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MINERAL RESOURCES IN AFGHANISTAN - momp.gov.af
MINERAL
RESOURCES IN
AFGHANISTAN
2021           momp.gov.af1
MINERAL RESOURCES IN AFGHANISTAN - momp.gov.af
MINERAL RESOURCES IN AFGHANISTAN

                                                                                                                                                            CONTENTS
                                                                                                                                                            INTRODUCTION                                               7

                                                                                                                                                            GOLD                                                       8

                                                                                                                                                            COPPER                                                    15

                                                                                                                                                            PORPHYRY CU-MO-AU                                         22

                                                                                                                                                            CHROMITE                                                  25

                                                                                                                                                            IRON ORES                                                 28

                                                                                                                                                            LEAD & ZINC                                               36

                                                                                                                                                            MAGNESITE/TALC                                            42

                                                                                                                                                            FLUORSPAR                                                 48

                                                                                                                                                            GEMSTONES                                                 52

                                                                                                                                                            LIMESTONE/CEMENT                                          56

                                                                                                                                                            DIMENSION STONE                                           58

                                                                                                                                                            MARBLES                                                   62

                                                                                                                                                            TENDERING PROCESS                                         68

                                                                                                                                                            REFERENCES                                                71

                                                                                    Shah Foladi Geology Park, Bamyan — Photo Credit: Dr. Hassan Malestani

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This is a technical document drawing on multiple data sources, all of which are
open source. While any analysis is based on this data, both sins of commission or                                                                           OUR PUBLICATIONS
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All queries on rights and licenses, including subsidiary rights, should be
addressed to the Public Relations Directorate, Ministry of Mines and Petroleum,
Abdulhaq Square, Kabul, Afghanistan.
                                                                                                                                                                   Mining
                                                                                                                                                                   Sector
Compiled by                                                                                                                                                        Roadmap
Hussaindad Shafai
Abdullah Asifi
Qasim Akbar
                                                                                                                                                                   +
Designed by                                                                                                                                                        REFORM STRATEGY
                                                                                                                                                                   E X T R ACT I VE I N DU ST R I E S
Rohola Rezaei
                                                                                                                                                                   2019                                 momp.gov.af

Cover photograph
Mountain patterns in Afghanistan
Photo Credit: Michael Foley/Flickr

© 2021 Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
All rights reserved
MINERAL RESOURCES IN AFGHANISTAN - momp.gov.af
4   5
MINERAL RESOURCES IN AFGHANISTAN - momp.gov.af
MINERAL RESOURCES IN AFGHANISTAN

                                                                         INTRODUCTION

                                                                         Afghanistan is endowed with abundant natural resources that remain
                                                                         largely untapped. The country has world-class deposits of iron ore,
                                                                         copper, gold, rare-earth minerals, and a host of other natural resources.
                                                                         Similarly, the presence of petroleum resources has long been known in
                                                                         Afghanistan but these resources were exploited only to a limited extent.

                                                                         Bulk metals, such as iron ore, copper, aluminum, tin, lead and zinc, are
                                                                         located in multiple areas of the country. And, gemstones, rare-earth
                                                                         metals, sulfur, talc, gypsum and chromite, are predominant across
                                                                         Central Afghanistan, Baghlan, Kunduz, Logar, Khost, among other
                                                                         places.

                                                                         Much of the petroleum resource potential of Afghanistan and all of the
                                                                         crude oil and natural gas reserves are in northern Afghanistan, located
                                                                         in parts of two petroliferous geologic basins – the Amu Darya Basin to
                                                                         the west and the Afghan Tajik Basin to the east.

                                                                         The Government of Afghanistan sees Afghanistan’s vast mineral and
                                                                         hydrocarbon resources as a catalyst of long-term economic growth.
                                                                         Accordingly, the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum (MoMP) designed
                                                                         several consequential documents, including the Mining Sector
                                                                         Roadmap, a new Minerals Law, and a new Hydrocarbons Law as part of
                                                                         its commitments to open the mining and hydrocarbon sectors for
                                                                         private investment.

                                                                         To sustainably utilize our natural resources, the Ministry of Mines and
                                                                         Petroleum intends to tender new large-scale mining and hydrocarbon
                                                                         projects. The ministry is rigorously focused on attracting domestic and
                                                                         foreign investors to exploit Afghanistan’s plethora of mineral and
                                                                         hydrocarbon resources. This document will focus on the bankable
                                                                         investment opportunities in the mining sector which are ready for
                                                                         tendering.
Band-e-Amir National Park, Bamyan — Photo Credit: Dr. Hassan Malestani

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MINERAL RESOURCES IN AFGHANISTAN - momp.gov.af
MINERAL RESOURCES IN AFGHANISTAN                                                                                              Mineral Resources in Afghanistan
                                                                                                                              Gold

GOLD
                                                                                                                              Orogenic Gold Deposits                   DEPOSIT PROFILE 1
                                                                                                                              Potential for shear-zone vein-gold       Deposit Name               Vekadur
                                                                                                                              mineralisation exists along the
                                                                                                                                                                       Location                   Badakhshan Province
                                                                                                                              major trans-crustal structural
                                                                                                                              breaks representing remnant              Deposit Style              Orogenic / Metamorphic lode gold
                                                                                                                              terrane collisional boundaries.          Host geology               Silicified and ochreous brecciated schist, diabase and keratophyre dykes in vicinity (Proterozoic)
Background                             Soviet-Afghan teams, and have          the Neo-Tethys Ocean between the                Gold potential also occurs within        Ore minerals               Gold, arsenopyrite, galena, chalcopyrite and scheelite
Gold has been worked in                been largely unexplored.               Indo-Pakistan and Eurasian plates               Phanerozoic rocks in moderate            Deposit geology            Podiform orebody average 2m thick and 300m extent. Traced for 100m down dip
Afghanistan from ancient times         The reports of the earlier Soviet      produced the Himalayan orogeny.                 to gently dipping fault/suture           Estimated Resources 960 kg contained gold at grade of 4.1g/t Au, 46.7g/t Ag
and small-scale artisanal mining       exploration are now available in       During this oblique collision                   zones related to continental
is still being carried out on placer   Kabul. BGS and USGS have               NW-directed subduction occurred                 margin collisional tectonism.           Information: Abdullah et al. 2008; Peters et al. 2011
gold deposits in Takhar Province.      published summaries of the             beneath the Tirin-Argandab zone                 Suture zones characterised by
There are a number of other            geology and re-interpreted the         and a number of calc-alkaline                   ophiolitic remnants between
prospects, which have been             earlier data in the light of remote    granite bodies were intruded,                   diverse assemblages of island
evaluated by Soviet and Afghan         sensed information (Peters et al.,     accompanied by porphyry copper-                 arcs, subduction complexes
teams in the 1970’s and there is a     2007 and 2011).                        gold mineralisation of the Tethyan              and continental margin clastic
high probability that some of these                                           Metallogenic Belt (TMB). Further                wedges are also prospective. The
could be developed into working        Afghanistan has a complex geology      north in Badakhshan there are a                 zone of late Hercynian folding
mines. Improved exploration            due to its position on the junction    number of prospects and                         on the eastern end of the North
methods and modern                     between the Indo-Pakistan and          occurrences of metamorphic lode                 Afghan platform, in the provinces
metallogenetic models, coupled         Eurasian crustal plates. Its geology   gold in areas of Hercynian and                  of Badakhshan and Takhar, are
with knowledge that Afghanistan        is composed of a series of terranes    later Cimmerian folding. This zone              prospective for shear-zone gold                                                                                              Figure 2. Geological map
lies on a continuation of the          that broke away from the main          may extend southward into                       mineralisation, with a number                                                                                                of the Vekadur gold deposit.
Tethyan Metallogenic Belt, have        Gondwana Supercontinent before         Parwan as shown in Figure 1 and                 of deposits identified to date,                                                                                              Red hatched areas are zones
greatly improved the potential of      colliding, with each other or, with    even further to the west associated             including the Vekadur Au-Ag                                                                                                  of crushing and hydrothermal
the country. Several areas of the      the Eurasian Plate. Ultimately, all    with folding related to the closure             deposit (Figure 2 and Deposit Profile                                                                                        alteration in Proterozoic quartz-
country have potential for new         the terranes became accreted onto      of Palaeo-Tethys along the Herat                1). The Vekadur gold deposit has                                                                                             mica (light brown and grey)
deposit types, such as fine-grained    the southern margin of the             terrane boundary.                               been explored by five adits, eight                                                                                           and chlorite schists (pale blue)
epithermal gold, not sought by the     Eurasian plate. The final closure of                                                   pits, and 10 or more trenches                                                                                                Red outline shows gold heavy
                                                                                                                              (Gugenev et al., 1967). The adits                                                                                            mineral anomalies (after Peters
                                                                                                                              are excavated from the hanging                                                                                               et al., 2011).
                                                                                                                              wall west of the outcrop of the
                                                                                                                              vein and tunnel eastward into
                                                                                                                              the mountain. There is little
                                                                                                                              overburden in the hanging wall
                                                                                                                              side of the vein and the deposit
                                                                                                                              could be worked as an open pit.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       No modern exploration has been
                                                                                                                              A number of other occurrences are                                                                        carried out in the Badakhshan
                                                                                                                              known in the Ragh District and,                                                                          region since the 1960’s.
                                                                                                                              like Vekadur, are found in shatter
                                                                                                                              zones containing gold-bearing                                                                            Other prospective districts such
                                                                                                                              quartz veins with a low-sulphide                                                                         as Baharak and Fayzabad as well
                                                                                                                              mineral content. These features                                                                          as having lode gold deposits,
                                                                                                                              are common to a number of               Figure 3. Afghanistan Geological Survey field                    also contain iron skarns some of
                                                                                                                              productive cratons where several        work conducted in 2010 at Furmorah gold                          which contain gold. The Furmorah
                                                                              Figure 1. Gold occurrences in Afghanistan on    hundred small deposits of about         prospect, Fayzabad district, including prospect                  pluton is surrounded by several
                                                                              a low-resolution Landsat image, with areas of   one tonne of gold are present as        evaluation and trench digging. Photographs by                    iron skarns, one of which grades
                                                                              enhanced gold and mercury potential (after      structurally controlled stockworks      the Afghanistan Geological Survey (Figure 3c                     as much as 3.3g/t Au.
                                                                              Peters et al., 2007).                           and massive veins.                      Peters et al., 2011).

