Chapter 16B. Cement in Afghanistan

Contribution by Victor G. Mossotti

Abstract

This chapter summarizes and interprets the results from the study of the indigenous cement 

industry in Afghanistan during 2010 and 2011 by the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Department of 

Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations, and the Afghanistan Geological Survey. 

Supporting data and other information for this chapter are available from the Ministry of Mines in

Kabul. 

Cement is the most basic of all modern building materials; hence, the availability of reasonably 

priced cement to the construction industry in Afghanistan is a high priority for reconstruction of the 

country’s infrastructure. The demand for cement in Afghanistan is projected to exceed 5 million metric 

tons per year by 2012; the demand is currently being met by imports from neighboring countries at 

prices set by foreign suppliers. There are currently two potential sites for cement production in 

Afghanistan; one is located south of the Hindu Kush at Jabal-e Saraj in Parwan Province and the other is 

located north of the mountains at Pul-e Khumri, Baghlan Province. The plant at Pul-e Khumri has the 

potential to produce up to 1,800 metric tons per day of cement, but it has insufficient electrical power

and coal. The facility at Jabal-e Saraj has not produced cement for some years. Restoration of the 

existing facility would require a substantial investment, and even if the Jabal-e Saraj plant was made 

operational, the plant would be at least 40 years out of date and would not be economically competitive 

in a market dominated by products from efficient modern plants. Afghanistan cement production 

probably cannot compete with imported products without modernizing and completing facilities at 

Pul-e Khumri, upgrading facilities at Jabal-e Saraj to a modern dry-blending 100-metric-ton-per-day

facility, upgrading power lines for all sites, and setting up a sustainable training program for cement 

engineers, chemists, plant managers, and technicians. 

16B.1 Introduction

This report focuses on mineral resources in Afghanistan that could be used in domestic cement 

production and on production issues at specific cement operations in Parwan and Baghlan Provinces. 

The work in Parwan and Baglan provides a context for considering the issues that face the Afghan 

cement business sector at the regional, national, and international levels. The report finishes with an 

inventory of deficiencies and strengths at existing operations and with ideas for consideration that could 

facilitate the restoration of Afghan cement production facilities.

Portland hydraulic cement, commonly referred to as ordinary portland cement (OPC), is the type 

of cement in greatest demand across the world, with global production now exceeding about 1.25 billion 

metric tons per year (Gregg and others, 2008). Hydraulic cement, which is produced as an anhydrous 

powder, converts into a mass of interlocking hydrated mineralized needles when exposed to water 

(Blezard, 1998). Hydraulic cement will take the shape of the confining volume, even under water or 

when exposed to wet weather. In contrast, nonhydraulic cements, such as lime and gypsum plaster, must 

be kept dry in order to retain their strength. 

Cement is never used in isolation but rather is the most important component in mortars and 

concrete. The various types of cement, when combined with aggregate and water to produce concrete, 

have different properties. Five commonly used types of OPC and a dozen or more specialized OPC 

cement types are produced in response to the demand for concrete with different properties (American 

Standards and Testing Materials, 2003, 2011). These properties include setting rate, early and long-term 
1244 Summaries of Important Areas for Mineral Investment and Production Opportunities of Nonfuel Minerals in Afghanistan

compressive and tensile strength, brittleness, hardness, heat of hydration, sulfate resistance, color, and 

workability of the concrete. Early strength is often required when setting by the end of the working day 

is important, as in cold climates. The 28-day strength remains the most important specification of most 

concrete applications. Workability is also an important specification—for example, when concrete must 

be pumped into place at a job site, the workability is an especially critical consideration. Finally, 

durability of concrete is always important where the environment (for example, the effects of 

groundwater, sea water, or sulfates) can attack and destroy the concrete. Special properties, such as low 

heat of hydration, can also be of primary importance, as is often the case in the construction of massive 

structures. Whereas the most common use of OPC is in the production of concrete, OPC is also a basic 

ingredient of mortar and most nonspecialty grouts (Hewlett, 2006).

