General Minerals - Ministry of Mines

There is a wide variety of marble in Afghanistan currently extractedfrom quarries in Badakhshan, Balkh, Bamyan, Helmand, Herat, Kabul,Kandahar, Logar, Faryab, Wardak, Nangahar, Paktia, Parwan andSamangan provinces.Marbles developed in rocks of Proterozoic age are considered to bethe highest quality for use as dimension stone.Quarrying of this material often involves very basic techniques, andmarble is often exported as unprocessed blocks or unpolished slabs.Other quarries produce and export granite, limestone and sandstone.Quarrying licenses, along with licenses to extract construction materialcomprise more than 90% of the approximately 600 mining licencescurrently issued in Afghanistan.Exotic Granite of the highest quality has recently been discovered bythe Afghan Geological Survey in Samangan province.MarbleMarble processing factory in AfghanistanGemstonesSample of Afghan GemstoneAfghanistan remains rich in precious and semi-precious gemstonedeposits. Precious gems including emeralds, rubies and sapphiresare mined here and semi-precious lapis lazuli, tourmaline,aquamarine, kunzite, topaz, garnets, fluorite and varieties ofquartz have also been extracted.Gemstone mining in Afghanistan is typically an artisanal activity,carried out by people living in villages surrounding the mines.Recent government initiatives are addressing the economic issuesassociated with gemstone production. A new Mining Law hasbeen passed and regulations are being developed to provide theframework for more formal exploration and mining. TheGovernment of Afghanistan is starting to formalize the industry byasserting its control in rural areas.Gold has been worked in Afghanistan for centuries from many areasincluding Badakhshan and Takhar province in the north, and Ghazni,Zabul and Kandahar provinces in the south-west of the country.Gold deposits and prospects are known in rocks of Proterozoic toNeogene age. Many styles of gold mineralization occur, in particularskarn, vein-hosted, porphyry related and alluvial.Afghanistan is relatively under-explored and has not yet beenevaluated in the light of modern mineral deposit models and using upto-datesophisticated analytical methods and exploration techniques.There is significant potential for further discoveries of goldmineralization throughout the country in a variety of styles especiallyporphyry copper-gold, skarn copper-gold and oxidized intrusiverelated mineralization.GoldOpening ceremony for the Noorabaand Samti Gold ProjectContact DetailsInvestment Promotion DirectorateMinistry of MinesKabul, AfghanistanTelephone: +93 (0) 752 076 483E-mail: miningenquiries@mom.gov.afWebsite: http://www.mom.gov.af