Hoping to revive Afghanistan’s struggling economy, the Taliban is mining emeralds, gold and gemstones to get cash flowing. Without U.S. aid to the country, the Islamic fundamentalist group is turning to buyers and investors in China, Russia and Iran.
The World Bank estimated last April that Afghanistan’s economy lost more than a quarter of its value in the previous two years. The Taliban took over the country in August 2021, as U.S. troops departed after a 20-year war.
The decline comes from a range of factors, including not just the loss of U.S. aid but the Taliban banning opium production. The World Bank said it accounted for $1.3 billion and 8% of the country’s economy. The Taliban also implemented major limitations on the rights of women to work.
Pentagon officials estimated Afghanistan has as much as $1 trillion worth of gemstones, minerals and metals available for underground mining.
Those include rare earth elements crucial to making technology, including smartphones and laptops.
The U.S. spent hundreds of millions of dollars helping Afghanistan’s previous government develop mining projects. However, the effort failed due to weak laws, a lack of infrastructure and corruption.
The Taliban may face the same issues but hopes to centralize the process, auctioning off emeralds weekly and requiring buyers to pay a tax on them.
One gemstone dealer who bought from the government told The New York Times that he didn’t mind paying the tax as long as the government used the money to help the country’s people.