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MINERAL RESOURCES IN AFGHANISTAN - momp.gov.af
Mineral Resources in Afghanistan                                                                                    Mineral Resources in Afghanistan
Gold                                                                                                                Gold

Placer Gold                            that while being the respected        enabling the resource envelope         zones from ASTER and aeromagnetic
Small-scale placer gold mining         industry standard for terraces        to be identified and the dredge        anomalies. Within them two deposits,
appears to have been conducted         and dryish floodplains are known      envelope to be calculated. The         Zarkashan in the north and Kundalyan
in the streams and rivers of the       to systematically lose most of the    appropriate method of mining           in the south, have been investigated by
Hindu Kush for many centuries          gold when used in waterlogged         would be a civil engineering           detailed sampling, trenching and drilling.
and continues locally today in         ground such as wet floodplains.       cutter-suction dredge pumping
both placers and paleoplacers in       This fact has been known for          the overburden away to raise flat
Takhar Province. Reports persist       many decades in the Russian           land several kilometres away           ZARKASHAN
of local people putting sheepskins     placer gold industry.                 so creating a large dredge pond
in mountain streams in                                                       to hold a large mineral dredge         The Zarkashan area of interest surrounds
Badakhshan Province to serve as        Samti Gold Dredge Resource            such as a Russian, Dutch or USA        the Late Cretaceous-Paleocene Zarkashan
fleece sluices capable of catching     An outstanding success was            bucket-line dredge with on-board       diorite, granodiorite to adamellite
fine gold, reminiscent of tales of     the systematic proving of a           wash-plant to recover the gold.        intrusion and consists of a number of
the 'Golden Fleece'.                   resource of 30 tonnes of placer       Accordingly a modified German          gold and copper occurrences (Figures
                                       gold by churn drilling on the         Ruhr grab dredge may be an             6 and 7). The deposit is hosted by the
Soviet and Afghan geologists           active floodplain of the Amu          attractive alternative, having         Triassic and Cretaceous sediments and
undertook the first industrial-        Darya near the village of Samti       a reach of more than twice the         is associated with garnet-vesuvianite-
scale exploration for placer gold      in Takhar Province. The United        depth of the placer gold. Finally a    diopside and with irregular zones of
and made some major discoveries        States Geological Survey confirms     large civil cutter suction dredge      diopside skarns. The mineralisation
(Galchenko et al., 1972), notably      the manual Soviet estimated           might be considered, having the        consists of chalcopyrite, pyrite, sphalerite,
Samti, Nuruba, Chah-i-Ab and           resource of 30 tonnes, which is       merit of wide availability and         chalcocite, bornite, and native gold
Jar Bolshi and a large number of       large by current world standards.     lower cost, albeit at some peril of    in the hydrothermally altered skarns.
smaller occurrences (Figure 4).        Nevertheless it is believed to be a   losing some gold.                      Preliminary exploration, including rock
                                       substantial underestimate of the                                             sampling, trenching and underground
It is clear the grades and extent      true magnitude of the Samti gold      Discovery of Other Deposits of         adits, has indicated the presence of
of the placer gold has been            resource.                             Placer Gold                            several ore-bearing zones of 400-600m
underestimated by the Soviet                                                 There is large potential for further   long and 1-15m thick, with lenticular
geologists due to limitations in the   The heavy gold losses of Soviet       discoveries of large placer gold       and nest-shaped bodies of 1.5-50m long
Soviet exploration methods:            churn drills was familiar to Soviet   deposits on the Afghan side of         and 0.5-3.8m thick. Gold mineralisation
                                       placer geologists, and indeed         the Amu Darya river, as well as        is traceable for 80m down dip, assaying
Firstly, it is apparent the Soviet-    the remains of an unused Soviet       discovery of large extensions of       from 0.10 to 16g/t Au. Category C1+C2
driven exploration effort was          bucket drill has been identified at   the Samti placer itself. Drilling      resources are 7,775kg and speculative
limited to areas with good water       the AGS Khair Khana Engineering       on wet floodplains must only be        resources are 12,000 to 15,000kg of             Figure 4. Geological map of northern Takhar showing
supplies in order to facilitate wet    Warehouse. A Soviet-Canadian          done with Russian bucket drills        contained gold. Copper grades vary              the distribution of Neogene and Quaternary strata and
washing of the placer ores by          data set of more than 1,000           to ensure gold grades are reliable     from 0.01 to 15%. Recent sampling by            major gold placers (hatched lines). Colored circles are
wash-plants such as PgSh sluices       boreholes in Mongolia proved the      and gold losses avoided.               USGS (Peters et al., 2011) has shown that       placer gold occurrences from earlier authors. (Peters et
that require water cannons.            gold recovery of Soviet bucket                                               disseminated mineralisation is extensive        al., 2011).
Accordingly, less than 10% of          drills to be close to 100%, while     Copper-Gold Porphyry Deposits          within a large contact aureole zone and
Afghanistan was explored for           Soviet churn drills usually lost      The Soviet-Afghan teams                holds potential for large, medium to low
placer gold. Indeed, no evidence       more than 65% of the gold in the      identified a number of Cu-Au           grade ore bodies that are amenable to
has been found of drywashers           same wet ground (Grayson 2014).       prospects and occurrences in the       bulk mining and ore processing methods,
having been used for prospecting       Applying the correction factor to     Tirin-Argandab zone which forms        during this period of prevailing high
for placer gold in Afghanistan.        the Samti churn drilling indicates    part of the Tethyan Metallogenic       copper and gold price.                          DEPOSIT PROFILE 2
This is being remedied in 2014         that the actual gold resource is      Belt (Figure 1) of world-class         A number of other prospects, such as
                                                                                                                                                                    Deposit Name          Zarkashan
with the introduction of USA           likely to be in the region of 100     porphyry copper-gold deposits,         Zardak, Dynamite, Choh-i-Surkh and Sufi
drywashers by the USAID MIDAS          tonnes, with an in-the-ground         which stretches from Europe,           Kademi, around the Zarkashan intrusive          Location              Ghazni Province
project, and making by the             value of about 4 billion USD, which   through Turkey, Iran, Pakistan,        are also highly prospective for porphyry        Deposit Style         Porphyry Cu-Au and related Skarn
Ministry of small recirculating        would rank Samti among the            Afghanistan, Tibet and into SE         copper gold deposits and worthy of                                    Late Triassic dolomites in the contact zones of the Zarkashan gabbro, monzonite
                                                                                                                                                                    Host geology
sluices based on a USA design          largest gold dredge projects in the   Asia. The prospective tracts have      further investigation. Peters et al.,                                 and syenite intrusion
that requires minimal water.           world. A limited programme of         been identified by a distinctive       (2007) predicted that in the Zarkashan-         Ore minerals          chalcopyrite, pyrite, sphalerite, chalcocite, bornite and gold
                                       repeat drilling by a Russian bucket   group of Cretaceous-Paleocene          Kundalyan tract there is a high probability                           Skarns occur in pockets or as sheetlike deposits. Several ore-bearing zones occur
                                                                                                                                                                    Deposit geology
Secondly, the Soviet drillers used     drill would suffice to confirm the    intrusive rocks that are spatially     (50%) of one porphyry copper-gold                                     400– 600m long and 11–75m wide. The richest gold is found in phlogopite skarns
numerous placer drilling rigs of a     appropriate correction factor to      related to the known Cu skarn          deposit and a 10% probability of two            Estimated
                                                                                                                                                                                          7.7t Gold contained in C1 and C2 categories
single type—Soviet churn drills—       be applied to the gold grade, so      deposits and prospects, alteration     deposits.                                       Resources

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MINERAL RESOURCES IN AFGHANISTAN - momp.gov.af
Mineral Resources in Afghanistan                                                                                              Mineral Resources in Afghanistan
Gold                                                                                                                          Gold

