Afghanistan starts emerald mining

BAZARAK - The Afghan authorities have formally started extracting emeralds from mines in the eastern Panjshir province, Xinhua quoted a statement from the provincial government on Tuesday.

Afghanistan's Panjshir emeralds, which had been extracted illegally by individuals over the past decades due to war and instability until recently, are popular among the business community in the world as high-quality precious stones.

Speaking at a ceremony attended by officials, tribal elders and religious scholars, provincial head for Mines and Petroleum, Mawlawi Mohammad Qasim Amiri, said emerald mines are situated on mountains with an altitude of up to 4,000 m above sea level and miners have to climb by foot and with simple tools to extract them.

Welcoming the initiative, locals said the extraction of emeralds would create job opportunities for the people.

"The Islamic Emirate would do its best to improve the living conditions of its people by launching economic projects and building infrastructures," provincial governor Hafiz Mohammad Aga Hakim said in his opening remarks at the ceremony.

Since assuming power in Afghanistan in August 2021, the Afghan caretaker government has inked a series of contracts with several companies to extract mines and underground treasures, including coal, iron, precious and semi-precious stones, to stabilise the war-torn country's impoverished economy. - BERNAMA-XINHUA