Afghanistan Is Sitting On A Gold Mine. Literally.

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin August 30, 2021 Afghanistan is sitting on a gold mine. I don't mean that figuratively. The country sits atop what could be one of the world's largest reserves of various metals and minerals, including not just gold but also platinum, silver, copper, iron, aluminum and uranium. It's believed to have so much lithium, an increasingly important metal that's widely used in battery technology, that Afghanistan could one day be known as the "Saudi Arabia of lithium," according to a 2010 memo by the U.S. Department of Defense. The combined value of its minerals is estimated at between $1 trillion and $3 trillion. By comparison, opium poppy production in the country was valued at only $350 million in 2020, despite an increase in cultivation from the previous year. Afghanistan Rich in All-Important REEs. Will They Fall into the Right Hands? Among Afghanistan's rich resources are rare earth elements (REEs). REEs are those metals with unpronounceable names that are used in the manufacture of advanced technologies, including electric vehicles, wind turbines and missile guidance systems. Your iPhone contains a number of them. Each F-35 fighter jet carries about half a ton of these strategic elements. As I've… Read full this story

• Re-engineering Afghanistan
• Mobile Payments Try to Take Root in Afghanistan
• US buys Afghanistan “Eliminator” attack planes—Cessnas with Hellfires
• This iPhone 5S saved a soldier’s life in Afghanistan, but he can’t afford a new one
• Striking gold: This Audi R8 V10 Plus is fit for a king
• The 18K gold Apple Watch Edition may be a gold mine … literally
• Brabus’ gold-finished, 850-hp S63 AMG is a sports car fit for kings
• How to Protect the Constitution (Literally)
• 10 smartphones and accessories made of pure gold
• Gold-colored Huawei Nexus 6P finally available in the States

Afghanistan Is Sitting On A Gold Mine. Literally. have 300 words, post on www.forbes.com at August 30, 2021. This is cached page on Drudgereport. If you want remove this page, please contact us.