Chapter 5A. Summary of the Daykundi Tin, Tungsten, and 

Lithium Area of Interest

Contribution by Stephen G. Peters

Abstract

The Daykundi tin, tungsten, and lithium area of interest (AOI) contains several tin, tungsten, and 

lithium mineralized zones whose main deposit types are lithium and tantalum pegmatite, vein, 

stockwork, tin greisen, tin porphyry, copper, tin and tungsten skarn, and tin-tungsten replacement. 

Known deposits in the Daykundi AOI are spodumene-bearing pegmatite dikes at the Taghawlor lithium

deposit that have a speculative lithium oxide resource of 1,464 thousand metric tons (the content is 0.08 

to 2.80 volume percent lithium oxide), a tantalum pentoxide resource of 4.2 thousand metric tons 

(content is from 0.008 to 0.025 volume percent tantalum pentoxide), and a tin resource of 17.6 thousand 

metric tons (content is 0.14 weight percent tin).

Several pegmatite bodies are present to the southwest and to the southeast of the main Taghawlor 

pegmatite field. Many of these unnamed (pegmatite) occurrences also contain lithium as the major 

commodity along with tin, beryllium, zinc, and tungsten and other minor commodities. The large field 

of spodumene-bearing pegmatites and the wide distribution of pegmatites and granite in the area indicate 

that this part of the Daykundi tin, tungsten, and lithium AOI is a promising source of rare metals.

The Nili-Chak tungsten greisen prospect is a scheelite- and wolframite-bearing greisen area that 

covers more than 18 square kilometers. Other tin- and tungsten-bearing deposits in the area are present 

as small vein deposits and occurrences. Skarns are rare because the plutons intrude primarily Paleozoic 

and Mesozoic siliciclastic sedimentary rocks. The potential of the Nili-Chak tungsten greisen area is 

promising due to the large area of altered granite that surrounds the prospect area. Additional 

prospecting in the form of detailed geologic mapping, geochemical sampling, trenching, and drilling will 

be necessary to determine what size and tenor of commercial grade mineral deposits are present. The 

shallow topographic expression of the mineralized zone and the possible bulk-mining potential are 

additional positive aspects of the prospect. 

Numerous tin-tungsten bearing veins, pegmatites, and skarn occurrences also are present in the 

eastern parts of the Daykundi AOI in the Oruzgan ore district and are not well prospected. 

The presence of several tin-bearing lithium pegmatites in the western part of the Daykundi AOI 

suggests that parts of the Oligocene batholith have been eroded to mesozonal depths, deeper than most 

porphyry and stockwork systems. The presence of a number of partially explored tin-, tungsten-, and 

lithium-bearing magmatic-hydrothermal systems and the widespread occurrence of tin-tungsten 

geochemically anomalous halos suggest the presence of additional undiscovered tin deposits. 

5A.1 Introduction

This chapter summarizes and interprets existing data for the Daykundi tin, tungsten, and lithium

area of interest (AOI) that have resulted from joint geologic and compilation activities that were 

conducted between 2009 and 2011 by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the U.S. Department of 

Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations (TFBSO), and the Afghanistan Geological 

Survey (AGS). Accompanying complementary chapters 5B and 5C address hyperspectral data and 

geohydrologic assessments, respectively, of the Daykundi tin, tungsten, and lithium AOI. In addition, 

supporting digital data for this chapter are available from the Data Center in Kabul. 
Chapter 5A. Summary of the Daykundi Tin, Tungsten, and Lithium Area of Interest 295

This chapter provides an overview of the geology and mineral-resource potential for tin, 

tungsten, and lithium deposits within the Daykundi AOI. Three mining districts (Nili-Chak, Taghawlor 

(Taghawlor), and Oruzgan) are discussed in greater detail and are considered to be areas that are ideal 

for further mineral exploration.

The Daykundi AOI is in central Afghanistan and has an area of 6,838.31 square kilometers 

(km2). It lies in the Daykundi and Bamyan Provinces and contains parts of the Daykundi, Waras, 

Shahristan, and Gizab Administrative Districts (fig. 5A–1). Deposit types expected in the Daykundi AOI 

are greisen tin and tungsten, tin and tungsten skarn and vein, porphyry tin, lithium and tantalum 

pegmatite, and polymetallic vein.

An inventory of individual data types compiled and included for this summary report is included 

with data and information packages that have been developed for each AOI in the AGS Data Center in

Kabul. Most existing mineral-resource information comes from reports written between the early 1950s 

and about 1985 by geologists from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and its Eastern 

European allies who provided Afghanistan with technical assistance. This previous information, 

combined with a preliminary nonfuel mineral-resource assessment by the U.S. Geological Survey in 

2007 (Peters and others, 2007) and compilation and interpretation of new hyperspectral data, provided 

much of the factual basis for technical work during 2009 through 2011. 

Some prospects and deposits in the Daykundi tin, tungsten, and lithium AOI have the potential to 

be developed in the near future. This is because some occurrences and deposits in the Daykundi AOI are 

near-surface bodies with promising metallurgical and mining possibilities. Additional discoveries are 

likelybased on the prospective geology and lack of through exploration and prospecting. 

