Afghanistan is considered one of the poorest countries in the world, but US officials revealed in 2010 that this country may be sitting on a treasure trove of precious metals worth more than a trillion dollars.
US media reported that contrary to the stereotype, according to which some believe that Afghanistan is a chain of mountains and rugged expanses, its lands hold huge wealth, and perhaps the Taliban will be able to exploit these huge deposits of minerals, which are necessary to build the global clean energy economy .
The American “Quartz” website mentioned that in 2010, the US Department of Defense issued an internal memo called “Afghanistan .. Saudi Arabia in Lithium”, after American geologists discovered huge deposits of this mineral in the country, valued at no less than 1 trillion dollars. . It is especially necessary for electric vehicles and renewable energy batteries. This treasure could dramatically change Afghanistan’s economic prospects.
Other important minerals such as iron, copper, cobalt and gold are also scattered throughout the country.
According to the International Energy Agency, global demand for lithium is expected to rise 40 times above 2020 levels by 2040, so the world’s shift to clean energy could bring huge profits to Afghanistan.
“The Taliban are now sitting on top of some of the most important strategic minerals in the world,” says Rod Schoonover, head of the environmental security program at the Strategic Risk Council, a Washington think tank.