JP Morgan sends team of mining experts to Afghanistan

[Amerigo Vespucci]

World’s Mining Companies Covet Afghan Riches
By JAMES RISEN
Published: June 17, 2010

WASHINGTON — Mining companies around the world are eager to exploit Afghanistan’s newly discovered mineral wealth, but executives of Western firms caution that war, corruption and lack of roads and other infrastructure are likely to delay exploration for years.

A few high-risk investors are sufficiently intrigued by the country’s potential to take an early look. JP Morgan, for instance, has just sent a team of mining experts to Afghanistan to examine possible projects to develop.

“Afghanistan could be one of the leading producers of copper, gold, lithium and iron ore in the world,” said Ian Hannam, a London-based banker and mining expert with JP Morgan. “I believe this has the potential to be transforming for Afghanistan.”

But executives with international mining firms said in interviews that while they believed that Afghanistan’s mineral deposits held great potential, their businesses were not planning to move into the country until the war was over and the country more stable.

“There are huge deposits there,” said David Beatty, chief executive of Rio-Novo Gold, a mining company based in Toronto. “But as chief executive, would I send a team to Kandahar? And then call a guy’s wife after he gets shot? No.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/18/world/asia/18mines.html

[havocmom]

1. damned Nazis; always after the gold

Me 'n Indiana HATE Nazis.

[DJ13]

2. The next excuse for staying in Afghanistan

"We have to stay to protect our citizens who are there mining the minerals".

Perfect.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

4. Wolfowitz: Iraq oil revenue will pay for reconstruction after the war

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Wolfowitz

[Arctic Dave]

3. CT time for me.

Could this be a bogus story to get the Afghanis to make nice with each other while we get the hell out?

[Angry Dragon]

5. I read on DU that the US has known about the minerals

since the Russians were there

"not planning to move into the country until the war was over and the country more stable"

is that why we are still there??