5A.2 Previous Work

The first recorded geological investigations in the Daykundi tin, tungsten, and lithium AOI are 

by Dovgal and others (1971), Sborshchikov and others (1973), and Starshinin and others (1975). These 

regional geologic reports also describe some of the mineralized areas within the AOI. Studies 

specifically dealing with the Daykundi ore fields are authored by Karapetov and others (1970), Nagaliov 

and others (1971), Kabakov (1973), Kirichek and others (1974), and Abdullah and Chmyriov (1977). 

The Nili tin-tungsten greisen was described by Alkhazov and Afzali (1976), and the lithium-bearing 

pegmatites at Taghawlor are discussed by Rossovsky (1974) and Rossovsky and others (1976, 1977). 

The petrochemistry of the intrusive rocks in the region is reported on by Debon and others 

(1987), and the volcanic and sedimentary rocks and the general geology of the area are described by 

Vachard and others (1986). Compilations of mineral occurrences in the area were completed by 

Abdullah and others (1977), Bowersox and Chamberlin (1995), United Nations Economic and Social 

Commission for Asia and the Pacific (1995), Metal Mining Agency of Japan (1998), Orris and Bliss 

(2002), Doebrich and others (2006), and Peters and others (2007). The most recent geologic field work

is from the Soviet era in the late 1970s. The USGS conducted hyperspectral remote sensing missions 

over the Daykundi AOI as part of a countrywide coverage, and this work is summarized in chapter 5B of 

this report. In addition, geohydrologic summaries of the AOI are contained in chapter 5C of this report.

5A.3 Metallogeny

A number of tin and tungsten mineral occurrences and deposits are present throughout much of 

Afghanistan (Peters and others, 2007), and many of these occur within the Daykundi tin, tungsten, and 

lithium AOI. The most common occurrences in Afghanistan are tin- and tungsten-bearing skarn deposits 

spatially associated with Cretaceous to Oligocene magmatism in the west and east parts of the country.

Of less importance are the tin- and tungsten-bearing pegmatite bodies. Lithium- and tantalum-bearing 

pegmatites also are recorded in the more deeply exposed parts of these magmatic systems (Abdullah and 

others, 1977). Several distinct mineral deposit types apply to granite-related tin-tungsten (Sn-W) 

occurrences in Afghanistan, such as tungsten skarn, tin skarn, replacement tin, tin veins, and tin greisen 

(Taylor, 1979; Cox and Bagby, 1986; Reed, 1986a-d; Reed and Cox, 1986; Pollard, 1995). 
296 Summaries of Important Areas for Mineral Investment and Production Opportunities of Nonfuel Minerals in Afghanistan

Figure 5A–1. Location of the Daykundi tin, tungsten, and lithium area of interest in central Afghanistan.
Chapter 5A. Summary of the Daykundi Tin, Tungsten, and Lithium Area of Interest 297

The tin and tungsten skarn and replacement tin deposits are associated with epizonal granite 

emplacement in carbonate terranes. These deposits typically are formed at the contacts and within roof 

pendants of the batholiths and within the thermal aureoles surrounding apical stocks that intrude 

carbonate rocks. The geology of the Afghanistan tin- and tungsten-bearing mineral occurrences and 

prospects is permissive for most model types, although there has been little modern production of tin or 

tungsten, with the possible exception of tin placer production and unrecorded production from ancient 

workings. 

Six tracts permissive for the occurrence of undiscovered mineral deposits of tin and tungsten in 

Afghanistan were delineated by Peters and others (2007) (figs. 5A–2, 5A–3a,b). The main tin and 

tungsten occurrences are in Farah, Herat, Uruzgan (Daykundi), north Kandahar, Zabul, and Ghazni 

Provinces. Nearby to the Daykundi AOI, permissive geology and indications of tin- and tungstenbearing mineralization are present in the Arghandab and Spin Boldak permissive tracts (figs. 5A–3a,b). 

Each permissive tract contains known mineral occurrences and is partially defined by tin- and tungstenrich geochemically anomalous halos, as well as geology compatible with the descriptive models of tin

and tungsten deposits (Nagaliov and others, 1971; Yefimenko and others, 1973; Kabakov, 1973; 

Kirichek and others, 1974; Abdullah and others, 1977; United Nations Economic and Social 

Commission for Asia and the Pacific, 1995). 

Geochemically anomalous halos were generated by Soviet and Afghanistan geologists and are 

described in Abdullah and others (1977). They are reproduced in digital form in Peters and others 

(2007). The Daykundi AOI straddles the central part of the Helmand permissive tract (figs. 5A–3a 

and b). A number of unnamed tin, tungsten, and polymetallic deposits are present in the Daykundi AOI 

as well as several named prospects (Abdullah and others, 1977). The AOI contains the Nili-Chak tintungsten greisen prospect area, the Taghawlor lithium pegmatite field, and the Oruzgan ore district, 

which consists of the tin-tungsten Kunak, Charkh, and Sheng-Eskan skarn and vein subareas 

(fig. 5A–4).

5A.4 Geology

The north and south boundaries of the Daykundi tin, tungsten, and lithium AOI are parallel to a 

belt of calc-alkaline and subalkaline plutonic rocks that runs through central Afghanistan and was

termed the Helmand plutonic belt by Debon and others (1987). This belt forms a small composite 

Cretaceous to Oligocene granite batholith. The map units associated with tin and tungsten deposits 

within this belt (fig. 5A–5) are P3gd (granodiorite) and P3gdy (granodiorite and granosyenite). These 

units are described in Doebrich and others (2006). 

