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AFGHANISTAN: GOLD RUSH IN A WAR ZONE

Stephen G. Peters

February 7, 2012

ABSTRACT:

Said Mirzad, former director of the Afghan Geological Survey, and Stephen Peters (USGS) inspecting a mineral prospect in Afghanistan, guarded by NATO troops.

Afghanistan contains a number of unexploited gold deposits and gold districts. Many of these deposits and districts have been known since the time of Alexander the Great or Ghenghis Khan.  The USGS joined the reconstruction effort in Afghanistan and began to compile data and information about mineral deposits and other natural resources in the country http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/14/world/asia/14minerals.html). In 2009 the Department of Defense (DoD) Task Force for Business Stability Operations engaged the USGS to help identify and develop favorable mineral sites to stabilize the country, increase its security, and provide new jobs from an emerging mineral industry. Gold deposits show great promise.

The Task Force provided field support for USGS scientists to visit, map and sample known mineralized areas. This support included military transportation, planning and security. The rationale for this work is to provide the country of Afghanistan with enough revenue to fund a standing army so that the NATO troops can be replaced. Much of the USGS data for prospective deposits and districts have been compiled into tender packages by the Afghan Ministry of Mines. Chinese, Indian, and South African firms have already begun mineral development in several areas in Afghanistan (http://bigpeace.com/jbradley/2011/12/30/china-claims-afghan-mineral-resources-while-us-counts-down-to-withdrawal/). The opportunity for investors is that a single company can acquire an entire ore district and develop it without inheriting existing land or environmental issues.<\p> There are a number of different types of gold deposits in Afghanistan.  Pluton-related gold deposits in Afghanistan mainly are porphyry-copper related, polymetallic, gold-quartz veins.  In addition, orogenic lode gold occurrences associated with metamorphic rocks are present in the north. Extensive gold placer deposits are present in northern Takhar Province.> Pluton-related gold deposits are best represented by the Zarkashan porphyry-skarn deposit. The Zarkashan copper-(gold) deposit contains gold and copper mineralization in skarn and shattered zones (Table 1). Several auriferous zones were delineated by Soviet workers; their width varying from 1 to 15 m and extension reaching 600 m. The zones enclose ore bodies of commercial value, which appear as lenses and nests 1.5 to 50 m in length and 0.5 to 3.8 m in thickness. The gold content varies between several tenths of a gram to 10 g per metric ton. The zones were evaluated by tunneling to a depth of 80 m. The probable and possible reserves are 7.7 metric tons of gold.  The tenor of gold in the Zarkashan mine area and at Zardak were confirmed in 2010 by the USGS and DoD. Link to table. The best example of an orogenic or metamorphic gold deposit is in Badakhshan Province at the Vekadur deposit, which is one of the larger gold occurrences in Afghanistan.  Calculated resources are 958.3 kg Au averaging 4.1 g/t Au.  Brecciated rocks grade 46.7 g/t silver and contain arsenopyrite, galena, chalcopyrite, and scheeliteThe geometry of the deposit is amenable to open pit mining. The area also contains outcrops of Cenozoic conglomerate that may have potential for gold placer deposits. For more information, see: http://afghanistan.cr.usgs.gov/minerals and http://mapdss2.er.usgs.gov/openview/welcome.html. (Note from V.P. Bob Kamilli: The second website listed above is particularly cool. Check it out!)

BIO:

Steve Peters is a research geologist with the US Geological Survey. His background is in mining, exploration geology and resource assessment. He is the Project Chief for the USGS Afghanistan Minerals Project and has also led projects in SE Asia and Madagascar.  He received a PhD in Economic Geology from James Cook University of North Queensland, Australia, an MSc in Engineering Science Management from the University of Alaska, and a BSc in Geology from Northern Arizona University. Steve has conducted field and laboratory research on Carlin-type gold deposits in Nevada and China for the USGS. Prior to joining the USGS he worked in private industry for 20 years in the exploration and production of mineral deposits with various mining companies in Australia, Western U.S., Alaska, and South Africa. Steve is a registered engineer (CEng) with the Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (London), a 32-year member of the Society of Economic Geology, and the American Institute of Mining and Exploration (AIME).