"China Starts Work On Afghan Copper Mine Long Stalled By War" 24 July 2024

Chinese engineers and the Taliban government broke ground in Afghanistan on Wednesday on a project to mine the world's second-largest copper deposit after a 16-year delay caused by war.

Surveyors estimate Mes Aynak, 40 kilometres (25 miles) southeast of Kabul, contains 11.5 million tonnes of copper ore, a vital electronics component that has surged in price...

Taliban officials said it would likely be at least two years before the first copper was extracted by the China Metallurgical Group Corporation (MCC)...

China was one of only a handful of missions that remained in Kabul when the US-backed government fell to Taliban forces in 2021 and analysts say Beijing is expanding its influence to explore profitable projects...

Security remains a major hurdle. Even though violence has dropped significantly, the Islamic State group has carried out several attacks on foreigners in Afghanistan. At least five Chinese nationals were wounded when gunmen stormed a Kabul hotel popular with Beijing businessmen in 2022...