The dominant rock types within the Daykundi AOI are Early Proterozoic quartz-sericitecarbonate and chlorite-sericite-quartz schist, marble, quartzite, amphibolite, and gneissic granite bodies 

in the northern parts (units Y2sc and Ygng). These rocks are in fault contact with Late Proterozoic 

greenschist, marble, dolomite, and metavolcanic rocks (unit Z1scp of Doebrich and others, 2006), which 

is bedrock for the southern two-thirds of the AOI (fig. 5A–5). Late Paleozoic and Early Mesozoic 

limestone, sandstone, and siltstone lie within faulted inliers in the Late Proterozoic rocks in the southern

parts of the AOI, and within smaller exposures of Middle Proterozoic rocks that are in the extreme 

southeastern part of the AOI. Jurassic and Cretaceous sedimentary rocks also form parts of the 

northeastern corner of the AOI (not shown in explanation on figure 5A–5).

The Nili-Chak greisen prospect, Taghawlor pegmatite field, and Oruzgan ore district, in the east 

with multiple areas, are partially explored tin- and tungsten-bearing magmatic-hydrothermal systems 

that are spatially associated with widespread tin and tungsten geochemically anomalous halos (figs. 5A–

4 and 5A–6). These mineralized areas each measure tens of square kilometers in size. The 

geochemically anomalous halos are discussed in Abdullah and others (1977). Each of the mineralized 

areas has a direct spatial relation to a granitic body (fig. 5A–5). Uncertainty about which deposit types 

are present in the area (vein, stockwork, greisen, porphyry, skarn, and replacement) prevented a 
298 Summaries of Important Areas for Mineral Investment and Production Opportunities of Nonfuel Minerals in Afghanistan

quantitative estimation of undiscovered deposits by Peters and others (2007). Additional field work and 

compilation is required to better understand the geology and mineralization in the area. 

Figure 5A–2. Map showing location of six tracts in Afghanistan permissive for the occurrence of undiscovered tin

and tungsten deposits and the location of internal favorable (orange) and prospective (red) tracts, from Peters and 

others (2007). Location of the Daykundi tin, tungsten, and lithium area of interest is outlined in black.
Chapter 5A. Summary of the Daykundi Tin, Tungsten, and Lithium Area of Interest 299

Figure 5A–3. Maps showing location of some permissive tracts for undiscovered tin and tungsten deposits in central Afghanistan (from Peters and others, 

2007). See figure 5A–2 for locations. (a) Location of main permissive tract (mustard-yellow) and internal favorable tracts and five prospective tracts within 

favorable tracts in the central part of the permissive tract that contains the Daykundi tin, tungsten, and lithium area of interest. (b) Geochemical halo 

anomalies for tin and tungsten within the permissive tracts.
300 Summaries of Important Areas for Mineral Investment and Production Opportunities of Nonfuel Minerals in Afghanistan

Figure 5A–4. Map showing the main areas within the Daykundi tin, tungsten, and lithium area of interest 

discussed in the text. The Oruzgan ore district is represented by the eastern blue areas. Patterns are digitized 

anomalous zones from hyperspectral images. Modified from Doebrich and others (2006). Symbols are derived and 

explained in Doebrich and others (2006).

5A.5 Discussion of Mineralized Zones

The principal mineralized areas in the Daykundi tin, tungsten, and lithium AOI are the 

Taghawlor lithium pegmatite field, the Nili-Chak tin-tungsten greisen area, and the Oruzgan ore district 

(composed of the Kunak, Charkh, and Sheng-Eskan areas ) (fig. 5A–4). Each mineralized area has a 

spatial and genetic association with a specific Oligocene intrusive suite (fig. 5A–5). It is likely that each 

intrusive body may have specific geochemical and metallogenic influence on the mineralization in the 

area.

5A.5.1 Taghawlor Lithium Pegmatite Field

The Taghawlor pegmatite field is described as an elongated, nearly east-west-trending zone of 

steep-dipping tabular spodumene-bearing pegmatite veins (Rossovsky and others, 1977). Hyperspectral 

mapping has defined a zone of chlorite and calcite that closely fits this description (figs. 5A–5 and5A–

7). The Taghawlor lithium pegmatite field is about 20 km long and ranges in width from 1.0 to 1.5 km. 

The alteration zone in the hornfels contact rocks of the composite granites is as much as 5 to 7 km wide 

(fig. 5A–7). The Taghawlor pegmatite field was designated as favorable for deposits of tin and tungsten 
Chapter 5A. Summary of the Daykundi Tin, Tungsten, and Lithium Area of Interest 301

and related metals (figs. 5A–8a and b) by Peters and others (2007), and the field lies within a 

geochemical mineral dispersion halo of tin-tungsten-gold (fig. 5A–8b).

The pegmatite dikes in the field are in the hornfels contact zone between Oligocene granite to the 

south and Late Proterozoic metasedimentary and volcanic rocks in the north (fig. 5A–7). There are three 

principal types of pegmatites (Rossovsky, 1974; Rossovsky and others, 1976, 1977): (1) spodumenemicrocline-albite, the main type, an ore-bearing pegmatite that contains 10 to 25 volume percent, 5- to 

10-centimeter (cm) - long, rarely as much as 30- to 60-cm-long, spodumene crystals; (2) microclinemuscovite, and beryl; and (3) cymatolite-albite. These are normal types of pegmatites as outlined by 

London (2008). 

