After a 15-year delay, the extraction of copper at Mes Aynak is expected to finally get underway by the end of the week.
Ministry of Mines and Petroleum spokesman Homayoun Afghan said in a post on X that the contracting company has been told to immediately start operations, and processing, in accordance with the conditions of the agreement signed in 2008.
“The contracting company has been ordered to start [extraction of] the world’s largest copper mine – without any obstacles or delays – at the end of this week,” said Afghan.
This comes after the acting Minister of Mines and Petroleum Hedayatullah Badri met with the Chinese ambassador to Kabul, Zhao Xing, last week and stressed the need to accelerate Mes Aynak copper and Amu Darya basin oil projects.
Experts say that the lack of standard equipment and machinery has created problems in the mining sector.
According to experts, Afghanistan’s mines should not be controlled by any foreign countries.
Currently, foreign companies from various countries are invested in the country’s mining sector – especially Chinese companies.
Mes Aynak copper mine is located 40 km southeast of Kabul in Logar province and is thought to have the second biggest copper deposit in the world.
The Chinese company MJAM won the Mes Aynak copper mining contract in 2007; but since then, due to security problems and the existence of ancient artifacts in the area, operations have stalled.