J.P. Morgan's hunt for Afghan Mineral Wealth (remember that story?)

[Slimprofits]

http://management.fortune.cnn.com/20...t-afghan-gold/

By Fortune Editors May 11, 2011: 5:00 AM ET

A team of bankers starts to tap the country's vast mineral riches, with help from the Pentagon.

By James Bandler, editor-at-large


You can't make up headlines like that one.

[bill]

Re: J.P. Morgan's hunt for Afghan Mineral Wealth (remember that story?)


I thought bankers hated gold!
Was it not Dodd-Frank (banker’s bill) that had that little clause at the end with the word “tantalum”?
Look a little closer.
http://www.bgs.ac.uk/AfghanMinerals/raremetal.htm

Lithium
Twelve pegmatite fields with lithium mineralisation have been identified to date in Laghman and Nangarhar provinces, but also in Badakhshan and Uruzgan provinces. Again the mineralisation occurs in pegmatites hosted in variably aged metasediments, typically intruded by Oligocene granitoids. The most thoroughly evaluated area is the Parun pegmatite field (Nangarhar province), where seven separate mineralised zones have been recognised. Four pegmatite types have been recognised in the area, with the spodumene-albite(- microcline) type being the most economically significant and typically grading around 1.5% lithium oxide. Only speculative resources were estimated and the area clearly deserves more detailed exploration. The same is true for the Taghawkor prospect in Uruzgan, where five pegmatite dykes assay between 1.7 and 2.8% lithium oxide.
Tantalum and Niobium
Fourteen pegmatite fields with tantalum and niobium mineralisation have been identified to date, with eleven of these also containing beryllium or lithium mineralisation. The remaining three are located in Parwan and Badakhshan provinces. The prospect with the greatest potential is Nilaw in Laghman province. Here three types of pegmatite cross-cut Early Cretaceous gabbros and diorites. Individual pegmatites up to 4 km long and 4 m wide have been discovered, containing beryllium, lithium, tantalum, niobium, cessium, rubidium and tin. Systematic exploration will be necessary to determine the economic viability of the prospect.

http://www.bgs.ac.uk/AfghanMinerals/...eMetals_A4.pdf

Dodd-Frank
http://agmetalminer.com/2011/02/21/s...0%93-part-one/

Ian’s next stop should be Egypt when things cool a little.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coltan
Tantalum-Niobium International Study Center to call on its members to take care in obtaining their raw materials from lawful sources. Harm, or the threat of harm, to local people, wildlife or the environment is unacceptable.^[35]
For economic rather than ethical reasons, a shift is also being seen from traditional sources such as Australia, towards new suppliers such as Egypt.^[36]

[thriftyandboringinohio]

Re: J.P. Morgan's hunt for Afghan Mineral Wealth (remember that story?)

I thought bankers hated gold! ...

Not exactly. They hate anyone other than bankers owning gold.