A MUST READ! Vast areas of minerals (Gold, Iron, Copper, and Lithium) JUST discovered in Afghanistan...

A MUST READ article if you follow the war in Afghanistan!! There is a VERY interesting development in Afghanistan.  The discovery of previously unknown vast quantities of minerals  (notably Lithium, which is used in batteries for an array of electronics) has the potential to be a blessing or a curse.  The Congo has a severe problem of "Conflict Minerals" for electronics.  Unless stability and rule of law become the norm in Afghanistan then, well, watch out.  The competition for access to these areas of riches will become intense and nasty...Stay tuned for this one...They (the Afghans) now have something more than Poppies to fight for now...

NYTIMES: U.S. Identifies Vast Riches of Minerals in Afghanistan

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. U.S. Identifies Vast Riches of Minerals in Afghanistan.
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.
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.”