Afghanistan’s Ministry of Mines has thus far done an impressive job of managing the tender and bidding process for a number of mineral blocs.
The government of Afghanistan announced its preferred bidders for three of its four current mineral tenders with a consortium backed by City of London banker Mr Ian Hannam, former BHP Billiton CEO Chip Goodyear, and Poland’s multibillionaire Mr. Jan Kulczyk emerging as the biggest winner….
This is the second round of mineral licensing conducted by the Afghan government which in 2008 gave Metallurgical Corp of China rights to the Aynak copper deposit and, in November last year, granted an Indian steel company the right to exploit the Hajigak iron ore deposit.
The Hajigak iron ore deposit is considered one of the largest iron deposits in the world at 1.8 billion tonnes. It is estimated that Afghanistan sits on over USD 1 trillion of untapped mineral wealth but analysts warn that corruption, war and lack of basic infrastructure are likely to continue delaying the country’s mining boom.
Via SteelGuru.com.
