The Taliban’s Ministry of Mines and Petroleum has announced that precious and semi-precious stones extracted from the provinces of Kabul, Nuristan and Kunar have been sold at an auction for a total of 141.32 million Afghanis.
The auction was held on Friday, 8 Aqrab (October 30), in the presence of Mahmood Shah Zahid, the ministry’s deputy technical minister, representatives of companies, and a number of domestic and foreign investors.
According to information released by the ministry, the highest revenue was generated from the sale of tourmaline from Kunar province. A total of 117.4 kilograms of tourmaline from the province was sold for 137.1 million Afghanis.
In addition, 679.301 kilograms of precious and semi-precious stones from Nuristan, including kunzite, quartz and morganite, were sold for 2.95 million Afghanis. Meanwhile, 2,651.24 grams of rubies from Kabul were sold for 1.27 million Afghanis.
The Taliban’s Ministry of Mines said the auction aimed to promote mineral products, strengthen links between suppliers and investors, and encourage investment in the mining sector.
However, a number of anti-Taliban political figures have criticised the transparency of the group’s mining contracts. They say legal procedures for awarding contracts are not being followed and that unprofessional mining practices have put the country’s natural resources at risk.
Reports have also emerged alleging that some senior Taliban officials have stakes in mining contracts and benefit financially from them. These allegations have not been independently verified in this report.
Writer:Roya Stanikzai