The Taghawlor lithium pegmatite field contains as many as 300 pegmatite dikes that vary in 

thickness from 0.5 to 35 m and are from 50 to 2,000 m long. The pegmatites contain 1-millimeter (mm) 

by 3- to 5-mm tantalite-columbite lamellae and up to 5-mm-long cassiterite grains. The pegmatite dikes 

have a speculated lithium oxide resource of 1,464 thousand metric tons with a grade of from 0.08 to 2.80 

volume percent LiO2, a TaO5 resource of 4.2 thousand metric tons (content is from 0.008 to 0.025 

volume percent TaO5), and a tin resource of 17.6 thousand metric tons (content is 0.14 weight percent 

Sn).

The content of TaO5 in the spodumene veins of the Taghawlor pegmatite field averages 0.013 

volume percent TaO5; the tantalum-niobium ratio is 2.5:1. Analysis of the distribution of tantalumniobium mineralization in the pegmatite fields of Afghanistan shows that the flat-lying pegmatite bodies 

are most promising for tantalum (Rossovsky, 1974; Rossovsky and others, 1976, 1977). 

Several pegmatite bodies present to the southwest and to the southeast of the main Taghawlor 

pegmatite field (figs. 5A–5 and 5A–7) and many of the unnamed occurrences also contain lithium as the 

major commodity in addition to Sn, Be, Zn, W, and other minor commodities (Abdullah and others, 

1977; Orris and Bliss, 2002). The large field of spodumene pegmatites and the wide distribution of 

pegmatites and granites indicate that this part of the Daykundi AOI is a promising source of rare metals.

Previous geologic field work has indicated that the spodumene-bearing pegmatites of the 

Taghawlor field were formed within an elongated deep fracture zone in hornfels and schist. The tabular 

shape, considerable extension, and limited thickness of the pegmatite bodies suggest a high penetrating 

ability and mobile character of the pegmatite-forming melts. A number of geologic characteristics 

indicate that crystallization of the melt solutions occurred within tensional fissures under lithostatic 

pressures that are typical of shallow depth in zones of high strain, seen (expressed) as (1) orientation of 

long prismatic spodumene crystals, as well as quartz in the pegmatite bodies, and (2) spodumene 

pseudomorphs after petalite that are perpendicular to the pegmatite body (Rossovsky, 1974). 

Spodumene pegmatite veins are in a 1.0- to 1.5-km-wide band of quartz-feldspar-biotite hornfels 

that is the exocontact of the Oligocene granite (fig. 5A–5). The spodumene pegmatite veins are not 

present in schist outside the hornfels zone. Consequently, the thermodynamic conditions in the narrow 

zone of contact metamorphism were the most favorable for the formation of spodumene pegmatite 

veins; this allows a rough estimation of the initial crystallization of pressure and temperature (P-T) 

conditions of pegmatite deposition. The mineral species in the hornfels generally correspond to an 

amphibole-hornfels facies of contact metamorphism (Rossovsky and others, 1976), which is 

characterized by pressures of several hundred to 3,000 atmospheres and temperatures of between 500 

and 600 °C. 
302 Summaries of Important Areas for Mineral Investment and Production Opportunities of Nonfuel Minerals in Afghanistan

Figure 5A–5. Geologic map and location of major mineralized areas in the Daykundi tin, tungsten, and lithium

area of interest. The Nili, Taghawlor), and Oruzgan ore district (Kunak, Charkh and Sheng-Eskan) areas are the 

main mineralized zones. Symbols represent different types of tin-tungsten occurrences and are explained in 

Doebrich and others (2006). Pink stars represent pegmatite occurrences and (or) deposits. Bold labels represent 

names of administrative districts. 

The Taghawlor spodumene pegmatites are noted for their alternation of banded spodumene and 

petalitic aggregates inside the pegmatite bodies. This can be explained by a variation of SiO2

concentration under similar P-T crystallization conditions. Subsequently, petalite becomes an unstable 

phase and changes normally into spodumene and quartz as the temperature drops. The initial petalitespodumene composition of the Taghawlor pegmatites and subsequent transformation of petalite into 

spodumene and quartz suggest that the lithium pegmatites were formed at a relatively shallow depth 

(3.0-3.5 km) (Rossovsky and Matrosov, 1975). 

5A.5.2 Nili-Chak Tungsten Area

An arcuate-shaped prospective tract was delineated by Peters and others (2007) to encompass the 

Nili tungsten greisen and the Chak tungsten skarn occurrences within or adjacent to an oval-shaped 

Phase II Oligocene granite pluton of the Helmand complex (unit P~3gdy of Doebrich and others, 2006) 

that has intruded a larger Phase I Oligocene granodiorite and quartz porphyry of the Mirali complex 

(unit P~3gd of Doebrich and others, 2006) (fig. 5A–9a). Both occurrences lie within a larger greisen 

zone defined by hyperspectral mapping of muscovite-illite and portrayed in figure 5A–9b. The main 

parts of the greisen zone coincide with the oval-shaped, 10 km by 6 km central parts of the Phase II 
Chapter 5A. Summary of the Daykundi Tin, Tungsten, and Lithium Area of Interest 303

granite (unit P~3gdy of Doebrich and others, 2006) that intrudes a Phase I granodiorite (figs. 5A–10a

and b).

