Afghanistan: Illegal Mining Reduces Lapis Lazuli Prices in Afghanistan: Study

Jul 30, 2019 | Tamim Hamid, TOLOnews
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An investigation by TOLOnews reveals that lapis lazuli prices have reduced unprecedently times due to illegal mining in one of the main deposits of the mineral resource in the northeastern province of Badakhshan. Local businessmen said the average price of one kilogram of lapis lazuli is $20 in local markets while it was $500 a decade ago.