The Afghan government and a Chinese state company on Sunday signed a multi-billion-dollar deal for the exploration of a copper deposit said to be one of the largest in the world.
Mines Minster Ibrahim Adel signed the agreement-the largest foreign investment in Afghanistan-with representatives of the Metallurgical Group Corporation (MCC), a state-owned metal producer and contractor
"After signing the contract, MCC will start exploring the mine. This was the last step," ministry spokesman Khoghman Ulumi told AFP. He could not say when work on the mine would begin.
Afghanistan in November selected MCC from nine international bidders for a 30-year lease to develop the Aynak mine 30 kilometres (20 miles) east of Kabul. MCC was expected to invest around three billion dollars to explore and develop the mine, including building a power plant, a village for the workers and railway line to take the mineral out of the country.
The mine exploration is expected to directly create about 2,400 jobs and indirectly open up 6,000 more. First discovered in 1974, the mine is estimated to contain 11.3 million tonnes of copper.
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