                                                           Figure 5. Placer gold         stained siliceous skarn and                                                                                                                                                           A
                                                           deposit consisting            porphyroblastic marble also are
                                                           of alluvial sand and          common in the mineralised zone.
                                                           conglomerate of the Panj      Despite the extensive trenching
                                                           River.                        and the boreholes in the main
                                                                                         zone there seems to have been
                                                       intrusive intruding               little exploration of colluvium
                                                       Precambrian,                      covered areas to west and east.
                                                       Cambrian, and                     Several copper and copper-
                                                       Carboniferous                     gold and gold prospects and
                                                       limestone.                        occurrences are present
                                                       The skarn                         peripheral to or away from the
                                                       zone contains                     main Kundalyan copper-gold
                                                       brecciated,                       skarn deposit. Prospects generally
KUNDALYAN                              stromatolitic limestone and                       cluster near and around the
                                       contains large areas of layered                   Kundalyan group of deposits in
The Kundalyan copper-gold              calc-silicate rock related to skarn               these areas: Kaptarghor, Shela-i-
skarn deposit is localized along       formation and metasomatic                         Surkh, Baghawan-Garangh, Kunar
a 400-metre long, 1.5km wide           kaolin-carbonate rock. Malachite-                 and Chasu-Ghumbad. Further
wide inlier that consists of altered                                                     details can be found in Peters et
limestone, chert, and skarn (Peters                                                      al., (2011).
et al., 2011 after Soviet authors).    Figure 6. Three-dimensional view of the
The chief minerals in the skarn        Zarkashan copper and gold area of interest        Hot-spring epithermal gold
are pyroxene, garnet, amphibole,       showing hyperspectral anomalies surrounding       deposits have not been
phlogopite, and magnetite.             the Zarkashan intrusive (white outline). The      positively identified but there
Mineralisation is present both in      blue and purple zones represent alteration        are indications that they may be
skarn and chert. There are 13 ore      zones with goethite and jarosite. These           present in the epithermal mercury
bodies along the Kundalyan Fault       alteration zones are coincident with anomalous    zone of central Afghanistan and
Zone (Figure 8A) that are from         gold areas from earlier Soviet sampling (Peters   Katawaz basin (Figure 1).
2.65 to 12.3m thick and from 36        et al., 2011).                                                                                                                                                                                                                          B
to 175m long, containing 0.62-
1.2% Cu and 0.5-2.0g/t Au. The
mineralisation is predominately
chalcopyrite and pyrite and more
seldom sphalerite, gray copper                                                                                                Figure 7. Geological map of the Zarkashan area showing the mineralised areas (bedrock gold
ore, and enargite. The Category                                                                                               anomalies in red) surrounding the Zarkashan pluton (lighter shades of red). (Peters et al., 2011).
C1+C2 reserves in the Soviet
classification system, are 13,600
t of contained copper and 1.1t
gold at grades of 1.07% Cu and
0.9g/t Au. The Kundalyan copper-                                                                                              Epithermal Gold                                     of a very large low-temperature
gold skarn deposit area was                                                                                                   In central Afghanistan in the                       hydrothermal system. Elsewhere
explored by a series of trenches,                                                                                             Kharnak-Kanjar area, (Figure                        in the world, such systems host
adits, and drill holes. Data were                                                                                             9) disseminations and veinlets                      significant gold resources and
presented on cross sections                                                                                                   of cinnabar accompanied by                          are the focus of major exploration
(Figure 8B) for about 5 km of strike                                                                                          carbonate, dickite and silica                       investment (Peters et al., 2007,                 Figure 8. (A) Geological map of the Kundalyan
length along a NNW-trending                                                                                                   alteration and lesser pyrite,                       2011). In the Katawaz basin                      area showing the ore zone (black), skarn
zone that is exposed in a valley.                                                                                             chalcopyrite and arsenic minerals                   Abdullah et al. (2008) observed                  (orange), kaolin-carbonate rock (grey), altered
The Kundalyan copper-gold                                                                                                     are found in early Cretaceous                       telethermal (epithermal) lead, zinc,             granitoids (pale blue), granodiorite (green)
deposit has been explored where                                                                                               calcareous rocks intruded by                        mercury and gold mineralisation                  and colluvium (pale yellow). (B) Illustrative
a northwest-striking stream has                                                                                               Eocene to Oligocene porphyry                        belonging to the orogenic (Miocene)              cross section through boreholes 2 and 7 at
eroded through colluvial cover                                                                                                diorite dykes and volcanics. The                    stage of the basin's evolution.                  Kundalyan (key as above).
and exposed a granodioritic                                                                                                   features indicate the presence

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MINERAL RESOURCES IN AFGHANISTAN - momp.gov.af
Mineral Resources in Afghanistan                                                                                                                           MINERAL RESOURCES IN AFGHANISTAN
Gold

                                                                                                                                                           COPPER
KATAWAZ GOLD                             DEPOSIT PROFILE 3
                                         Deposit Name           Kundalyan
The Katawaz gold area of interest        Location               Zabul Province
(AOI) lies along the northwestern
                                         Deposit Style          Cu-Mo-Au-Ag skarn
margin of the Katawaz Basin in
                                         Host geology           Proterozoic and Vendian–Cambrian metamorphosed limestones and cherts
eastern Afghanistan. Although no
known mineral occurrences or                                    Chalcopyrite, magnetite, pyrite,sphalerite, molybdenite, chalcocite, bornite,
                                         Ore minerals
                                                                covellite, native Cu, malachite
deposits are present in the AOI,                                                                                                                           Introduction                                                                                                      Recent geological fieldwork by the                                                                        Himalayan orogeny. During this
geologic and remote-sensing data                                Three deposits up to 155m long and 2.59–3.89 m thick. Mineralization restricted to hema-   Copper is an essential commodity                                                                                  Afghanistan Geological Survey                                                                             oblique collision, NW directed
                                         Deposit geology
                                                                tite-kaolin-quartz and meta-carbonates
suggest that the environment is                                                                                                                            in today’s digital and electronic                                                                                 aided by international advisors                                                                           subduction occurred beneath the
                                         Estimated Resources    C1+C2 resources 13600t Cu @ 1.07% Cu; 1.1t Au, @ 0.9 g/t Au; 127.3t Mo @ 0.13% Mo
conducive to the occurrence of                                                                                                                             age and in recent years has seen a                                                                                has improved the knowledge of                                                                             Tirin-Argandab zone and calc-
epithermal gold deposits. The                                                                                                                              dramatic increase in its value.                                                                                   these deposits and made the                                                                               alkaline granite bodies were
Katawaz AOI encompasses 1 of             the Katawaz gold AOI where                               system may have been active                              Increased demand from the                                                                                         information available to the global                                                                       intruded, accompanied by
more than 19 geochemical halo            phyllic and argillic alteration                          either during or after the                               rapidly growing developing                                                                                        mining industry.                                                                                          porphyry copper mineralization.
zones in the Katawaz Basin area          zones are spatially associated                           development of the basin.                                economies of Asia has led to a rise                                                                                                                                                                                         The exotic terrane of the Kabul
that are anomalous in mercury,           with Miocene plutons and                                 Because there are no known                               in mineral exploration and the                                                                                    Geology of Afghanistan                                                                                    Block brought with it sedimentary
tungsten, gold and (or) lead.            stocks. In addition, base-metal                          mineral deposits within the                              opening of new mines in adjacent                                                                                  Afghanistan has a complex                                                                                 copper deposits like Aynak.
Studies of Advanced Spaceborne           mineralization is present along                          Katawaz gold AOI and because                             regions. Afghanistan is well placed                                                                               geology due to junction position
Thermal Emission and Reflection          the eastern faulted margin of the                        this is a speculative AOI, the                           to meet this demand and the                                                                                       between the Indo-Australasian                                                                             Copper Deposits
Radiometer (ASTER) imagery               Katawaz Basin. The presence                              area requires ground visits,                             Aynak copper deposit, one of the                                                                                  and Eurasian plates. Its geology is                                                                       There are around 300 documented
have identified linear phyllic           of geochemical anomalies of                              field mapping, and sampling to                           largest in Asia, is currently being                                                                               composed of a series of small                                                                             copper deposits, occurrences and
and argillic alteration zones            mercury and hydrothermal zones                           authenticate remotely-sensed                             developed by a Chinese company.                                                                                   terranes that broke away from the                                                                         showings in Afghanistan (Abdullah
on Cenozoic sedimentary and              in the Katawaz Basin suggests                            indications of mineralization.                           The country has a wealth of other                                                                                 main Gondwana supercontinent                                                                              and Chmyriov, 2008). A variety of
volcanic rocks within the AOI.           that a mineralizing hydrothermal                                                                                  copper prospects, most notably a                                                                                  before colliding, with each other                                                                         styles of copper mineralization
Mapping of the ASTER imagery                                                                                                                               number of porphyry copper                                                                                         or, with the Eurasian plate.                                                                              occur in rocks ranging in age from
in the Katawaz gold AOI has                                                                                                                                deposits along part of the Tethyan                                                                                Ultimately, all terranes accreted                                                                         Proterozoic to Neogene. These
specifically identified illite, ferric                                                                                                                     Metallogenic Belt (TMB) and a                                                                                     onto the southern margin of the                                                                           include sediment-hosted, skarn,
iron, and clay with local calcite                                                                                                                          recently discovered volcanogenic                                                                                  Eurasian plate. The final closure                                                                         porphyry, and vein-hosted. The
and smectite along a northwest                                                                                                                             massive sulphide deposit (VMS) at                                                                                 of the Neo-Tethys ocean between                                                                           largest and best-known copper
structure that is likely a splay of                                                                                                                        Balkhab.                                                                                                          the Indo-Australasian and                                                                                 discovery in Afghanistan is the
the Chaman Fault zone. Airborne                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Eurasian plates produced the                                                                              world-class Aynak stratabound
magnetic data also indicate                                                                                                                                                 60°0'0"E                            63°0'0"E                          66°0'0"E                            69°0'0"E                           72°0'0"E                     75°0'0"E
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       deposit hosted within Vendian-
that small igneous bodies may                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Cambrian quartz-biotite-dolomite

