20120511-Monitoring-Mining-flickr-TOB.jpg
Photo Credit: Flickr/Jerome Starkey

KABUL - There's a sign on the wall in the offices of Integrity Watch Afghanistan here that seems to say it all: "transparent wealth for equal distribution."

The poster reflects the broader mission of the Afghan NGO, but it says something about a mining project the organization is doing in partnership with USIP that focuses on bringing transparency to an industry that could be a game-changer for the country.

Logar province, one of the poorest provinces with one of the highest unemployment rates, is home to millions of tons of copper. A Chinese firm, Metallurgical Corporation of China, or MCC, has the rights to develop the mine and plans to begin extracting copper as early as 2014. But when it comes to mining in Afghanistan, there are the pessimists and there are the optimists. Although MCC has not done much in Logar yet, some believe mining could begin relatively soon. Others think stability and infrastructure issues in Afghanistan and the economy in China could dampen prospects for serious extraction work for many years.

All agree that Afghanistan confronts major challenges before mining becomes the country's "economic life raft" – and helps create a more self-sustaining budget. Afghanistan now relies on foreign aid for about 80 percent of its budget.

Estimates suggest there is close to a trillion dollars worth of minerals in Afghanistan, from oil and gas to copper, iron and coal. And a Pentagon report suggested Afghanistan could become the "Saudi Arabia of lithium," a raw material used in computer batteries, according to the New York Times. The Aynak mines in Logar offer one of the first mines on a scale with such large potential.

Integrity Watch Afghanistan is hopeful but wary. There's gold in them thar hills, and mining companies and the government of Afghanistan all want their piece. But there is an intense desire to minimize the adverse effects mining could have on the communities around the mines in Logar, and to make sure locals aren't motivated to disrupt mining operations, either. So the aim is to ensure the people who live there aren't left out as the mining industry takes hold. And USIP's partnership in this small project, implemented by IWA, is supposed to help see that they don't.

Mining, said Najib Ziar, a project manager at IWA, "is a major hope for Afghanistan." But as a non-renewable resource, there aren't a lot of second chances to get it right, he told me over green tea at USIP's Kabul office recently. "In order to sell [minerals] properly, you have to have good deals," he said. "You have to monitor it properly, inspect it properly, so that the company doesn't cheat you, so that it sticks to international standards, so that it doesn't pollute your environment, so that it doesn't pollute your water."

Enter the community based monitoring project Najib and his colleague, Javed Noorani, will begin next month. The NGO has hired a team of researchers to visit the 11 villages in Logar province in and around Aynak. The team will collect data on the local economy, the number of people with jobs, social conditions, infrastructure, access to services like education and healthcare and other factors. That data will be compiled into a "baseline" of information long before any miner turns a shovel.

That will give monitors like IWA – and USIP – a way to map changes to the communities as the extractive industry begins work in Logar. The idea is to use that information to give the 500 or so families living in the area a seat at the table.

"We are empowering the communities to have a stake in promoting sustainable and equitable progress in Afghanistan's mining sector," said USIP's Raymond Gilpin, who is overseeing the project for USIP.

Related Publications

Moscow Concert Hall Attack Will Have Far-Reaching Impact

Moscow Concert Hall Attack Will Have Far-Reaching Impact

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

By: Mary Glantz, Ph.D.;  Gavin Helf, Ph.D.;  Asfandyar Mir, Ph.D.;  Andrew Watkins

On Friday, terrorists attacked the Crocus City Hall outside Moscow leaving 140 people dead and 80 others critically wounded. Soon after, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack. The terrorist group, which is headquartered in Iraq and Syria, has several branches, including in South and Central Asia. Press reports suggest the U.S. government believes the Afghanistan-based affiliate of the Islamic State, ISIS-Khorasan (ISIS-K), was behind the attack. The Biden administration has publicly noted that it had warned the Russian government of the terrorism threat in early March in line with the procedure of “Duty to Warn.”

Type: Analysis

Global Policy

The Challenges Facing Afghans with Disabilities

The Challenges Facing Afghans with Disabilities

Thursday, February 29, 2024

By: Belquis Ahmadi

In Afghanistan, obtaining accurate data on the number of persons with disabilities — including gender-disaggregated information — has always been a challenging endeavor. But based on the data we do have, it’s clear that more than four decades of violent conflict have left a considerable portion of the Afghan population grappling with various forms of disabilities, both war-related and otherwise. And the pervasive lack of protective mechanisms, social awareness and empathy surrounding disability continue to pose formidable challenges for individuals with disabilities, with women being disproportionately affected.

Type: Analysis

GenderHuman Rights

What to Expect from the Doha Conference on Afghanistan

What to Expect from the Doha Conference on Afghanistan

Thursday, February 15, 2024

By: Kate Bateman;  Andrew Watkins

On February 18-19, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will convene a meeting on Afghanistan in Doha to discuss the ongoing humanitarian and human rights crises and the recent report on a way forward by U.N. Special Coordinator for Afghanistan Feridun Sinirlioğlu. Special envoys from U.N. member states and international organizations will attend; representatives from Afghan civil society, women’s groups and Taliban officials have also been invited. The conference is a critical, high-level opportunity for donors and the region to chart next steps on how to improve the situation in Afghanistan and engage with the Taliban regime.

Type: Question and Answer

Global Policy

The Latest @ USIP: U.N. Engagement in Afghanistan

The Latest @ USIP: U.N. Engagement in Afghanistan

Wednesday, December 20, 2023

By: Kanni Wignaraja

While some parts of the Afghan economy managed to stabilize in 2023, poverty continued to increase and now stands at 69 percent of the population. Kanni Wignaraja, director for Asia and the Pacific at the U.N. Development Programme, discusses UNDP’s efforts to build resilience in local markets and promote women-owned enterprises in Afghanistan; explores ways to navigate relations with the Taliban; and examines how the decline in international aid is affecting humanitarian efforts in the country.

Type: Blog

EconomicsHuman Rights

View All Publications