Afghanistan possesses an extraordinary, largely untapped mineral heritage estimated by geological surveys to be worth at least $1 trillion. The country’s complex mountainous geology, formed by prehistoric collisions of tectonic plates, has left behind over 1,400 recorded mineral occurrences. Afghanistan sits on globally significant reserves of lithium, cobalt, and rare earth elements (such as lanthanum, cerium, and neodymium). These are vital for the manufacturing of electric vehicle batteries, smartphones, and green energy hardware. The country hosts approximately 2.2 billion tonnes of iron ore and 60 million tonnes of copper. The Mes Aynak copper deposit is considered one of the largest unexploited copper fields in the world. Significant deposits of gold, high-grade marble, lapis lazuli, emeralds, and chromite span across central and Northern provinces. Over $200 billion of its estimated wealth lies in energy reserves, concentrated primarily in the northern Amu Darya and Afghan-Tajik petroleum basins. Since returning to power, the Taliban has shifted its mining strategy from localised, insurgent “taxation” (extortion of independent miners) into a highly centralised, aggressive state enterprise. It has made resource extraction the core pillar of its economic survival strategy.

Since returning to power, the Taliban has shifted its mining........

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