Concrete is a composite material typically formulated from a standard menu of at least 225 

recipes. Aggregates are chemically inert, solid materials that range in shape and size from fine particles 

of sand to large coarse gravel. Water is a key ingredient in the preparation of the concrete mix. Water 

enables cement to set by activating hydration of the binding compounds in the cement. The water-tocement ratio is critical because too much water reduces concrete strength whereas too little water makes

the concrete unworkable. The American Standards and Testing Materials (ASTM) standard C150 (2003) 

describes the various mixes used to create the desired characteristics, such as high strength, sulfate 

resistance, alkali-silica reactivity resistance, heat of hydration, and other characteristics.

16B.2 Cement Production

This section of the report reviews the essential elements of cement production; the level of 

technical preparation required by engineering, scientific, and management personnel; and the local and 

regional infrastructure needed for large-scale production in a highly competitive business sector.

16B.2.1 Chemistry of Cement Production

The production of OPC from raw materials requires a delicate balance of complex chemistry and 

large-scale engineering. OPC, at the most basic level, is a fine blend of anhydrous calcium silicate 

minerals. The first step in its production is dehydration of a blend of raw carbonate and silicate 

materials. The next step is oxidation, followed by calcination of calcium carbonate (CaCO3), and then 

firing of the oxides at high temperature in a kiln. After milling the output of the kiln and blending in 

gypsum, the cement powder is ready to be used to create concrete (Hewlett, 2006).

It is well known that the ancient Assyrians, Babylonians, Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans fired 

mixtures of clay and calcareous stone to make cement (Blezard, 1998). Such natural cement, which is 

produced by burning naturally occurring mixtures of lime and clay, is still used for structures in 

traditional societies throughout the world. Because the ingredients of natural cement are mixed by 

nature, however, its properties vary as widely as the natural resources from which it is made. Such was 

probably the case with most of the cements created by early civilizations. It was not until 1824 that

Joseph Aspdin, a stone mason in Leeds, England, was awarded a patent on a recipe for hydraulic 

cement. Aspdin called his product portland cement, apparently because the color of his product 

resembled the stone quarried on the Isle of Portland off the British coast where he worked. Aspdin’s 

main contribution was the introduction of a method to standardize the proportions of raw material and 

the milling, blending, and firing steps required to create a cementitious product with reproducible 

properties. His product was a hydraulic lime used primarily for fast-setting stuccos and not the product 

recognized today as OPC. OPC contains substantial amounts of tricalcium silicate, but Joseph Aspdin’s 

cement contained none of this. William Aspdin, Joseph’s son, noted that by increasing the lime content 

of the mixture and burning it at an elevated temperature, a slow-setting but high-strength product was 

produced. This is OPC as we know it. The OPC produced today is a rigorously standardized 

combination of calcium, silicon, iron, aluminum, gypsum and other additives (Francis, 1977).

Once the minerals required for OPC production have been identified, extracted, and transported, 

minerals containing calcium carbonate (CaCO3), silica (SiO2), alumina (Al2O3), and ferric oxide (Fe2O3) 
Chapter 16B. Cement in Afghanistan 1245

must be brought together and sintered at high temperature (1,450°C) in a kiln to form an entirely new 

range of silicate minerals in a proto-cement called clinker. In the cement production process, free lime 

(CaO), silica (SiO2), and mineral phases of solid solution dicalciumsilicate (CaO)2SiO2 react to form the 

early strength-producing material, tricalcium silicate (CaO)3SiO2. In order to facilitate cement chemistry 

dialog, cement chemists worldwide have adopted a standard notation for the common oxides found in 

cement (Locher, 2006). This cement chemistry notation makes use of the fact that most of the elements 

are present in their highest oxidation state and that cement analyses report mineral components as mass 

percent of mineral oxides. These notations include calcium oxide or free lime (C), dicalcium silicate or 

belite (C2S), tricalcium aluminate or celite (C3A), tricalcium silicate or alite (C3S), and tetracalcium 

aluminoferrite (C4AF).