Figure 5A–6. Map showing the geochemically anomalous halos (data from Peters and others, 2007) within the 

Daykundi tin, tungsten, and lithium area of interest. The description of these geochemically anomalous halos is in 

Abdullah and others (2007), and the digital polygons are in the GIS file from Peters and others (2007). Symbols are 

mineral occurrences explained in Doebrich and others (2006).
304 Summaries of Important Areas for Mineral Investment and Production Opportunities of Nonfuel Minerals in Afghanistan

The Nili tungsten prospect is in the center of the Phase II Oligocene granite (figs. 5A–10a and b) 

and is one of many scheelite-bearing greisen zones in an 18-km2 area. The greisens consist of altered 

granite with secondary silica and muscovite that contain disseminated scheelite, wolframite, and copper 

sulfide minerals. One of the intense greisen zones is 0.84 km2 in area and contains subparallel quartz 

stringers and a 3.74-m-thick interval containing 0.13 weight percent WO3. The greisen zone also 

contains quartz veins with large crystals of wolframite and scheelite. The quartz veins vary in thickness 

from 0.1 to 0.3 m, extend for tens of meters, and contain 0.03 to 0.5 weight percent WO3 (Starshinin and 

others, 1975). 

The Chak tungsten prospect is to the south of the Nili-Chak tungsten prospect area (figs. 5A–

10a,b) within “fingers” of the larger greisen zone defined by hyperspectral mapping of muscovite-illite, 

but the prospect is hosted in older Phase I granodiorite (unit P~3gd of Doebrich and others, 2006). The 

Chak tungsten prospect consists of two skarn lenses. The first is from 0.1 to 10 m thick and 150 m long; 

the other is 45 by 65 m in size. Both skarns are present along the contact zone between the Phase I 

Oligocene granite and roof pendants of Permian marble (not shown on figs. 5A–10a and b). The WO3 

content of the skarns ranges from 0.78 to 0.84 weight percent WO3, and in one sample the grade was 

3.75 weight percent WO3 (Starshinin and others, 1975). An unnamed lead-bearing skarn also is present 

to the northwest of the Nili tungsten prospect (figs. 5A–10a and b).

The potential of the Nili-Chak tungsten-bearing greisen area is promising due to the large area of 

muscovite alteration and mineralization in the oval Phase II granite. Additional prospecting in the form 

of detailed geologic mapping, geochemical sampling, trenching, and drilling will be necessary to 

determine if commercial-grade mineral deposits are present there. Ground radiometric prospecting 

[using the potassium (K)-channel] may also be helpful in mapping the greisen alteration zones. The 

lesser topographic relief of the mineralized zone (fig. 5A–9b) and the possible bulk-mining target are 

additional positive aspects of the prospect. 

5A.5.3 Oruzgan Ore District

The Oruzgan ore district, as described by Abdullah and others (1977), lies to the east of the 

Taghawlor lithium pegmatite field (fig. 5A–5). This report interprets the Oruzgan ore district to contain 

the Kunak, Charkh, and Sheng-Eskan mineralized areas (figs. 5A–4 and 5). The principal metals likely 

to be exploited in the Oruzgan ore district are (1) tungsten and tin in skarn-scheelite, quartz-wolframite 

and quartz-scheelite zones, (2) polymetallic veins with base metals and tin and tungsten, and (3) 

Proterozoic pegmatites containing mica and tin. The base-metal occurrences in the Oruzgan ore district 

contain copper, lead, and zinc in quartz-sulfide, skarn pyrite-chalcopyrite, and shattered and silicified 

zones of magnetite and chalcopyrite. The mineralized skarns were formed at the contacts between 

Oligocene granites and roof pendants of Devonian limestone. 

The Sheng-Eskan area, 15 by 8 km, lies within the lobe of an Oligocene Phase I granite, which 

also contains stocks and plutons of Phase II and Phase III granite and approximately nine polymetallic 

mineral occurrences, including the Dariw-Sheng and Eskan vein occurrences (fig. 5A–11). The ShengEskan area also is within a tin and tungsten geochemically anomalous halo (fig. 5A–12a) and is also 

within the prospective, favorable, and permissive tracts for undiscovered tin and tungsten deposits 

delineated by Peters and others (2007) (fig. 5A–12b).
Chapter 5A. Summary of the Daykundi Tin, Tungsten, and Lithium Area of Interest 305

Figure 5A–7. Geologic map of the Taghawlor lithium pegmatite field showing outline of hyperspectral alteration zones for chlorite and carbonate (yellow 

hatched area). Geologic units and patterns are labeled on the figure. Geology from Doebrich and others (2007).
306 Summaries of Important Areas for Mineral Investment and Production Opportunities of Nonfuel Minerals in Afghanistan

Figure 5A–8. Maps of the Taghawlor lithium pegmatite field. (a) Favorable and permissive tracts from Peters and 

others (2007) for tin-tungsten deposits. Pink on west side is prospective area shown in fig. 5A-9. (b) Geochemically 

anomalous halo for tin, tungsten, and gold with superimposed hyperspectral zone of chlorite and carbonate 

alteration (yellow hatched area in both (a) and (b) containing the Taghawlor lithium pegmatite field). Pink stars 

represent known pegmatite occurrences.
Chapter 5A. Summary of the Daykundi Tin, Tungsten, and Lithium Area of Interest 307

Figure 5A–9. Maps of the Nili-Chak tungsten greisen area, Daykundi tin, tungsten, and lithium area of interest. (a) Assessment tract produced for 

qualitative assessment in Peters and others (2007). (b) Greisen zone digitized from hyperspectral imagery superimposed on topographic contour map.