                                                                                                                                                                         .
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              " "
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              ""     "

underlie or be proximal to this                                                                                                                                                                                                         Balkhab                                                                      "   "
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       metasedimentary rocks 30km
altered zone.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      "
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            BADAKHSHAN
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 "                                     southeast of Kabul. Soviet surveys
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  JAWZJAN
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     BALKH
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  KUNDUZ
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               TAKHAR
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                "
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       in the 1970s and 1980s outlined

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            36°0'0"N
Evidence of hydrothermal                                                                                                                                                                                        Ahankashan
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       an indicated resource of 240Mt

                                                                                                                                                           36°0'0"N
mineralization occurs along                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            grading 2.3% Cu. However,
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   FARYAB                                                  "
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           "
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      SAMANGAN
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             "
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       BAGHLAN
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          ""       "

the western margin of the                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Afghanistan has yet to be evaluated
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  SARI PUL      "                       ""
                                                                                                                                                                                             "                                                                               "    "            " "
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 ""
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 "          PARWAN          NURISTAN
                                                                                                                                                                                                                       BADGHIS                                           "

Katawaz Basin to the south of                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          in the light of modern mineral
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 KAPISA       KUNAR

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    BAMYAN                        "
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      LAGHMAN
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Legend
                                                                                                                                                                                            Shaida
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       deposit models and improved
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          KABUL
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           """"
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        """
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          """ """ "
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  "
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             WARDAK           "
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              "
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             ""
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             """
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               ""
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                "       NANGARHAR
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              "
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              """
                                                                                                                                                                                        "         HIRAT                     "" "                                "                                                                         Provinces

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       analytical methods. From a
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 GHOR                                                     LOGAR "
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          """"
                                                                                                                                                                                         ""        "                                                     ""
                                                                                                                                                                                         ""                                                              "   "                                                                            Faults
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      " ""

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            33°0'0"N
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Aynak
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       global perspective, Afghanistan is
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    PAKTYA

                                                                                                                                                           33°0'0"N
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  URUZGAN               "                    KHOST
                                                                                                                                                                                 "
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           ""
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Fault, normal, buried
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      " GHAZNI
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       " ""
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  " """ " "                                                    Porphyry Copper Deposits
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       relatively under explored and the
                                                                                                                                                                                        "                                                                         "
                                                                                                                                                                                       " "                        "                                             """
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 " "                                             " """"
                                                                                                                                                                                              "                                                               "" "" ""
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              "                                                                         Prospective
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       potential for further discoveries of
                                                                                                                                                                                                       FARAH                                                   " "             PAKTIKA
                                                                                                                                                                                                        "                                           "         "
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              "             "
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             ""ZABUL
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              "                                                                         Favorable
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Permissive
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       copper and other minerals is high.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   "
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   ""
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   ""
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Copper Mineral Occurance
                                                                                                                                                                                                                         HILMAND                        ""
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            "                                     Zarkashan
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    "     Cu                                           A ranking of significant known
                                         Figure 9. Shaded relief map of                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                deposits and prospects is given
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            KANDAHAR "
                                                                                                                                                                                                       NIMROZ

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Kundalyan

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            30°0'0"N
                                         Afghanistan showing major earthquake                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          below.
                                                                                                                                                           30°0'0"N

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        "
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        "

                                         faults from Boyd and others (2007) and                                                                                                                                                                                                             0          65      130           260               390
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            KM
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          520

                                         proximity of the Katawas gold area of
                                         interest to the Chaman Fault.
                                                                                                                                                                      60°0'0"E                              63°0'0"E                              66°0'0"E                               69°0'0"E                              72°0'0"E                          75°0'0"E

                                                                                                                                                           Figure 1. Map of Afghanistan, showing major deposits and prospects, and permissive tracts for
                                                                                                                                                           porphyry copper deposits (ppycu01-12) (after Peters et al., 2007).

14                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      15
MINERAL RESOURCES IN AFGHANISTAN - momp.gov.af
Mineral Resources in Afghanistan                                                                                                                              Mineral Resources in Afghanistan
Copper                                                                                                                                                        Copper

Ranking of Known Cu Deposits          DEPOSIT PROFILE 1                                                                                                       Figure 3. North Aynak Landsat TM enhanced color image. TM            NORTH AYNAK                     7.2m) mineralized zone within
1. Aynak                              Deposit Name        Aynak                                                                                               bands 1-4-7 are shown in blue-green-red. Yellow outline is the Loy                                   steeply dipping, albitized marble
2. Zarkashan                          Status              Tendered
                                                                                                                                                              Khwar Formation that hosts copper deposits. Spectral analyses of     Recent geological               containing disseminated bornite,
3. Kundalyan                                                                                                                                                  ASTER and HyMap images, shows that the distinctive tan-colored       mapping of the                  chalcopyrite, chalcocite and minor
                                      Location            Logar Province
4. Balkhab                                                                                                                                                    outcrops within the Loy Khwar Formation are dolomite members,        North Aynak area                malachite. Limited exploration
                                      Deposit Style       Stratiform Cu, metasediment-hosted
5. Shaida                                                                                                                                                     which host the Aynak copper deposit further south.                   (Bohannon, 2010)                conducted at this site included
6. North Aynak                        Host geology        Vendian–Cambrian metamorphosed limestones and volcanics                                                                                                                  and interpretation              1:2,000-scale geological mapping,
7. Ahankashan                         Ore minerals        Bornite, chalcopyrite, chalcocite, native Cu, malachite, covellite, tenorite                                                                                             of high quality                 trenching, and geochemical
8. Darrah-i-Alansang                                      Deposit divided into Central and Western areas. Mineralisation traced for 2km, up to 1km wide and                                                                        remote sensed data              sampling, and resulted in the
                                      Deposit geology
9. Gologha                                                60-210m thick to max depth of 1000m                                                                                                                                      (Peters et al., 2011 and        calculation of a potential resource
                                      Metal content       Drill-indicated reserves >240Mt @ 2.3% Cu                                                                                                                                Department of Defense,          containing 42,100 tonnes of
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   2011) have improved             copper at an average grade of
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   the potential of                1.04% Cu (Kutkin and Gusev, 1977).
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   this area and the
Sediment-Hosted Stratiform                                                                                                                                                                                                         latter estimate that
Copper Deposits                                                                                                                                                                                                                    more than half of               Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   the copper deposit
AYNAK                                                                                                                                                                                                                              could lie outside of            BALKHAB
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   the MCC area. One
Sediment-hosted stratiform                                                                                                                                                                                                         example of a known              This poorly described occurrence
copper (SHSC) deposits are a large                                                                                                                                                                                                 occurrence in North             has been reinvestigated by
and diverse group that includes                                                                                                                                                                                                    Aynak is described              AGS and mapped using remote
some of the richest and largest                                                                                                                                                                                                    below. The Katasang             sensing data (Peters et al., 2011).
copper deposits in the world.                                                                                                                                                                                                      occurrence is an                The Balkhab copper volcanogenic
The largest and best-known                                                                                                                                                                                                         800m long, 3.6 to               massive sulfide (VMS) prospect
copper deposit in Afghanistan                                                                                                                                                                                                      13.8m thick (average            lies within the Balkhab copper
is the SHSC type Aynak deposit                                                                                                                                The resource was measured at
located in the Kabul Block 30 km                                                                                                                              240Mt @ 2.3% Cu. Recently the
southeast of Kabul (Deposit Profile                                                                                                                           contractor MJAM exploration has
1). The deposit is of Vendian-                                                                                                                                doubled the stated resource from
Lower Cambrian age and is                                                                                                                                     5.5Mt to 11.1Mt-contained Cu.
divided into two areas, Central
Aynak and Western Aynak.                                                                                                                                      The Aynak Copper project was
Mineralization is characterized by                                                                                                                            awarded in May 2008 to two
stratabound disseminated bornite                                                                                                                              Chinese state-owned companies,
and chalcopyrite in dolomite                                                                                                                                  the China Metallurgical Group
marble and quartz-biotite                                                                                                                                     Corporation (MCC) and the Jiangxi
dolomite schists of the Loy Khwar                                                                                                                             Copper Company Limited. The
Formation. The deposit is thought                                                                                                                             consortium later called itself
to have formed by circulating                                                                                                                                 MCC-JCL Aynak Minerals (MJAM) to
hypersaline solutions leaching                                                                                                                                formally operate the project.
metals from underlying volcanic
rocks (BGS, 2005).                                                                                                                                            As per the Aynak 2014 Feasibility
                                                                                                                                                              report, mineral resource
The Aynak Copper Deposit is a                                                                                                                                 statement, resulting in the value of
well-explored resource, defined                                                                                                                               the deposit being doubled:
by extensive geological data and                                                                                                                              • MJAM 662Mt @ 1.67% Cu
preliminary feasibility study                                                                                                                                     containing 11.1Mt Cu
work prepared by the Russian                                                                                                                                  • RUSSIAN STUDIES 240Mt @
authorities and later on by MCC.                                                                                                                                  2.3% Cu containing 5.5Mt Cu
The deposit has known to be truly                                                                                                                                                                                 Figure 4. Anomalous zones (1-7) determined from Landsat TM alteration patterns in the Balkhab
"world class," being regarded                                                                                                                                                                                     copper area (Peters et al., 2011).
as the second-largest known,
unmined deposit in the world          Figure 2. Geological sketch map and sections of the Aynak copper deposit. The deposit is hosted
and of exceptionally high grade.      by the Loy Khwar formation shown in blue (BGS 2005).

