The Ministry of Mines and Petroleum (MoMP) on Sunday said it has wrapped up their assessment of a list of demands by a Chinese contractor for Mes Aynak Copper project. 
 
MoMP spokesman Abdul Qadeer Mutfi said the ministry has assessed all recommendations made by China’s MCC company and that the report has been sent to the high economic council. 
 
Meanwhile, Chinese Ambassador to Afghanistan Liu Jinsong said China strongly values investing in Afghanistan, adding that MCC will also work in the country.
 
Aynak copper mine project is one of the biggest copper mining projects in the region. 
 
The MCC started exploration and extraction work eight years ago.
 
But after a short period of time, MCC stopped working on the project and instead sent a long list of recommendations to the Afghan government before they would continue. 
 
It is believed that the Chinese company had retracted on some of its commitments and the issue led to the prolonged delay of work. 
 
“All items which had been recommended to us by the MCC company have been assessed from a legal, technical and economic perspective and the outcomes will be shared with the high economic council,” said MoMP spokesman Abdul Qadeer Mutfi. 
 
“In addition to MCC, dozens of Chinese companies have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in Afghanistan. MCC will also start working here when the situation becomes stable,” said Liu Jinsong. 
 
Mes Aynak Copper Mine is considered one of the biggest planned economic projects of Afghanistan with its estimated reserve of 14 million tons.
 
The Afghan government was expected to gain $100 million a year from the project.