Afghanistan: Kabul’s Iron Woman Champions Afghanistan’s Mineral Resources

Aug 28, 2019 | Matthieu Aikins
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As a female politician in a country where many women still struggle for basic rights, Nargis Nehan is used to standing out. In December 2017, at age 38, she was the only woman of 12 acting ministers seeking confirmation to the cabinet by Afghanistan’s parliament. Winning approval to remain head of the ministry of mines and petroleum was the highest-profile test of her political career—and initially it seemed like she’d failed.

Afghanistan’s rugged, landlocked terrain holds vast mineral wealth, including Hajigak, one of the world’s largest iron deposits, as well as copper, gold, lithium, chromite, manganese-rich forms of columbite and tantalite, precious and semiprecious stones, rare-earth metals, and uranium. Some estimates peg the collective value of these resources at $1 trillion or more—if they can be brought to market despite extreme security, logistical, and political challenges.