16                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            17
MINERAL RESOURCES IN AFGHANISTAN - momp.gov.af
Mineral Resources in Afghanistan                                                                                                                                       Mineral Resources in Afghanistan
Copper                                                                                                                                                                 Copper

                                                DEPOSIT PROFILE 2                                                                                                       DEPOSIT PROFILE 3
                                                Deposit Name        Balkhab                                                                                             Deposit Name       Zarkashan
                                                Location            Sari-i-Pul Province                                                                                 Location           Ghazni Province
                                                Deposit Style       Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide                                                                       Deposit Style      Porphyry Cu-Au and related Skarn
                                                Host geology        Ordovician schist and phyllite with bimodal felsic volcanics                                        Host geology       Late Triassic dolomites in the contact zones of the Zarkashan gabbro, monzonite and syenite intrusion
                                                Ore minerals        Pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite, bornite, galena, malachite, azurite                                       Ore minerals       chalcopyrite, pyrite, sphalerite, chalcocite, bornite and gold
                                                                    Copper mineralisation consists of a silicified limonite-bearing zone 4 to 5m long by 300 to 400m    Deposit            Skarns occur in pockets or as sheetlike deposits. Several ore-bearing zones occur 400– 600m long and
                                                Deposit geology
                                                                    wide                                                                                                geology            11–75m wide. The richest gold is found in phlogopite skarns
Figure 5. Malachite- and azurite-coated         Metal content       Zone grades 0.25 to 1.34% Cu but no estimate of tonnage                                             Metal content      7.7t Gold contained in C1 and C2 categories
phyllite from Balkhab copper prospect (Peters
et al., 2011).                                  alteration zones from ASTER and                               granodiorite to adamellite                                                                                                                                                            and nest-shaped bodies of 1.5-
                                                aeromagnetic anomalies. Within                                intrusion and consists of a                                                                                                                                                           50m long and 0.5-3.8m thick.
                                                them two deposits, Zarkashan in                               number of gold and copper                                                                                                                                                             Gold mineralization is traceable
area of interest and is part of an              the north and Kundalyan in the                                occurrences (Figures 6 and 7).                                                                                                                                                        for 80m down dip, assaying from
eroded inlier of deformed pre-                  south, have been investigated by                              The mineralization consists of                                                                                                                                                        0.10 g/tonne to 16 g/tonne gold.
Triassic, mainly Ordovician rocks,              detailed sampling, trenching and                              chalcopyrite, pyrite, sphalerite,                                                                                                                                                     Category C1+C2 resources contain
in Sar-i-Pul Province. It lies in               drilling.                                                     chalcocite, bornite, and native                                                                                                                                                       7,775kg Au and speculative
a canyon unconformably below                                                                                  gold in the hydrothermally altered                                                                                                                                                    resources are 12 to 15 tonnes of
horizontal Mesozoic sedimentary                                                                               skarns. Preliminary exploration,                                                                                                                                                      gold. Copper grades vary from
rocks (Peters et al., 2011). Copper                                                                           including rock sampling,                                                                                                                                                              0.01 to 15%. Recent sampling by
mineralization consists of a                    ZARKASHAN                                                     trenching and underground adits,                                                                                                                                                      USGS (Peters et al., 2011) has shown
silicified limonite-bearing zone                The Zarkashan Area of Interest                                indicates the presence of several                                                                                                                                                     that extensive, disseminated
4,000 to 5,000m long by 300                     surrounds the Late Cretaceous-                                ore-bearing zones 400-600m long                                                                                                                                                       mineralization is present in the
to 400m wide of deformed and                    Paleocene Zarkashan diorite,                                  and 1-15m thick, with lenticular                                                                                                                                                      large contact (hornfels) zones
faulted rock that contains at least                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 indicating large medium- to
four areas of extensive malachite,                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  low-grade ore bodies that are
azurite, pyrite, and disseminated                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   amenable to modern excavation
chalcopyrite, bornite, and galena                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   methods at current gold and
grading from 0.25 to 1.34% Cu.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      copper prices.

Remote sensing studies suggest                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      A number of other prospects,
that the mineralization may                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         such as Zardak, Dynamite, Choh-
extend for over 40km (Figure 4).                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    i-Surkh and Sufi Kademi, around
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    the Zarkashan intrusive are also
Copper Porphyry Deposits                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            highly prospective for porphyry
Soviet-Afghan teams identified                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      coppergold deposits and worthy
a number of Cu-Au prospects                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         of further investigation. Peters
and occurrences in the Tirin-                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       et al., (2007) predicted that in the
Argandab zone and Peters et                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Zarkashan-Kundalyan tract there
al., (2007) defined this as their                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   is a high probability (50%) of one
prospective tracts ppycu05-07                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       porphyry copper-gold deposit and
(Figure 1). The zone forms part                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     a 10% probability of two deposits.
of the Tethyan Metallogenic Belt
of world-class porphyry copper-
gold deposits, which stretches                                                                                                                                                                                                          Figure 7. Geological map of the Zarkashan area showing
from Europe, through Turkey,                                                                                                                                                                                                            the mineralized areas (bedrock gold anomalies in red)
Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tibet                                                                                                                                                                                                      surrounding the Zarkashan pluton (lighter shades of red).
and into SE Asia. The prospective                                                                                                                                                                                                       (Peters et al., 2011).
tracts have been identified by a
distinctive group of Cretaceous-                Figure 6. Three-dimensional view of the Zarkashan copper and gold area of interest showing
Paleocene intrusive rocks that                  hyperspectral anomalies surrounding the Zarkashan intrusive (white outline). Blue and purple
are spatially related to the known              zones represent alteration zones with goethite and jarosite. These alteration zones are coincident
Cu skarn deposits and prospects,                with anomalous gold areas from earlier Soviet sampling (Peters et al., 2011).

18                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    19
Mineral Resources in Afghanistan                                                                                                                                                      Mineral Resources in Afghanistan
Copper                                                                                                                                                                                Copper

 DEPOSIT PROFILE 4                                                                                                          A
 Deposit Name         Kundalyan
 Location             Zabul Province
 Deposit Style        Cu-Mo-Au-Ag skarn
 Host geology         Proterozoic and Vendian–Cambrian metamorphosed limestones and cherts
                      Chalcopyrite, magnetite, pyrite,sphalerite, molybdenite, chalcocite, bornite, covellite, native Cu,
 Ore minerals
                      malachite
                      Three deposits up to 155m long and 2.59–3.89m thick. Mineralization restricted to hematite-kao-
 Deposit geology
                      lin-quartz and meta-carbonates
 Metal content        C1+C2 resources 13600t Cu @ 1.07% Cu; 1.1t Au, @ 0.9 g/t Au; 127.3t Mo @ 0.13% Mo

