The New York Times reports that:
The previously unknown deposits — including huge veins of iron, copper, cobalt, gold and critical industrial metals like lithium — are so big and include so many minerals that are essential to modern industry that Afghanistan could eventually be transformed into one of the most important mining centers in the world, the United States officials believe. The big question is, can this be developed in a responsible way, in a way that is environmentally and socially responsible?… No one knows how this will work.
And, believe me, Afghanistan is a country that needs a lot of lithium.
I remember reading an academic report about why El Paso has the lowest levels of violence of all the large Texan cities. Apparently it is because of naturally occurring lithium in the water. May be that is a possible solution for Afghanistan’s endemic violence?
Stuart Austin 