Extraction Work of a Huge Copper Deposit to Start in 3 Years

Officials in the Ministry of Mines and Industries say Ainak Copper mine in Afghanistan, one of the largest in the region, will produce 250,000 tonnes of copper each year

The MCC Chinese Company that has finished the technical studies of 200 sites in Ainak Copper mine located in the central province of Logar, is planning to start its extraction after 3 years.

The Ministry of Mines and Industries says the company will pay $1.5 billion as tax to the Afghan government each year after the extraction work starts.

The technical studies of this huge mine is going on now.

The Ministry says Ainak Copper mine is the largest economic project in the country now, and it will provide job opportunities for more than 20,000 people when its extraction work begins.

The Ministry adds that the MCC Chinese Company will also construct a 1,000-km railway between Kabul-Torkham and Kabul-Bamyan, as well as a 400 Mega Watt power station in Bamyan province, as part of its contract with the Afghan government.

"The ICC company will also build a 400 Mega Watt power station in Tala-wa-Barfak area in Bamyan province to use the coal resources that we have in that province to produce electricity," the Minister of Mines and Industries, Wahidullah Shahrani, told TOLOnews.

"This power will be transferred to Kabul by 220 Kilo Volts power stalls through Shiber and Bamyan ways to Kabul," he added.

Around 250,000 tonnes of copper is expected to be extracted annually from Ainak Copper mine.