Because most of the kiln reactants and clinker minerals remain in the solid state as the high 

temperature reactions proceed, the components of the kiln feed must be homogeneous and in intimate 

contact for control of the kinetics and completeness of solid state reactions (sintering). Thus, 

management of particle size by milling, grinding, and blending are critical steps in the production of 

high-quality cement. The raw materials for OPC are blended as a dry powder in modern plants or in the 

form of slurry in older plants; the wet blending method ultimately requires more energy for OPC 

production than the dry method. Typically, the content of individual components in the blend is 

controlled within 0.1 percent or better. In modern plants, instrumental analytical chemical monitoring is 

used to make continuous adjustments to the proportion of materials in the kiln feed (Hewlett, 2006).

Bauxite or laterite is often used to adjust the proportion of Al2O3 or Fe2O3 in the kiln feed. Clay 

minerals start to decompose at about 500°C, producing highly reactive finely divided SiO2 and Al2O3. 

These compounds react with CaCO3 to produce calcium silicates, aluminates, and ferrites at well below 

the dissociation temperature of CaCO3. Aluminum and iron facilitate the rate and completeness of 

silicate-forming reactions at the lowest possible temperature by producing a flux that wets the surfaces 

of the solid particles. All the raw minerals in the cement kiln feed will dissociate below 1,000°C, with 

CaCO3 calcination consuming most energy in the decomposition of the raw minerals. The surface of the 

CaCO3 particles may begin dissociation at 850°C where the partial pressure of CO2 is relatively low. If 

the CaCO3 particles are too large, CO2 partial pressure in the outer layers of the particle increases, 

inhibiting calcination of the particle center (Hewlett, 2006).

The final clinker formation reaction takes place by the solid reactants dissolving in the Al2O3 or 

Fe2O3 flux and the solid product crystallizing out of this flux. In actuality, reaction equilibria are subject 

to controls imposed by stoichiometric relationships, reactant concentrations, reaction-free energies, 

reaction kinetics, and residence time in the kiln. The reaction-free energies and reaction kinetics depend 

on the temperature at which the reactions take place. It is well understood that the free energy of most 

compounds is reduced when the crystal structure is disrupted, either thermally or by incorporation of 

minor substitutions in the lattice. The temperature profile along the length of the kiln is designed to 

follow a nonlinear pattern with a steep gradient between the decomposition zone on the uphill end of the 

kiln and the burning zone about one-half-way downhill toward the burner. The steep temperature 

gradient between the decomposition zone and the burning zone, along with kiln rotation, accelerates the 

transition from the low temperature proto-cementitious materials in the kiln to clinker, while 

maximizing crystalline disorder in the most hydraulically active phases (Hewlett, 2006).

16B.2.2 Mineral Inputs for Cement Production

At the core of the OPC business sector is the beneficiation of a collection of minerals that are 

perhaps the most common on Earth’s surface; these include the primary constituents of carbonate rocks, 

clay, and sand. Bauxite and iron ore are also needed to adjust the proportions of Al203 and Fe203 in the 

raw material blend to comply with standard formulas. A certain amount of gypsum is also needed, 

depending on the ultimate application of the OPC. Approximately 1.5 metric tons (t) of dry raw material

is required to produce 1 t of clinker (International Energy Agency Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme, 

1999). By substituting pozzolanic materials, such as fly ash or blast furnace slag, for the gypsum, the 
1246 Summaries of Important Areas for Mineral Investment and Production Opportunities of Nonfuel Minerals in Afghanistan

cement industry has been able to reduce CO2 emissions in the production process. In cement production, 

raw materials make up less than 25 percent of the total cost of production. 

