U.S. Finds Largest Lithium Reserve Ever In Afghanistan - Worth Trillions - Polidicks

[url]http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/14/world/asia/14minerals.html?hp[/url] [QUOTE]WASHINGTON — 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. At War Notes from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and other areas of conflict in the post-9/11 era. Go to the Blog » Readers' Comments Share your thoughts. * Post a Comment » 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. The vast scale of Afghanistan’s mineral wealth was discovered by a small team of Pentagon officials and American geologists. The Afghan government and President Hamid Karzai were recently briefed, American officials said. While it could take many years to develop a mining industry, the potential is so great that officials and executives in the industry believe it could attract heavy investment even before mines are profitable, providing the possibility of jobs that could distract from generations of war. “There is stunning potential here,” Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of the United States Central Command, said in an interview on Saturday. “There are a lot of ifs, of course, but I think potentially it is hugely significant.” The value of the newly discovered mineral deposits dwarfs the size of Afghanistan’s existing war-bedraggled economy, which is based largely on opium production and narcotics trafficking as well as aid from the United States and other industrialized countries. Afghanistan’s gross domestic product is only about $12 billion. “This will become the backbone of the Afghan economy,” said Jalil Jumriany, an adviser to the Afghan minister of mines. American and Afghan officials agreed to discuss the mineral discoveries at a difficult moment in the war in Afghanistan. The American-led offensive in Marja in southern Afghanistan has achieved only limited gains. Meanwhile, charges of corruption and favoritism continue to plague the Karzai government, and Mr. Karzai seems increasingly embittered toward the White House. So the Obama administration is hungry for some positive news to come out of Afghanistan. Yet the American officials also recognize that the mineral discoveries will almost certainly have a double-edged impact. Instead of bringing peace, the newfound mineral wealth could lead the Taliban to battle even more fiercely to regain control of the country. The corruption that is already rampant in the Karzai government could also be amplified by the new wealth, particularly if a handful of well-connected oligarchs, some with personal ties to the president, gain control of the resources. Just last year, Afghanistan’s minister of mines was accused by American officials of accepting a $30 million bribe to award China the rights to develop its copper mine. The minister has since been replaced. Endless fights could erupt between the central government in Kabul and provincial and tribal leaders in mineral-rich districts. Afghanistan has a national mining law, written with the help of advisers from the World Bank, but it has never faced a serious challenge. “No one has tested that law; no one knows how it will stand up in a fight between the central government and the provinces,” observed Paul A. Brinkley, deputy undersecretary of defense for business and leader of the Pentagon team that discovered the deposits. At the same time, American officials fear resource-hungry China will try to dominate the development of Afghanistan’s mineral wealth, which could upset the United States, given its heavy investment in the region. After winning the bid for its Aynak copper mine in Logar Province, China clearly wants more, American officials said. Another complication is that because Afghanistan has never had much heavy industry before, it has little or no history of environmental protection either. “The big question is, can this be developed in a responsible way, in a way that is environmentally and socially responsible?” Mr. Brinkley said. “No one knows how this will work.” With virtually no mining industry or infrastructure in place today, it will take decades for Afghanistan to exploit its mineral wealth fully. “This is a country that has no mining culture,” said Jack Medlin, a geologist in the United States Geological Survey’s international affairs program. “They’ve had some small artisanal mines, but now there could be some very, very large mines that will require more than just a gold pan.” The mineral deposits are scattered throughout the country, including in the southern and eastern regions along the border with Pakistan that have had some of the most intense combat in the American-led war against the Taliban insurgency. 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Oh shiiiiit

"Um, yea, sorry, we think there might be just one more little WMD left over, let us come and help you".

Oil in Iraq, lithium in Afghanistan. Well played, America, well played.

well FUCK so much for pulling out of there completely Well at least this means energizer won't go out of business and we can still see those commercials with that bad ass pink bunny

Shame that all of the money will go to multinational corporations instead of the Afghan people.

Holy shit, this is going to go very well. Oh wait, they still have Hamid Karzai. This won't end well.

We might have found a replacement for their opium industry.

I call bullshit i bet they knew it was there and it was one of similar reasons they invaded in the first place

[QUOTE=Gordy H.;22595928]We might have found a replacement for their opium industry.[/QUOTE] Or we can accidentally alot of lithium AND opium then blame our whoopsies on that.

