A Balancing Act for Extractive Sector Governance

The first issue paper which is presented to the public in June 2016 concerns mining governance. Afghanistan is estimated to hold 1 to 3 trillion USD in untapped mineral deposits, ranging from lootable ones (such as gems, marble, gold, coal, lapis lazuli and the like) to more non-lootable ones (such as iron ore, copper, oil and gas). Yet, most of the extractive sector activities today in Afghanistan are artisanal, small-or medium-scale. Up to 10,000 deposits are not under government control and marred with continuing conflict and violence, resulting in significant revenue losses from illegal extraction.