KUNDALYAN                                                       deposit has been explored where
The Kundalyan copper-gold                                       a northweststriking stream has
skarn deposit is localized along                                eroded through colluvial cover and
a 400 meter long, 1.5km wide                                    exposed a granodioritic intrusive
inlier that consists of altered                                 intruding Precambrian, Cambrian,
limestone, chert, and skarn                                     and Carboniferous limestone. The
(Peters et al., 2011 after Soviet                               skarn zone contains brecciated,
authors). The chief minerals in                                 stromatolitic (?) limestone and
the skarn are pyroxene, garnet,                                 contains large areas of layered
amphibole, phlogopite, and                                      calcsilicate rock related to skarn
magnetite. Mineralization is                                    formation and metasomatic
present both in skarn and chert.                                kaolin-carbonate rock. Malachite-
There are 13 orebodies along the                                stained siliceous skarn and
Kundalyan Fault Zone (Figure 8A)                                porphyroblastic marble also are
that are between 2.65 to 12.3m                                  common in the mineralized zone.
thick and from 36 to 175m long,                                 Despite the extensive trenching
containing 0.62-1.2% Cu and 0.5-                                and the boreholes in the main                                                                                                                                                           SHAIDA
                                                                                                                            B
2.0 g/t Au. The mineralization is                               zone there seems to have been                                                                                         Figure 9. Geologic map and cross section of the Shaida                                                   assaying 0.27 to 3.02 % Cu and
predominately chalcopyrite and                                  little exploration of the colluvium                                                                                   and Misgaran subareas. All of these sites are within heavily      Shaida and its related prospect        0.02 to 0.37 % Zn The grade was
pyrite and more seldom sphalerite,                              covered areas to the west and east.                                                                                   mineralized (copper) volcanic rocks of Early Cretaceous age,      Dusar lies SW of Herat in              confirmed by the USGS in August
gray copper ore, and enargite.                                                                                                                                                        as indicated by the cross-hatch pattern. (Peters et al., 2011).   permissive tract ppycu09 (Figure       2010. Based on diamond drilling
The Category C1+C2 reserves in                                  Several copper and copper-                                                                                                                                                              1). The Shaida subarea is classified   the individual occurrences are 1
the Soviet classification system,                               gold and gold prospects and                                                                                                                                                             as a highly prospective copper         to10m thick (average ~4m) and
were reported as 13,600 tonnes of                               occurrences are present                                                                                                                                                                 porphyry deposit. The host rocks       up to 2400m long. Minerals are
coppergrading 1.07% Cu and 1.1                                  peripheral to or away from the                                                                                                                                                          are early Cretaceous volcanics.        pyrite, pyrrhotite, sphalerite and
tonnes of gold grading 0.9 g/t Au.                              main Kundalyan copper-gold                                                                                                                                                              The copper mineralization              minor chalcopyrite in massive
                                                                skarn deposit. Prospects generally                                                                                                                                                      coincides with a 200 to 300m wide,     veinlets and disseminated ores
The Kundalyan copper-gold skarn                                 cluster near and around the                                                                                                                                                             strongly fractured, limonitized        that assay between 0.04-1.6% Cu
deposit area was explored by a                                  Kundalan group of deposits in                                                                                                                                                           and kaolinitized fault zone, where     (average 0.63%), between 0.09-
series of trenches, adits, and drill                            the Kaptarghor, Shela-i-Surkh,                              Figure 8. (A) Geological map of the Kundalyan area                                                                          six steeply dipping mineralized        7.0% Zn (average 1.3%), between
holes. Data was presented on cross                              Baghawan-Garangh, Kunar and                                 showing the ore zone (black), skarn (orange), kaolin-                                                                       bodies and a Cu- pyrite gossan         0.01-0.5% Pb (average 0.08%), and
sections (Figure 8B) for about 5km                              Chasu-Ghumbad areas. Further                                carbonate rock (grey), altered granitoids (pale blue),                                                                      are present. The main zone             between 0.20.03 g/t Au. Potential
of strike length along a NNW-                                   details can be found in Peters et al.,                      granodiorite (green) and colluvium (pale yellow). (B)                                                                       of mineralization, 2.6km long          ore resources are estimated at 4.8
trending zone that is exposed in a                              (2011).                                                     Illustrative cross section through boreholes 2 and 7 at                                                                     and 300 to 500m wide, consists         Mt assaying 1.1% Cu and 1.2% Zn.
valley. The Kundalan copper-gold                                                                                            Kundalyan (key as above).                                                                                                   of secondary copper minerals

20                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             21
MINERAL RESOURCES IN AFGHANISTAN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Mineral Resources in Afghanistan
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Porphyry Cu-Mo-Au

PORPHYRY CU-MO-AU
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Location                              Geology                                    intersected by series of faults
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  The prospective area is located       According to the 1:500,000 scale           (Figure 2). Granodiorite stocks that
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  about 45km northwest of the city      geological map of Afghanistan              host the molybdenum
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  of Bamyan, capital of Bamyan          published by the USGS in 2007              occurrences are not shown on the
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Province. The province also hosts     and based on the original Soviet           1:500,000 geological map.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  the world-class Hajigak Iron ore      map of 1977, the granitoids
Background                                                                                                            MOLYBDENITE IN BAMYAN                                                                                 Porphyry Belt. Further fieldwork      deposit and abundant coal             (granodiorite, granosyenite, and           Based on field observations, the
Globally, one of the most                                                                                             PROVINCE                                                                                              in summer and fall of 2011            resources (Figures 1, 2 and 3).       quartz monzonite) that host the            Saighan area has high potential
important types of mineral                                                                                                                                                                                                  revealed molybdenite associated       The area of molybdenum                porphyry copper and                        for the discovery of economic
deposits associated with                                                                                              During recent fieldwork by staff of                                                                   with the upper Triassic (T3)          mineralization occurs                 molybdenum are of Upper                    porphyry copper, gold and
subduction complexes and                                                                                              the Afghanistan Geological Survey                                                                     granitoids, 5km to the east of the    approximately 50km distance           Triassic to Lower Jurassic age. The        molybdenum deposits. In
continental collisions are                                                                                            (AGS) in the southwest reaches of                                                                     brecciated zone. At two locations     from the juncture of Saighan River    oldest sedimentary units in the            addition, there are halos of heavy
porphyry Cu-Au-Mo deposits.                                                                                           the Saighan valley in Bamyan                                                                          (Figure 3, points 1 and 2),           with Dari Shikari River (Figure 2)    area are limestones and dolomites          fraction assessment that indicated
Often these deposits are large in                                                                                     Province, local villagers told them                                                                   disseminated molybdenite is           along which a railroad is planned     of Carboniferous and Permian age           presence of bismuth, copper and
resources but modest in ore grade                                                                                     of an exposure of soft metallic                                                                       hosted in quartz-monzonite/           to be built as part of the Aynak      (Figure 2). These are                      other metals.
and they account for world                                                                                            mineral after a recent landslide.                                                                     granodiorite stocks (Figure 4).       copper development project. At        unconformably overlain by
production of more than 60%                                                                                           Upon investigation the AGS team                                                                                                             the moment information is being       Middle-Upper Triassic (T2-3)               In addition to the molybdenum
copper, 95% molybdenum and                                                                                            identified a quartz-feldspar                                                                                                                collected for the feasibility study   sandstones, siltstones and                 mineralization, 10km to the
20% gold.                                                                                                             brecciated zone containing                                                                            NORTHERN COPPER                       of the railroad project by the        mudstones and Upper Cretaceous             northwest of the area, there are
                                                                                                                      extensive molybdenite                                                                                 PORPHYRY BELT                         developer of the Aynak copper         and Paleocene (K2-P1) limestones           artisanal excavation tunnels (up to
Afghanistan hosts two belts highly                                                                                    mineralization (Figure 2). The zone                                                                                                         deposit. The anticipated railroad     and dolomites. The Middle-Upper            30m long) indicating gold mining
prospective for porphyry style                                                                                        is at least 2 metres thick but as                                                                     The northern belt is the western      will connect Afghanistan with the     Triassic and Cretaceous rocks              in the recent past, exploiting
mineralization. These belts cut                                                                                       much of it is concealed by thick                                                                      extension of the Alborz Island Arc    Central Asian Republics and major     form a NE-SW trending anticline            auriferous quartz veins at the site.
central and SE Afghanistan                                                                                            landslide debris and recent                                                                           occurring from Herat to Panjshir,     ports on the Indian Ocean.            structure in the area of
passing into the Hindu Kush and                                                                                       sediments, the extent of it could                                                                     along the Hindu Kush in                                                     molybdenum mineralization,
southern Pamir (Figure 1).                                                                                            not be determined. This was the                                                                       Afghanistan.
                                                                                                                      first significant discovery of                                                                                                                                                    Figure 2. Location of Saighan molybdenum
                                                                                                                      molybdenite in the Northern Cu                                                                                                                                                    and other mineral projects.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                            SOUTHERN COPPER
                 60°0'0"E                            63°0'0"E                          66°0'0"E                            69°0'0"E                           72°0'0"E                     75°0'0"E
                                                                                                                                                                                                                            PORPHYRY BELT

              .
                                                                                                                                                   " "
                                                                                                                                                   ""     "

                                                                                 Balkhab                                                                  "   "
                                                                                                                                                                                                                            The southern belt is an extension
                                                                                                                                                        "
                                                                                                                                                 BADAKHSHAN
                                                                                                                                                                                      "                                     of the Zagros Island Arc. This belt
                                                                                       JAWZJAN
                                                                                                          BALKH
                                                                                                                       KUNDUZ
                                                                                                                                     TAKHAR
                                                                                                                                                     "
                                                                                                                                                                                                                            is exposed in the Chagai Hills in
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 36°0'0"N

                                                     Ahankashan
                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Pakistan, and extends northwards
36°0'0"N

                                                                                                                                                                                                                            through Helmand and Khandahar
                                                                        FARYAB                                                   "
                                                                                                                                 "
                                                                                                           SAMANGAN
                                                                                                                                  "
                                                                                                                            BAGHLAN
                                                                                       SARI PUL                                " "      "

                                                                                                                                                                                                                            in the south to Ghazni and Zabul
                                                                                                     "                       ""
                                  "                                                                               "    "             " "
                                                                                                                      ""
                                                                                                                      "           PARWAN         NURISTAN
                                                            BADGHIS                                           "

                                                                                                                                                                                                                            in central Afghanistan.
                                                                                                                                      KAPISA       KUNAR

                                                                                                         BAMYAN                         "
                                                                                                                                           LAGHMAN
                                                                                                                                                                               Legend
                                 Shaida
                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Comprehensive reviews of
                                                                                                                               KABUL
                                                                                                                               ""
                                                                                                                             """ """
                                                                                                                                "" "
                                                                                                                                   "
                                                                                                                                    "
                                                                                                                                    "
                                                                                                                                    " " "
                                                                                                                  WARDAK          ""
                                                                                                                                  ""
                                                                                                                                   ""
                                                                                                                                    "
                                                                                                                                    """       NANGARHAR
                             "         HIRAT                                                          "                            ""                                          Provinces
                                                                 "" "
                                                                                                                                    "

                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Afghanistan Porphyry Belts is
                                                                      GHOR                                                     LOGAR
                                                                                               """"
                              ""        "                                                     ""
                              ""                                                              "   "                                                                            Faults
                                                                                           " ""
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 33°0'0"N