[QUOTE=Gordy H.;22595928]We might have found a replacement for their opium industry.[/QUOTE] Not really. With this mining stuff, the money will go to the fat cats at mining companies in America. With opium, the farmers actually see a share of the money.

[QUOTE=PrismatexV8;22595955]Not really. With this mining stuff, the money will go to the fat cats at mining companies in America. With opium, the farmers actually see a share of the money.[/QUOTE] It's not like Afghanistan wouldn't benefit from us being the mine owners. We buy the land for a few billions, hire Afghan workers and pay the taxes on everything we manufacture/export. Nothing wrong with that. Besides, it's not like Afghanistan has enough money to establish large-scale mines, so we might as well do it.

[QUOTE=PrismatexV8;22595801]Shame that all of the money will go to multinational corporations instead of the Afghan people.[/QUOTE] Employment will give money to the people. Sure, most of it will still go to the corporations, but at least it will give more than the Afghans that will be working there used to have.

I smell a resource war on the horizon...

[QUOTE=Source;22595940]I call bullshit i bet they knew it was there and it was one of similar reasons they invaded in the first place[/QUOTE] Yes, the United States government has an elite, covert team of mineral prospectors deployed to all regions of the world. Whenever one is found, all that has to happen is a catastrophic terrorist attack on the United States, the first of it's kind on any comparable scale. It's the perfect plan, and we just unraveled it.

There goes the national debt.

[QUOTE=Source;22595940]I call bullshit i bet they knew it was there and it was one of similar reasons they invaded in the first place[/QUOTE] Yah, it wasn't the fact that Al-Qaeda was based in Afghanistan. It was definitely because the US sent geologist there and they found Lithium.

Soon Afghanistan will start waving it's dick around and try to outbuild Dubai.

Watch Obama send a "necessary" shipment of troops over there now.

[QUOTE=mastermaul;22596051]Soon Afghanistan will start waving it's dick around and try to outbuild Dubai.[/QUOTE] I welcome that. Dubai is a shithole aside from those with oil money but this mine could really turn Afghanistan around.

Remember Saudi Arabia, how they had a monarchy when they first started pulling oil from them? They still have it and are still very powerful. Hamid Karzai fucked over Afghanistan in a kleptocracy and now they are going to get rich off the mining industry. We really need to get him out of power and get an actual elected official in instead of this bastard.

It will be interesting to see if the Afghan people get to be owners, or do they have to be the slave workers only. In the old colonial days we know how this would play out. Supposedly we are more civilized and enlightened now. This is the West's chance(led by the US) to show the world, Muslim or not, what the benefits are of working with us as partners. Or we can just jack them for their shiat and let the chips fall where they may.

What an interesting development [editline]01:24AM[/editline] [QUOTE=Source;22595940]I call bullshit i bet they knew it was there and it was one of similar reasons they invaded in the first place[/QUOTE] :tinfoil:

Country better demand a fair share of the profit, tax the thing to death.

This is how the war will be ended. Get the people of Afghanistan (relative) wealth and education, and the Taliban lose all their support.

[QUOTE=gman003-main;22596768]This is how the war will be ended. Get the people of Afghanistan (relative) wealth and education, and the Taliban lose all their support.[/QUOTE] Exactly. The slogan right now is "hearts and minds." If the government isn't corrupt and we do some good things, the hearts and minds of the people go to us and not the Taliban.

[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;22595765]Oil in Iraq, lithium in Afghanistan. Well played, America, well played.[/QUOTE] Hahaha it's not like we planned it that way. "Mr. Bush, our Lithium stores are low!" "Invade Afghanistan! My LITHIUM DOWSING ROD is pointing directly toward it!"

Get the Afghan people back into the work place, use that money to build new schools and new agricultural systems and the war is essentially won. Of course, the U.S. will also make a sizable profit, assuming we purchase the mines.

This really could be the biggest thing since opium in Afghanistan. This better have something good happen for the country.

Hello, the Talibans and Al-Qaeda destroyed the New York Twin Towers! That was the reason why they went to war with Afghanistan. To capture and destroy the terrorists. This lithium ion thing has nothing to do with the war