Coba baca di sini. Sempat2nya pejabat Pentagon dan Ahli Geologi AS mengeksplorasi kekayaan alam Afghanistan di sana: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37677987/ Vast mineral deposits found in Afghanistan Nearly $1 trillion in untapped resources could fundamentally alter economy Tyler Hicks / The New York Times
By James Risen updated 10:22 p.m. ET June 13, 2010 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. 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 Blackberries. Story continues below ↓advertisement | your ad here Click Here! 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. 'Stunning potential' 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. Corruption 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, undersecretary of defense 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. === Belajar Islam sesuai Al Qur'an dan Hadits http://media-islam.or.id Milis Ekonomi Nasional: ekonomi-nasional-subscr...@yahoogroups.com Belajar Islam via SMS: http://media-islam.or.id/2008/01/14/dakwah-syiar-islam-lewat-sms-mobile-phone --- Pada Sen, 14/6/10, Dwi Rangga Mahendra <rockblue...@gmail.com> menulis: Dari: Dwi Rangga Mahendra <rockblue...@gmail.com> Judul: Re: [syiar-islam] Menjajah Demi Uang - Bls: Report: US finds mineral riches in Afghanistan Kepada: "A Nizami" <nizam...@yahoo.com>, syiar-is...@yahoogroups.com, "sabili" <sab...@yahoogroups.com>, ekonomi-nasional@yahoogroups.com Tanggal: Senin, 14 Juni, 2010, 2:04 AM Maaf, bisa diberikan drmn dasar beritanya? Saya tertarik utk mbacanya. Terima kasih, Powered by BlackBerry® via Smart 1x / EVDO Network. Smart-Hebat-Hemat.From: A Nizami <nizam...@yahoo.com> Sender: syiar-is...@yahoogroups.com Date: Mon, 14 Jun 2010 16:53:25 +0800 (SGT)To: sabili<sab...@yahoogroups.com>; syiar-islam<syiar-is...@yahoogroups.com>; <ekonomi-nasional@yahoogroups.com>Subject: [syiar-islam] Menjajah Demi Uang - Bls: Report: US finds mineral riches in Afghanistan "GOLD" (Emas) adalah satu alasan kenapa bangsa Eropa menjajah bangsa di Asia, Afrika, Australia, dan Amerika. Dengan temuan mineral yang nilainya US$ 1 trilyun (RP 9100 trilyun), niscaya AS tidak akan mau meninggalkan Afghanistan. Kekayaan alam Afghanistan akan dikuras sampai habis persis seperti terjadi di Indonesia. Rakyat AS kaya, sementara rakyat Indonesia dan Afghanistan miskin dan kelaparan... === Belajar Islam sesuai Al Qur'an dan Hadits http://media-islam.or.id Milis Ekonomi Nasional: ekonomi-nasional-subscr...@yahoogroups.com Belajar Islam via SMS: http://media-islam.or.id/2008/01/14/dakwah-syiar-islam-lewat-sms-mobile-phone --- Pada Sen, 14/6/10, OK Taufik <ok.tau...@gmail.com> menulis: Dari: OK Taufik <ok.tau...@gmail.com> Judul: [ekonomi-nasional] Report: US finds mineral riches in Afghanistan Kepada: "sabili" <sab...@yahoogroups.com>, "syiar-islam" <syiar-is...@yahoogroups.com>, "Istiqlal Community" <komunitas_istiq...@yahoogroups.com>, "PKS1 ..." <partai-keadilan-sejaht...@yahoogroups.com>, ekonomi-nasional@yahoogroups.com Tanggal: Senin, 14 Juni, 2010, 1:47 AM <http://www.mail.com/Article.aspx/money/business/APNews/General-Business/20100611/U_US-Gulf-Oil-Spill> <http://www.mail.com/Article.aspx/money/business/APNews/General-Business/20100614/U_US-Afghanistan-Mineral-Treasures?pageid=1#> A team of U.S. geologists and Pentagon officials has discovered vast mineral wealth in Afghanistan, conceivably enough to turn the scarred and impoverished country into one of the world's most lucrative mining centers, The New York Times reports. "There is stunning potential here," Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of the United States Central Command, told the paper in a report published Monday. "There are a lot of ifs, of course, but I think potentially it is hugely significant." Americans discovered nearly $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan, including iron, copper, cobalt, gold and critical industrial metals like lithium, according to the report. The Times quoted a Pentagon memo as saying Afghanistan could become the "Saudi Arabia of lithium," a key raw material in the manufacture of batteries for laptops and cell phones. During a visit last month to Washington, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said his nation's untapped mineral deposits could be even higher -- perhaps as much as $3 trillion. The mineral resources are a "massive opportunity," Karzai said at a May 13 event with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton held at the U.S. Institute of Peace. The report in the Times said the U.S. Geological Survey began aerial surveys of Afghanistan's mineral resources in 2006, using data that had been collected by Soviet mining experts during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s. Promising results led to a more sophisticated study the next year. Then last year, a Pentagon task force that had created business development programs in Iraq arrived in Afghanistan and closely analyzed the geologists' findings. U.S. mining experts were brought in to validate the survey's conclusions, and top U.S. and Afghan officials were briefed. So far, the biggest mineral deposits discovered are of iron and copper, but finds include large deposits of niobium, a soft metal used in producing superconducting steel, as well as rare earth elements and large gold deposits in Pashtun areas of southern Afghanistan, the report said. In an op-ed published last month in a London newspaper, former Afghan finance minister Ashraf Ghani, wrote: "Afghanistan is rich in minerals including copper, iron, marble, chromite, manganese and emeralds. With good governance in place, these assets can generate funds." -- Sent from my Computer® [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