Greisen zone lies within a plateau area.
308 Summaries of Important Areas for Mineral Investment and Production Opportunities of Nonfuel Minerals in Afghanistan

Figure 5A–10. Geologic maps of the Nili-Chak tungsten greisen area, Daykundi tin, tungsten, and lithium area of interest. (a) Image of digital geologic map 

over shaded relief digital elevation map, showing location of Nili tungsten prospect in the center of a circular granite. (b) Scanned image of original geologic 

map with greisen zone digitized from hyperspectral imagery. (Geology from Doebrich and others, 2006, and Peters and others, 2007).
Chapter 5A. Summary of the Daykundi Tin, Tungsten, and Lithium Area of Interest 309

The Sheng tin occurrence is to the west of the main occurrences in the lobe of the granite 

(fig. 5A–11) and includes about 300 quartz veins and silicified zones in an intrusion of Oligocene 

granite (Abdullah and others, 1977). The veins vary in thickness between 1 and 15 cm, but are as much 

as 1 m thick, and are between 10 and 100 m long. The mineralized zones are from 0.3 to 1.5 m wide and 

from 30 to 100 m long. The mineral composition of the veins in the mineralized zones may contain 

quartz, pyrite, chalcopyrite, arsenopyrite, galena, limonite, malachite, and azurite, as well as sparsely 

disseminated cassiterite and scheelite grains. The veins and zones contain 0.01 to 2 weight percent Sn 

(single samples contain as much as 14 weight percent Sn over a 10- to 15-cm interval), 0.02 to 0.16 

weight percent WO3 (0.3 weight percent WO3 in one sample), 0.01 to 0.05 weight percent Cu, and up to 

1 weight percent As (Kabakov, 1973).

The Dariw-Sheng tungsten vein prospect lies in a 12-km2 area associated with silicified shear 

zones that are hundreds of meters long and up to 30 m wide and contain disseminated sulfide minerals, 

cassiterite, and scheelite. The shear zones contain anomalous concentrations of tungsten, tin, copper, and 

bismuth (Starshinin and others, 1975). The other unnamed prospects have similar geologic 

characteristics and also contain anomalous concentrations of copper, tungsten, tin, zinc, arsenic, and 

bismuth (Abdullah and others, 1977; Orris and Bliss, 2002) (figs. 5A–11, 12a and b).

The Eskan lead-zinc prospect lies east of the Dariw-Sheng area and is in a 25-m- wide and 300-

m-long fault zone (figs. 5A–1 and 12a and b). The host Oligocene granite is shattered, ochre colored, 

and impregnated with quartz stringers. The mineralized rocks contain 0.76 to 1.04 weight percent Pb, 

0.2 to 0.62 weight percent Zn, 0.17 to 0.6 weight percent Cu, and 0.12 weight percent Sn (Karapetov 

and others, 1970). 

The Charkh area is a northeast-elongated zone 16 km long and between 4 and 9 km wide that 

spatially surrounds a Phase I (unit P~3gd of Doebrich and others, 2006) pluton (fig. 5A–11). The 

mineralized occurrences also lie above a number of Proterozoic stocks that are intruded into the Late 

Proterozoic greenschist, marble, and metavolcanic bedrock (fig. 5A–11). Parts of the area are underlain 

by a tin-tungsten geochemically anomalous halo (fig. 5A–12a) and are within the favorable and 

prospective tracts delineated by Peters and others (2007) (fig. 5A–12b). The area contains as many as six 

mineral occurrences including the Charkh tungsten and the Charh II prospects (fig. 5A–11). 

The Charkh tungsten occurrence is spatially associated with a Phase I Oligocene granodiorite 

that intruded Proterozoic schist and is in a less than 4,000-m-long and 1- to 2-m-wide shear zone that 

contains tungsten mineralization with anomalous concentrations of copper, tin, and arsenic. The Charh II 

tungsten vein occurrence has similar geology and lies in a 400-m-long ferruginous shear zone with 

grades of 0.1 weight percent WO3 and copper, tin, and arsenic values (Starshinin and others, 1975). 

The Kunak pegmatite area lies in the northern part of the Oruzgan ore district along the faulted 

contact between Middle Proterozoic mica-quartz schist in the north and greenschist, marble, and 

metavolcanic rocks in the south (fig. 5A–11) The Proterozoic(?) Kunak pegmatite occurrence is a 1.5 to 

20 meters thick and 10- to 100-meters long muscovite garnet, cassiterite, and quartz-oligoclase 

pegmatite. An unnamed pegmatite to the west is also purported to be Proterozoic in age and contains 

cassiterite, microcline, muscovite, and tourmaline (Abdullah and others, 1977; Bowersox and 

Chamberlin, 1995). 

5A.6 Summary of Potential

The presence of several partially explored tin- and tungsten-bearing magmatic-hydrothermal 

systems and the widespread occurrence of tin-tungsten geochemically anomalous halos within the 

Daykundi tin, tungsten, and lithium AOI suggest that a large metallogenic system may be present in the 

area. The geologic setting further indicates that there is a likelihood of a number of undiscovered tin and 

tungsten deposits. Because each mineralized system has strong spatial associations with a specific 

Oligocene granite body, it is likely that additional mineralized zones may be present in association with 

these granites. Additional field work is necessary to determine the nature of the mineralized zones. 

