(MENAFN- Afghanistan Times) AT News
KABUL: Production of marble has increased by 57 percent in
Maidan Wardan province, the Afghan Ministry of Mines and Petroleum reports.
In an interview with Voice of America (VoA), the ministry's spokesperson
Abdul Qadir Mutfi said the province has produced over 46,000 tons of marbles
during this fiscal year (1398), which indicates a 57 percent increase from last
year's production.
‘This year's total production is higher by 16,883 tons than last
year's,' said Mutfi.
The province had produced a total of 29,538 tons of marble last
year.
Figures from the ministry show that Maidan Wardak has exported
1,879 squares meters of marble to Bakul, capital of Azerbaijan, and 3421 square
meters to Astana city of Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan had expressed interest in Afghanistan's marbles six
years ago when the country announced it wanted to redesign the city of Baku.
Maidan Wardak has 13 marble quarry and mineral deposits,
four of which are currently under extraction. The extraction of the mineral
deposits in the province is carried by private companies.
Meanwhile, Afghan Ministry of Commerce and Industries spokesperson
Sameer Rasa told VoA that Afghanistan has exported $2.5mn worth of marble to
Iran, China, Azerbaijan, Pakistan and Iraq during the first nine months of the
current fiscal year.
According to estimates from the Ministry of Mines estimates,
Afghanistan has a total capacity to extract 1.5bn tons of marble.
A preliminary forecast by the presidential office indicates that
the country's marble mines are worth more than $150 billion, with about
twenty-five extractive companies and 108 processing companies currently
operating in the sector.
However, marble, like other mines in the country, is illegally
mined in various provinces due to the growing insecurity. Nagarhar, Herat and
Helmand are provinces where marble is smuggled to neighboring countries.
According to reports, Taliban are benefitting from illegal extraction
of marble in Sordak district of Helmand province. The Afghan government has
taken several measures to protect the mines, including setting up a mine
protection unit and suspending a number mining projects in the provinces.
However, due to increasing insecurity, the government has not been able to
prevent the smuggling of precious and semi-precious stones.
MENAFN1201202001690000ID1099541882
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.