The Nuristan Department of Mines and Petroleum has announced that 125 kilograms of beryl and kunzite extracted from the Want district of the province were sold through an official auction for a total value of 5,366,000 Afghanis.
Maulavi Syed al-Rahim Umeer, head of the department, stated that more than 150 domestic traders participated in the process, and for the first time, Indian traders also took part in such an auction in Afghanistan. According to him, the presence of foreign traders can create healthy competition and help increase national revenues.
He added that the legal extraction and sale of precious stones not only strengthens the local economy but also provides job opportunities for the residents of Nuristan. He emphasized that the ministry is working to conduct more tenders in the mining sector in the near future.
Nuristan is considered one of the richest provinces of Afghanistan in terms of precious stone reserves. In the past, illegal mining and smuggling were the main obstacles to the proper utilization of these natural resources. The government is seeking to curb smuggling and transfer revenues from these resources to the national treasury through transparent auctions.