Uncertainty about deposit types present in the area (vein, stockwork, greisen, porphyry, skarn, and 
310 Summaries of Important Areas for Mineral Investment and Production Opportunities of Nonfuel Minerals in Afghanistan

replacement) prevented a quantitative estimate of undiscovered deposits by Peters and others (2007). 

Additional compilation, and field geologic mapping and sampling should identify specific targets for 

additional testing.

Figure 5A–11. Geologic map of the Oruzgan ore district, east-central Daykundi tin, tungsten, and lithium area of 

interest. Geology and mineral occurrence symbols from Doebrich and others (2007). The district contains three 

mineralized areas. Blue-line patterns indicate digitized carbonate and epidote-chlorite alteration areas identified by 

hyperspectral mapping (chapter 5B of this report).
Chapter 5A. Summary of the Daykundi Tin, Tungsten, and Lithium Area of Interest 311

Figure 5A–12. Maps showing the Oruzgan ore district. (a) Sheng-Eskan, Charkh, and Kunak pegmatite areas defined by hyperspectral anomalous 

polygons superimposed on tin-tungsten geochemically anomalous halos reproduced from Peters and others (2007). (b) Prospective, favorable, and 

permissive tracts from Peters and others (2007). The northern areas are associated with a smaller Oligocene granite body intruding Proterozoic metamorphic 

rocks, whereas the southern areas are shear-zone-hosted occurrences in Oligocene granite plutons intruding larger Oligocene granodiorite.
312 Summaries of Important Areas for Mineral Investment and Production Opportunities of Nonfuel Minerals in Afghanistan

5A.7 Selected References

Abdullah, S., and Chmyriov, V.M., eds., 1977, Karta mestorozhdenii i proyavlenii olova, vol’frama, 

molibdena i vismuta Afganistana [Map of ore deposits and occurrences of tin, tungsten, molybdenum 

and bismuth of Afghanistan], Annex 3 to Geology and Mineral Resources of Afghanistan, Book 2, 

Mineral Resources: Moscow, Nedra, 1 map, scale 1:4,000,000. 

Abdullah, S., Chmiriov, V.M., Stazhilo-Alekseev, K.F., Dronov, V. I., Gannan, P.J., Rossovskiy, L.N., 

Kofarsky, A.K., and Malyarov, E.P., 1977, Mineral resources of Afghanistan: Republic of 

Afghanistan, Ministry of Mines and Industries, Afghan Geological and Mines Survey, 419 p., 

available at http://www.bgs.ac.uk/downloads/browse.cfm?sec=7&cat=83/. 

Alkhazov, V.Yu., and Afzali, H., 1976, The geological characteristics of tungsten ore in Nili ore field 

(Central Afghanistan), in Bulletin of the IVth Science Conference: 

Bowersox, G.W., and Chamberlin, B.E., 1995, Gemstones of Afghanistan: Tucson, Ariz., Geoscience 

Press, 220 p. 

Kabul University and Kabul 

Polytechnical Institute: Kabul. 

Cox, D.P., and Bagby, W.F., 1986, Descriptive model of W veins, in 

Debon, F., Afzalie, H., Le Fort, P., and Sonet, J., 1987, Major intrusive stages in Afghanistan—

Typology, age, and geodynamic setting: Geologische Rundschau, v. 76, p. 245–264. 

Cox, D.P., and Singer, D.A., eds., 

Mineral deposit models: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1693, p. 64–65. 

Doebrich, J.L., Wahl, R.R., Ludington, S.D., Chirico, P.G., Wandrey, C.J., Bohannon, R.G., Orris, G.J., 

Bliss, J.D., Wasy, Abdul, and Younusi, M.O., 2006, Geologic and mineral resources map of 

Afghanistan, U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2005–1038, scale 1:850,000, available at 

http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2006/1038/. 

Dovgal, Yu. M., Chalyan, M.A., Nagaliov, V.S., Diomin, A.N., Vaulin, V.A., Belitch, A.I., Sonin, I.I., 

Kononykhin, E.T., Zharikhin, K.G., Maksimov, N.P., Skvortsov, N.S., and Kharitonov, A.P., 1971, 

The geology and minerals of the south-eastern part of Central Afghanistan, Report on the results of 

prospecting and survey operations (scale 1:200,000) carried out in 1967–1970: Kabul, Department of 

Geological and Mineral Survey, archival report, unpaginated. 

Kabakov, O.N., 1973, Summary on tin occurrences in Afghanistan, (Summary report by prospecting and 

evaluation party on the work in 1970-1972): Kabul, Department of Geological and Mineral Survey, 

archival report, unpaginated. 

Karapetov, S.S., Stazhilo-Alekseev, K.F., Kotchetkov, A. Ya., Semionov, Yu. G., Gorelov, A.I., 1970, 

The geology and minerals of the eastern part of Central Afghanistan: Kabul, Department of 

Geological and Mineral Survey, archival report, unpaginated. 

Kirichek, V.S., Logachiov, V.P., and Kozorez, P.E., 1974, Report by the Rasul crew on prospecting–

exploration investigations for tin in 1972–73: Kabul, Department of Geological and Mineral Survey,, 

archival report, unpaginated. 

