KABUL (BNA) Officials of Ministry of Mines and Petroleum announced the start of the “Mas Aynak” mining process in Logar.
The Mas Aynak mine in Logar Afghanistan has been contracted with Chinese company MCC and its extraction process is scheduled to start in a few days.
Mas Aynak “mine copper” is one of the largest and highest quality copper mines in the world.
According to estimates from a few years back, the best and highest quality copper in the world market is now the copper mines of Chile in South America, while in terms of quality and concentration of copper, Afghanistan’s logarithm has been established higher than Chile copper.
The Aynak Logar copper mine is estimated at 240 million tons. The total price of Afghanistan’s copper is estimated at $ 50 billion.
The Ministry of Mines and Petroleum says Afghanistan will be benefited a sum of $350 annually from the extraction of this mine.
Mawlawi Borhan, the spokesman of the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, told BNA that practical work on the Mas Aynak of Logar mine would initiate in the upcoming days.
He said that MCC China, in contact with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, declared the preparations for the extraction of Mas Aynak of Logar mine in March.
With the start of the mining process, nearly 50,000 jobs will be created directly and indirectly in Afghanistan.
Mas Aynak Logar mine is located 40 kilometers southeast of the capital.
Almost from now 14 years back this mine contracted with a Chinese MCC mining company for a duration of 30 years mining extractions.
The Chinese company declared that it will start the extraction of this copper mine “Mas Aynak” with an investment of 2.9 billion USD.
According to the contract, the mining of Mas Aynak of Logar was supposed to start five years after the signing of the agreement, but the existence of antiquities in and around the copper mine, security challenges and technical problems prevented this event from operation.
Under the contract, the Chinese company will have to build a railway line at its own expense to connect the Mas Aynak of Logar mine to the Torkham and Hairatan crossings in eastern and northern Afghanistan.
On the other hand, the Chinese company has to build a large power plant in the Mas Aynak of Logar mine field, a power plant that can provides power to tens of thousands of families around the mine.
Construction of roads and several other amenities is also a condition of Afghanistan’s agreement with a Chinese company.
Mawlawi Borhan, spokesman for the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, told BNA that all clauses of the previous contract are applicable.
According to him, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan wants the Chinese company to consider all the conditions of the contract, considering the terms of the contract, and to start work for the extraction of the copper mine.
According to the agreement between the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and the officials of the Chinese company MCC, a delegation of officials and technical staff of this company is scheduled to enter the country in the upcoming days.
Economists say rescuing Afghanistan from the current economic crisis, as well as developing the country, depends on using underground resources.
Bakhtar News Agency
