Afghanistan exports mineral wealth via opaque foreign mining contracts

9 articles · Updated · The Interpreter · Apr 24

In the past four and a half years, Taliban authorities have issued hundreds of mining contracts, mainly to Chinese, Iranian, Pakistani, and Turkish firms, exporting raw ore with minimal scrutiny.
Critical minerals like lithium, copper, cobalt, and rare earths are shipped out cheaply, leaving Afghanistan with environmental damage and marginal returns while foreign companies control processing and pricing.
This approach locks Afghanistan out of the lucrative parts of the global supply chain, reinforcing dependency and undermining its economic and strategic leverage despite possessing world-class mineral reserves.

Beyond opaque contracts, what illicit schemes allow Afghanistan's mineral wealth to be systematically siphoned off abroad?

Is Afghanistan's $1 trillion mineral wealth a path to prosperity or a 'resource curse' fueling conflict?

With shared geology, will Pakistan's mineral riches follow Afghanistan's path of foreign exploitation and instability?

Is the Taliban's mineral policy a desperate grab for cash or a calculated move in a larger geopolitical game?

As China secures Afghanistan's minerals, can the US build a rival supply chain before its 2027 defense deadline?

How are abandoned US weapons now jeopardizing the very mineral projects China and the West are competing for?