                                                                                                                                                         Aynak
                                                                                                                                                                                                                            given in Kafarskiy et al. 19751 and
                                                                                                                          PAKTYA
33°0'0"N

                                                                                       URUZGAN                "                    KHOST
                      "
                                                                                                                                 ""                                          Fault, normal, buried
                                                                                                            " GHAZNI
                                                                                                             "" " "
                                                                                                       " """ "                                                      Porphyry Copper Deposits
                                                                                                                                                                                                                            by Peters et al 2007.
                             "                                                                         "
                            " "                        "                                             """
                                                      " "                                             " "" ""
                                   "                                                               "" "" ""
                                                                                                   "                                                                         Prospective
                                            FARAH                                                   " "              PAKTIKA
                                             "                                           "         "
                                                                                   "             "
                                                                                                  ""ZABUL
                                                                                                   "                                                                         Favorable
                                                                                        "
                                                                                        ""                                                                                   Permissive
                                                                                        ""
                                                                                                                                                                     Copper Mineral Occurance
                                                                                                 "                                     Zarkashan
                                                              HILMAND                        ""                                                                          "     Cu
                                                                                 KANDAHAR "
                                            NIMROZ

                                                                                                           Kundalyan
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 30°0'0"N
30°0'0"N

                                                                                             "
                                                                                             "

                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Figure 1. Porphyry Cu belts within
                                                                                                                                                                                                 KM
                                                                                                                                 0          65      130           260               390        520

                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Afghanistan
           60°0'0"E                              63°0'0"E                              66°0'0"E                               69°0'0"E                              72°0'0"E                          75°0'0"E

22                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   23
Mineral Resources in Afghanistan                                                                MINERAL RESOURCES IN AFGHANISTAN
Porphyry Cu-Mo-Au

                                                                                                CHROMITE
Resource Estimation
A preliminary estimate of
molybdenum resources was made
by applying outcrop dimensions
(4,300m length, 300m width) and a
depth of 200m (taking into account
that the granite stock continues at a                                                           Background                                        Kandahar Province associated         east and south-east the complex
depth of 200m) and applying an                                                                  Volin (1950) evaluated ten known                  with Early Cretaceous ultramafic     is bounded by the Altimur Fault.
average concentration of 0.08%                                                                  chromite bodies in the Logar                      rocks. Chromite grains were also     To the north the Abparan Thrust
Mo in the ore.                                                                                  ultramafic body, using surface                    observed in concentrates from        separates the allochthonous
                                                                                                mapping and sampling and a                        Kandahar Province collected          ultramafic rocks from the
                                                                                                limited programme of shallow                      by the Russian reconnaissance        autochthonous rocks of the Kabul
                                                                                                diamond drilling. He also                         surveys.                             Block.
                                                                                                calculated reserve figures based
                                   Area in Block
 Specification
                                   in Figure 2
                                                                                                on the results of this drilling.                                                       The largest part of the ophiolite
                                                                                                Hunger (1955a and b) recorded                     THE LOGAR OPHIOLITE                  comprises ultramafic rocks in
 Area (4,500*3)                    1,350,000 m2                                                 two further chromite localities.                                                       a sequence up to about 2,800m
 Depth                             200 metres                                                   Siebdrat (1971) undertook further                 The largest and best-known           thick. The basal part comprises
                                                                                                surface mapping of the ultramafic                 chromite deposits in Afghanistan     about 2,400m of dunite and
 Volume                            270,000,000 m3
                                                                                                rocks of the Logar Valley, and he                 are in the Logar Valley in the       subordinate harzburgite, overlain
 Specific weight of MoS            10.22 grams/cm3                                              identified 18 chromite localities in              Muhammed Agha District               by a thick pyroxenite about 200m
 Molybdenum in ore                 0.08%                                                        the Logar ophiolite (Figure 1).                   about 35km south of Kabul. The       thick with minor intercalated
                                                     Figure 3. Quartz-monzonite mass with 15%                                                     Logar ophiolite complex has an       dunite at its base. This passes up
Table 1. Saighan Molybdenum Resources                disseminated molybdenite, Saighan.         Abdullah (1980) in his                            ellipsoidal outcrop, elongated       into a thin unit of troctolite and
                                                                                                comprehensive review of the                       in a north-westerly direction,       pyroxenite, passing up into a 50 m
                                                                                                geology and mineral occurrences                   about 65km long and up to 45km       thick gabbronorite. The chromite
                                                                                                of Afghanistan catalogued 15                      wide. The external contacts are      bodies occur predominantly in
                                                                                                areas of chromite mineralization                  mostly tectonic: the steep-dipping   the harzburgite within small
                                                                                                scattered throughout the country,                 north-south Pagman Fault forms       dunite pods according to Siebdrat
                                                                                                most in the Logar Valley, south of                the western contact, while to the    (Figure 1).
                                                                                                Kabul. The other areas include
                                                                                                Jurgati in Parwan Province, Werek
                                                                                                in Logar Province, Sperkay and
                                                                                                Shandal in Paktia Province. In
                                                                                                addition, minor occurrences of
                                                                                                chromite in eluvial deposits and
                                                                                                of small chromite lenses in situ
                                                                                                were reported by Abdullah in

                                                                                                Figure 1. Chromite occurrences in the Logar
                                                                                                area showing the association of the chromite
                                                                                                bodies with lenses of dunite within the
                                                                                                harzburgite (modified after Siebdrat, 1971.
                                                                                                Visited sites C1 and C2 are from Benham et al.,
                                                                                                2009).

24                                                                                                                                                                                                                     25
Mineral Resources in Afghanistan                                                                                            Mineral Resources in Afghanistan
Chromite                                                                                                                    Chromite

Resource Assessment                   in shallow overburden, sampling                Platinum Group Element                 KHOST AND PAKTIA                                  Figure 2. Geological map of the area north
The chromite deposits of the          by shallowercussion drilling and               Potential of Logar                     Sperkay chromite occurrence                       of Kabul showing the Jurgati locality and
Logar Valley (Figure 2) occur in      the drilling of 27 diamond drill               Benham et al. (2009) published         just west of Teragharay near                      favorable prospective areas from Peters et al.,
two main groups about 10km            holes with an aggregate length                 the only recent analyses of            the border with Khost Province,                   (2007).
apart, all bar two being on the       of 975m. The diamond drilling                  Platinum Group Elements (PGE)          consists of ten massive chromite
west side of the valley. The          tested three of the largest deposits           in rocks of the Logar Complex.         bodies are found in Eocene
northern cluster is within 5km        on surface and a small high grade              Concentrations of PGE in the           peridotite (Figure 3).
north-west of Muhammad Agha.          deposit, all in the northern cluster           Logar chromitites are low with         The chromite bodies are as much
The southern cluster is close to      of deposits. Volin estimated a                 maxima of 6.5ppb and 5.5ppb            as 110m long and 1 to 10m thick.
Karez-Sha-Ghazi, about 10km           total resource of 181,000 tonnes,              palladium. Rhodium values              They assay from 43.11 to 53.48%
south of Muhammad Agha. All are       concentrated in three deposits                 are relatively high, with two          Cr2O3 and from 5.57 to 7.23% Fe.
within easy reach of Kabul via the    (1, 2 and 5). Of this about 15%                samples exceeding 10ppb. In            Shandal (Shodal) chromite
surfaced Kabul-Gardez road.           (27,000 metric tonnes) is high grade           dunites, platinum and Pd values        occurrence is south west of
These deposits were studied in        metallurgical ore with 55.9%                   are generally
MINERAL RESOURCES IN AFGHANISTAN                                                                        Mineral Resources in Afghanistan
                                                                                                        Iron Ores

