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Afghanistan to decide on Aynak copper deposit project soon

The acting Minister of Mines and Petroleum of Afghanistan, Ms. Nargis Nehan, said that the Afghan Government is expected to announce its position on the fate of Mes Aynak copper deposit in the near future and that Government will terminate the contract if the contractor is no longer willing to move forward work on the project. “The main issue on the project is that on one hand there are historic sites located at Mes Aynak which archaeologists say that there is a need for underground extraction on the site so that the historic relics are not harmed, but the contractor company says that this approach is not economically good. We are trying to convene a meeting in a month to resolve the problem. There are two options on the talks: either the company starts work or the contract will be terminated,” the Minister said. Ainak mine is located in Logar Province and it is the biggest copper mine in Afghanistan that has attracted a lot of foreign investors. Aynak copper deposit is considered one of the biggest economic projects of Afghanistan with an estimated resource of 14 million tons.