CHROMITE MINING IN LOGAR PROVINCE AFGHANISTAN

DEWALAK, AFGHANISTAN -- SEPTEMBER 1, 2022: Workers handle the extraction process for chromium, a vital component of stainless steel, extracted from chromite inside the rocks gathered from the mountains nearby, at the Mughulkhil mine processing center in Logar Province, Afghanistan, Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022. Many mining operations are underway across the Afghanistan, which is believed to sit atop mineral deposits so vast that the Taliban is touting them as a panacea for countryÕs economic ills. Estimates value AfghanistanÕs deposits Ñ including those whose presence has only been extrapolated from survey data Ñ at anywhere from $1 trillion to $3 trillion. While some experts caution that those figures could be overstated, the potential revenues could fundamentally transform one of the worldÕs poorest nations. Those potential subterranean riches have also sent foreign powers such as China, Russia and Iran scrambling for a share Ñ but not the U.S., which officially refuses to deal with the rulers of the new ÒIslamic Emirate of Afghanistan,Ó who took charge after Western forces withdrew from the then-Afghan republic last year. (MARCUS YAM / LOS ANGELES TIMES)