IRON ORES
                                                                                                        SYADARA IRON ORE                                                                        phyllite, marble, dolomite and
                                                                                                                                                                                                metavolcanic rocks with
                                                                                                        Large massive magnetite bodies                                                          interlayered sedimentary rocks.
                                                                                                        were discovered by the                                                                  Within the deposit area, the beds
                                                                                                        Afghanistan Geological Survey                                                           have been deformed and are
                                                                                                        (AGS) at Syadara during the 2010                                                        steeply dipping. Inter-beds of
                                                 Geologic Outline                                       field season and along strike of                                                        black carbonaceous slates and
                                                 The well known iron ore deposits are found from        the world-class Hajigak iron                                                            screes of chert were also observed
                                                 western Afghanistan along the Herat fault system       deposit, within a similar                                                               near the AGS camp.
                                                 through central Afghanistan and north-ward to the      geotectonic setting. The discovery
                                                 Panjshir valley and possibly into Badakhshan (Figure   of Syadara confirmed the 200km                                                          Mineralization
                                                 1). The best-known sedimentary Hajigak and Syadara     long Proterozoic metamorphic           Figure 2. View NE along strike showing an        The Syadara iron ore body
                                                 iron deposits are locating in the same belt, hosted    belt as highly prospective for iron    iron ore outcrop of 500m long and 50-70m         consists of massive magnetite
                                                 With by Neo-Proterozoic metamorphic rocks that         ore, and significantly improves        thick, moderately dipping at 45 degrees to the   with weak specular hematite,
                                                 represent the basement rocks of the Gondwanaland       the overall economic outlook of        NW. Elsewhere the body is 30m thick and dips     pyrite and with minor to trace
                                                 continent. At Syadara, the basement rocks are          Hajigak. Preliminary mapping,          steeply (80-85) degrees to the SE. (AGS 2010)    chalcopyrite. Intense oxidation
                                                 sandwich between Herat and Gagharnaw faults,           sampling and ground magnetic                                                            represented by limonite (goethite-
                                                 represent the final closing of the Paleotethys Ocean   survey over a portion of the ore                                                        hematite) is well developed in
                                                                                                                                                 Sample        Fe%          S%            P%
                                                 (USGS GIS, Peters et al., 2007).                       body was completed during the                                                           places, with trace malachite-
                                                                                                        2010 field season by Afghanistan         BD1          66.74        0.23       0.05      azurite and neotocite (proven by
                                                                                                        Geological Survey. Geological                                                           H2SO4 test). The ore body extended
                                                                                                                                                 BD2          60.81        1.55       0.03
                                                                                                        work to date has indicated strata-                                                      at both ends NE-SW, for more than
                                                                                                        bound, magnetite with weak               BD7          65.33        0.33       0.05      10km along strike. The magnetite
                                                                                                        sulphide mineralization hosted                                                          body is discontinuous and has
                                                                                                                                                 BD8           66.8        0.87       0.18
                                                                                                        within slates, phyllite and schist.                                                     variable thickness. The average
                                                                                                        The ore body is largely                  BD12         67.67        0.51       0.34      thickness of the mineralization is
                                                                                                        discontinuous, steeply dipping,                                                         between 15-30m and steeply
                                                                                                                                                 BD15         65.67        1.55       0.04
                                                                                                        on average 15 to 30m thick and                                                          dipping, (70-80º) to the SW. At this
                                                                                                        trends NE-SW for more than               BD6          66.83        0.23       0.05      locality, the body measures
                                                                                                        10km along strike-length. The                                                           approximately 50 to 70m wide
                                                                                                                                               Table 1. Shows the results of identified
                                                                                                        thickest observed section is about                                                      dipping 45º to the NW over a
                                                                                                                                               samples.
                                                                                                        50-70m wide x 500m long and                                                             distance of 500m along strike. A
                                                                                                        dips at 45º to the NW. Elsewhere                                                        depth of approximately 400m to
                                                                                                        the body is 30m thick and dips                                                          the mineralization could be
                                                                                                        steeply (80-85) degrees to the SE.     SYADARA MAGNETITE                                ascertained, based on the highest
                                                                                                        The change in dip may reflect          ORE BODY                                         and lowest outcrop elevations
                                                                                                        folding, shallow at the hinge and                                                       (AGS 2010).
                                                                                                        steepest on the limbs. Dextral-slip    Geology
                                                                                                        faulting is evident but the            Iron-mineralization is mainly                    Structure
                                                                                                        apparent displacements are less        hosted within the green-schist                   The magnetite body is mostly
                                                                                                        than a few tens of metres.             facies, metavolcanics and                        undeformed, but several shear/
                                                                                                        Based on outcrop dimensions, an        phyllites. A thin dolomite                       fault contacts and dextral slip with
                                                                                                        inferred resource of >400Mt of         sequence is in close proximity                   the wall rocks have been
                                                                                                        iron ore is plausible. Assay results   with the magnetite (Figure 5). The               observed. Several post-mineral
                                                                                                        (see Table. 1) from composite grab     rocks are part of the Neo-                       NW-SE trending strike-slip faults,
                                                                                                        samples returned grades ranging        Proterozoic metamorphics which                   cross-cutting the mineralization
                                                                                                        from 50-67% Fe (mean of 65% Fe)        host the world-class Hajigak iron                were inferred from the well-
                                                                                                        and are consistent with grades at      ore deposit, located some 110km                  developed galleys, but only limited
                                                                                                        Hajigak.                               east of Syadara. The geologic map                displacements are apparent (AGS
                                                                                                                                               (Doebrich and Whal, 2006) shows                  2010).
                                                                                                                                               Neo-Proterozoic meta-
Figure 1. Geological map of Afghanistan                                                                                                        sedimentary host rocks, which
showing location of stratabound iron ore                                                                                                       consist of greenschist facies and
occurrences within Middle to Upper Proterozoic
formations.

28                                                                                                                                                                                                                                29
Mineral Resources in Afghanistan                                                                                                       Mineral Resources in Afghanistan
Iron Ores                                                                                                                              Iron Ores

Geophysics and Remote                                                                            HAJIGAK IRON ORE
Sensing
A geophysical survey was                                                                         Geology
carried out by the                                                                               The oldest part of the succession
Afghanistan Geological                                                                           crops out north-west of the
Survey in Syadara area of                                                                        Hajigak deposits (Figure 5). It
interest in 2019. This survey                                                                    consists of grey silicified
was carried out using                                                                            limestones and dolomites
Magnetic and Gravity                                                                             interbedded with dark grey
methods. This survey                                                                             crystalline schists and light
covered about 16 km2 area.                                                                       coloured quartzites that display
Base on the survey’s results,                                                                    evidence of amphibolite grade
a heavy magnetic ore belt is                                                                     metamorphism. They are mapped
located with the length of                                                                       as the Jawkol Formation, and
about 8 km starting from                                                                         interpreted as Middle Proterozoic
Dan-e Sirdagh village to Shahre                  Figure 4. Remote sensing map of Syadara         in age. The Hajigak iron deposit is                                                                                                   Exploration
Naw village. As per geophysical                  area, Bamyan Province. Red colored area shows   hosted by the Upper Proterozoic                                                                                                       Iron occurrences were observed
investigation, the estimated depth               the iron oxide spots.                           Awband Formation that, together                                                                                                       during initial geological mapping
of magnetic ore bodies is 2                                                                      with the underlying Kab               Figure 5. Simplified geological map of the                                                      of the area in the mid-thirties but
kilometers (Figure 3).                           Landsat 8 image and the result of               Formation, constitutes the Qala       Hajigak area (after Kusov et al., 1965).                                                        the economic potential was not
                                                 this study shows a close match                  Series, a sequence of metavolcanic                                                                                                    fully recognized until a joint
Recently the AGS remote sensing                  with the geological mapping and                 and metasedimentary rocks up to                                                                                                       Afghan-Soviet project, between
experts cared out an investigation               geophysical identified anomalies                4,500 m thick (Figure 6).             There are two main ore groups:                                                                  1963 and 1965, carried out an
to identify the iron oxide                       in the area (Figure 4).                                                               unoxidised primary ores and                                                                     extensive study which mapped
reflectance using the ASTER and                                                                  Mineralization                        semi-oxidised ores.                                                                             and described the deposit in some
                                                                                                 The Hajigak deposit trends NE-SW                                                                                                      detail (Figure 5). The regional
                                                                                                 for about 9 km and is made up of      Unoxidised primary ores occur below                                                             geology was mapped at 1:50,000
                                                                                                 16 separate ore bodies, each up to    100 m and consist of magnetite                                                                  while the Hajigak deposit was
                                                                                                 3 km in length. The deposit can be    and pyrite, with up to 5%                                                                       mapped at 1:10,000. Focusing on
                                                                                                 divided up into three geographical    chalcopyrite and pyrrhotite.                                                                    the western area of the deposit,
                                                                                                 parts, the western, central and                                                                                                       the study included detailed
                                                                                                 eastern parts. In addition to the     Semi-oxidised ores extend down to                                                               prospecting, trenching, four deep
                                                                                                 large ore bodies there is a           130 m below ground surface,                                                                     drill holes, a 200m long horizontal
                                                                                                 substantial area of thin fragmental   consist mainly of magnetite,                                                                    adit and shafts into the fragmental
                                                                                                 ore deposits in the form of four      martite and hydrogoethite. There                                                                ore. For two of the main ore
                                                                                                 surficial deposits. The main          are two other oxidised ore types in                                                             bodies, I and II, horizontal plans
                                                                                                 hematitic ore is medium- to           the deposit: Hydrogoethite/                                                                     and vertical cross-sections were
                                                                                                 fine-grained and displays a variety   hematite/semi-martite and                                                                       generated allowing the ore to be
                                                                                                 of massive, banded and porous         carbonate/ semi-martite, occur                                                                  resource classified. Although the
                                                                                                 textures. It occurs in lenses and     sporadically in small amounts.                                                                  ore bodies were thought to be of
                                                                                                 sheets, within the Awband             Alteration of the host rocks, which                                                             limited depth extension there is
                                                                                                 Formation. The thickness of the       may be related to the mineralizing                                                              no deep drilling to confirm this.
                                                                                                 lenses indicated by drilling to be    event, includes sericitisation,                                                                 The detailed study focused on the
                                                                                                 up to 100 m, while the depth of       silicification and carbonisation.                                                               western section of the ore body
                                                                                                 mineralisation is untested 180 m                                                                                                      and a detailed resource estimate
                                                                                                 below surface.                                                                                                                        could only be made for a small
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       portion of the deposit.

Figure 3. Magnetic anomaly map Syadara area of interest: The pink and red colored areas show
the high magnetic intensity zones (magnetic ore bodies) and the green and blue colored areas                                                                                        Figure 6. Stratigraphic log of the Hajigak area.
show the low magnetic intensity zones (host rocks).                                                                                                                                 (after Kusov et al., 1965).

30                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      31
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