KABUL: Afghan Taliban said they are not in a hurry to give China access to Afghanistan’s lithium reserves, despite the payment offer for access to the rich deposits of the metal that could help the war-torn country stand on its feet.
Afghanistan has abundant mineral riches, including copper, gold, oil, natural gas, uranium, bauxite and iron. The United States Department of Defence estimated in 2010 that it could hold 1 trillion dollars of untapped mineral deposits. The country’s lithium reserves are vital to the world supply of the metal crucial to producing batteries for electric vehicles.
Chinese company Gochin earlier held talks with Afghan Mines and Petroleum Minister Shahabuddin Delawar last month. The ministry offered to invest 10 billion dollars in mining the metal and employing 120,000 people during digging the untapped reserves.
Although the deal could fuel hopes for the revival of the country’s reeling economy, Taliban rulers said they are in no hurry to clinch the deal.
“We are not in a hurry for the lithium contract and will not take hurried steps and action in this regard. We’re not obliged to give this contract only to China,” Hamayoon Afghan, a Ministry of Mines and Petroleum spokesman told Arab News.
“It’s yet to be known when the contract will be signed, and it doesn’t need to be signed only with China. We will consider our benefits.”
Another government source, who was not authorised to talk to the media, told Arab News that several foreign companies had expressed interest in investing in Afghanistan’s mining sector in recent months.
Beijing is interested in Afghanistan’s lithium reserves due to their proximity, according to Muhibullah Sharif, a political science expert in Kabul. China and Afghanistan are connected by land through the narrow, resource-rich Wakhan Corridor.
Sharif said, “China wants to get it at a low price and without applying any related international standards,”
“Such the activity is intended to provide from one side raw materials for the industrialisation of China and from another side to create the political block at the regional level against Western countries.”
The Mining Ministry pledged after meeting with China that the lithium would be processed entirely in Afghanistan and infrastructure would be built for the purpose. Sharif said he was sceptical about the commitment.
He said: “It’ll be difficult for the Taliban government to ensure that China will carry out its promises properly and in the interest of Afghanistan,”
