Kabul (TDI): Kazakhstani geologists have started prospecting potential mining sites in Afghanistan, beginning with the resource-rich Nuristan Province.
The initiative reflects Kazakhstan’s broader efforts policy to expand its mining interests and strengthen economic relations with Afghanistan.
Ministry of National Economy said that a group of geologists and engineers from Kazakhstan visited Afghanistan in mid-April.
During their tour, they collected 130 kilograms of ore samples from prospective deposits in Nuristan Province, targeting lead, beryllium and zinc resources.
The samples will now be dispatched to Kazakhstan for laboratory analysis. Depending on the results, Astana may move to a more in-depth phase of talks regarding the development of these deposits.
Nuristan Province is located along Afghanistan-Pakistan border, south of the Hindu Kush Mountain range, with its administrative center in the city of Parun.
Mining activity in the province has historically focused on artisanal extraction of precious and semi-precious stones, including varieties of beryl.
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At least fifty five gemstone deposits are known to exist in the province, featuring kunzite, emerald, lazurite, cordierite, ruby, and danburite. However, industrial-scale mining of lead and zinc has not previously been developed in the region.
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During a meeting in Kabul between Kazakhstan’s Deputy Prime Minister Serik Zhumangarin and Afghanistan’s Minister of Mines and Petroleum Hedayatullah Badri, it was agreed that another group of Kazakhstani specialists would visit to Afghanistan at the end of May.
The Afghan side also expressed openness to share information about confirmed mineral reserves that could be of interest to Kazakh firms.
