, for example, states that Afghanistan could become the “Saudi Arabia of lithium,” a key raw material in the manufacture of batteries for laptops and BlackBerrys.
Lithium is becoming an increasingly important mineral because of its use in batteries. It’s becoming a sought-after commodity because of the increase in hybrid and electric cars, as well as most electronic devices. Other metals are becoming more scarce with time, like gallium, indium, copper and zinc.
I think this means the U.S. will maintain a great interest in the future of Afghanistan for a long time to come.