London, David, 2008, Pegmatites: The Canadian Mineralogist Special Publication 10, 347 p. 

Metal Mining Agency of Japan, 1998, Mineral resources map of Asia: Metal Mining Agency of Japan, 

1:1,000,000,000-scale, 43-p. text. 

Nagaliov, V.S., Potapov, V.V., Koshelev, Yu. M., and Gorbunov, A.G., 1971, Report by the Daichapan 

crew on prospecting at scale 1:50000 for tin and rare metals carried out in 1970: Kabul, Department of 

Geological and Mineral Survey, archival report, unpaginated. 

Orris, G.J., and Bliss, J.D., 2002, Mines and mineral occurrences of Afghanistan: U.S. Geological 

Survey Open-File Report 2002–110, 95 p. available at http://geopubs.wr.usgs.gov/open-file/of02-110/. 

Peters, S.G., Ludington, S.D., Orris, G.J., Sutphin, D.M., Bliss, J.D., and Rytuba, J.J., eds., and the U.S. 

Geological Survey-Afghanistan Ministry of Mines Joint Mineral Resource Assessment Team, 2007, 

Preliminary non-fuel mineral resource assessment of Afghanistan: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File 

Report 2007–1214, 810 p., 1 CD–ROM, available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2007/1214/. 
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Pollard, P.J., 1995, Geology of rare metal deposits—An introduction and overview: Economic Geology, 

v. 90, no. 3, p. 489–494.

Reed, B.L., 1986a, Descriptive model of porphyry Sn, in 

Reed, B.L., 1986b, Descriptive model of replacement Sn, 

Cox, D.P., and Singer, D.A., eds., Mineral 

deposit models: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1693, p. 108.

in

Reed, B.L., 1986c, Descriptive model of Sn greisen deposits, 

Cox, D.P., and Singer, D.A., eds., Mineral 

deposit models: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1693, p. 67.

in 

Reed, B.L., 1986d, Descriptive model of Sn veins,

Cox, D.P., and Singer, D.A., eds., 

Mineral deposit models: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1693, p. 70.

in 

Reed, B.L., and Cox, D.P., 1986, Descriptive model of Sn skarn deposits,

Cox, D.P., and Singer, D.A., eds., Mineral deposit 

models U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1693, p. 67.

in

Rossovsky, L.N., 1974, Rare metals (lithium, beryllium, caesium) in Afghanistan. Source of raw 

materials and value of various raw materials under the local conditions: Kabul, Department of 

Geological and Mineral Survey, 120 p.

Cox, D.P., and Singer, 

D.A., eds., Mineral deposit models: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1693, p. 58.

Rossovsky, L.N., Chmyriov, V.M., Salah, A.S., 1976, The geology and forming conditions of

spodumene deposits of the Hendukush, in

Rossovskiy, L.N., Chmyrev, V.M., Yeremenko, G.K., and Salakh, A.S., 1977, Litiyevyye 

mestorozhdeniya Afganistana, Translated Title: Lithium deposits of Afghanistan, Izvestiya Vysshikh 

Uchebnykh Zavedeniy, Geologiya i Razvedka, v. 1977, no. 7, p. 86–93.

Geologiya Rudnykh Mestorozhdenii’, no 6.

Rossovsky, L.N., Matrosov, I.I., 1975, Transformation of petalite into spodumene and quartz as one of 

the criteria of the forming conditions of pegmatites, in 

Sborshchikov, I.M.., Loginov, G.S., Dronov, V.I., Bilan, I.K., Cherepov, P.G., Cherkesov, O.V., 1973, 

The geology and minerals of North Afghanistan (parts of map sheets 200-II, 200-III, 200-IV; 500-I): 

Kabul, Department of Geological and Mineral Survey, 129 p.

Materialy Krasnoyarskogo otgeleniya 

Vsesoyusnogo mineralogicheskogo obshchestva, Krasnoyarsk, vyp. 3.

Starshinin, D.A., Kazmin, S.S., Cherepov, P.G., Burel, M.P., and Loginov, G.S., 1975, The geology and 

minerals of the northern part of Central Afghanistan: Kabul, Department of Geological and Mineral 

Survey, archival report, 146 p.

Taylor, R.G., 1979, Geology of tin deposits: New York, Elsevier, 543 p.

United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, 1995, Atlas of mineral 

resources of the ESCAP region—Geology and mineral resources of Afghanistan: United Nations 

Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, 150 p. [Available from the National 

Technical Information Service, Springfield, Va., as NTIS Report UN–0561.]

Vachard, D., Ouedraogo, A., Bebien, J., and Desmet, A., 1986, Le basin volcano-sédimentaire de 

Kandahar (Afghanistan)—Un jalon de la marge active nord tethysienne, au Malm et au Crétace 

inférieur: Livre Jubilaire P. Bordet, Mém Science de la Terre, Nancy, v. 47, p. 253–283.

Yefimenko, V.N., Rulkovsky, M.F., Potapov, V.V., Koshelev, Yu.M., and Gorbunov, A.G., 1973, 

Report on the result of geological prospecting for tin within the Darrahe-Nur ore field and within the 

Tourmaline mineral occurrence carried out in 1971: [Afghanistan] Department of Geological and 

Mineral Survey, [unpaginated].