Production begins with the discovery and quantitative assessment of primary mineral deposits 

needed for the enterprise. Soviet and Afghanistan geologists identified a number of limestone deposits 

during geologic surveys in the 1970s, but very little exploration specifically for limestone deposits was 

conducted. Figure 16B–1 shows the areas in Afghanistan that are geologically permissive for the 

limestone, gypsum, and bauxite used to produce OPC; clay, which is also required, is not shown on the 

map because it is ubiquitous across Afghanistan. The map shows that calcareous materials are 

permissive over vast areas north and south of the Hindu Kush and within the area encircled by the ring 

road and beyond. The tract, which has been delineated using the digital geologic map of Afghanistan 

(Doebrich and Wahl, 2006; Ludington and others, 2007), consists of map units having limestone or 

marble identified as a major or dominant component. Although limestone of different ages may have 

different qualities and uses, lithological age was not used to delimit the permissive tract because of the 

lack of information about the quality or consistency of the various limestone deposits. 

Limestone is the most important component of cement and it also has many additional uses in 

agriculture and industry. Many of the currently active limestone quarries in Afghanistan are mined on a 

small scale and provide building stone for local markets. Especially promising larger limestone deposits 

that could support open-pit mining methods include the following: 

• Badakshan Province: 

• Jamarchi-Balo, Darwazi Bala District (38°15′15′′ N, 71°21′10′′ E)

• Sabz limestone—Early Carboniferous with speculative reserves of between 500 and 

1,300 million metric tons (Mt) (United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and 

the Pacific, 1995) 

• Baghlan Province, Pul-e Khumri (35°58′50.54′′ N, 68°41′14.834′′ E)

• Parwan Province, Jabal-e Saraj (35°07′40.49′′ N, 68°14′21.04′′ E) 

• Herat Province:

• Darra-i-Chartagh (34°26′20′′ N, 62°46′00′′ E)—Early Triassic deposit that is more than 5 km 

long and greater than 200 meters (m) thick 

• Rod-i-Sanjur (34°26′ N, 62°44′ E)—Middle Triassic deposit that is up to 400 m thick 

(United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, 1995) 

• Given that the value-to-weight ratio is relatively low for input materials and for finished cement, 

transportation of the input materials or the finished product can significantly affect the return-toinvestment bottom line. Hence, it is not surprising that limestone, which is the primary material 

needed for OPC, is usually mined on site. Ideally, sites with plentiful deposits of limestone 

containing approximately the correct proportion of minerals for grinding and directly firing into 

clinker can be identified for cement plants. In less ideal locations, cement plants have to use 

mixtures of limestone or marble, clay, sand, bauxite, or iron ore to fine-tune the chemical 

composition of the feed to the kiln. Although the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)-Afghan 

Geological Survey (AGS) assessment team has identified three categories of clays (brick, adobe, 

and fire clay) in the country, the particular type of clay is less important to the quality of the 

cement production than is precise knowledge of the clay chemistry for a particular batch in 

relation to the particular chemistry of the limestone for the batch. This underscores the 

requirement for facilities to adjust the composition of raw materials in the blending stage of 

cement production and for real-time online chemical analysis. Based on the prevalence of clay 

used for clay structures everywhere in the country, Afghanistan appears to have abundant clayey 

materials for cement production. The distributions of clay and gypsum resources are crossreferenced to areas of interest in chapter 16A, table 16A–1. 
Chapter 16B. Cement in Afghanistan 1247

Figure 16B–1. Map showing permissive areas for minerals required for cement production; clay is not shown on 

the map because it is ubiquitious across Afghanistan. (Base map from Doebrich and Wahl (2006). 

Because cement production is capital intensive, the long-term success of a cement production 

facility can hinge on the quantitative accuracy of the mineral resource estimates. It is critically important 

to resolve and remove as much uncertainty as possible before developing or expanding a production 

facility. This can be accomplished by close-grid three-dimensional geologic mapping of potential 

quarry sites using combinations of geophysics, surface trenching, and deep core drilling. We suggest 

that proven reserves of raw materials be secured for production inputs for (the normal) 60- to 80-year 

production lifecycle at a given site.

16B.2.3 Fuel and Electrical Power Requirements for Cement Production

Energy efficiency is an important concern for the cement industry. On a global basis, the cement 

industry’s energy demand is estimated to be about 2 percent of global primary energy consumption and 

almost 5 percent of total industrial energy consumption (International Energy Agency Greenhouse Gas 

R&D Programme, 1999). On a plant-by-plant level, energy inputs account for 50 percent to 60 percent 

of the total cost of production. The demand for energy is distributed between electrical energy for 

grinding and milling and thermal energy for firing the kiln. Efficient modern cement kilns, which are 

optimized with kiln preheaters for productivity and energy consumption, require about 3,000 kilojoules 

per kilogram (kJ/kg) of clinker produced. Basic thermodynamic calculations show that nominally 

1,735 kJ/kg of clinker is consumed by the chemical reactions involved in the conversion of the kiln feed 

into clinker. The remainder of the thermal energy input to the kiln is lost from the system as latent heat 
1248 Summaries of Important Areas for Mineral Investment and Production Opportunities of Nonfuel Minerals in Afghanistan

in the clinker, dust, and exhaust gases, and as radiation and convection from the kiln shell. For every 1 t 

of cement produced, 0.82 t of CO2 is generated, of which 0.43 t is owing to the decomposition of raw 

materials and 0.39 t is from fuel combustion. 

Table 16B–1.

[kJ/kg, kilojoules per kilogram; kWh/t, kilowatthours per metric ton; mg/m

Plant operational factors for dry blending cement production. 3

Operational factor

, milligrams per cubic meter; MPa, megapascals]

Average plant in China Advanced international plant

Heat consumption (kJ/kg clinker) 3,344 2,900

Total consumption (kWh/t) 110 85

Kiln dust emission (mg/ m3) 100 15

Kiln NOx emission (mg/ m3) 1,200 200

Kiln SO2 emission (mg/ m3) 400 50

Clinker compressional strength (MPa ) 70 58

Table 16B–1 contrasts the energy demands at advanced technology plants with the average plant 

in China (Jänicke and others, 1985). The table shows the power requirements for cement production and 

suggests benchmarks to meet for Afghanistan cement producers to be competitive. About two-thirds of 

the electrical energy required for cement production is consumed in grinding and milling raw materials 

and for milling clinker into the final cement product. Based on data in Table 16B–1, about 16 megawatts 

(MW) of power (a mix of electrical and thermal power) is needed to produce 1 million metric tons of 

cement over a 330-day period of continuous plant operation. Plants using the wet method require 

significantly more energy. 

16B.2.4 Physical Infrastructure for Cement Production

The sequential steps in the production of cement are listed below; each of these steps represents 

an area of engineering specialization and requires sophisticated infrastructure. To be competitive, the 

capacity of a plant would need to be designed to deliver bagged or bulk cement in the range of 1,500 to 

2,000 metric tons per day (t/d) to a market within a 300-kilometer (km) radius, assuming that the 

infrastructure (roads, traffic control, and so forth) of the service area is in reasonable condition. In steps 

1, 2, 5, 7, 11, and 14, chemical analysis and (or) other physical testing is required to determine particle 

size distribution or strength. The steps are as follows: 

1. Raw materials are quarried and sized down to nominally minus 30 centimeters (cm), then 

transported by wheel loader to a dump hopper for transport by belt conveyor up to .5 km to the 

crushing station. 

2. Raw materials are crushed in closed-loop crusher-separators.

3. Raw materials are reclaimed.

4. Raw materials are proportioned and blended, using either the wet or the dry method. 

5. Materials are transported and blended (optimized for cement type with silica and iron). 

6. Materials are transported and milled (in roller and ball mills) to a fine powder (quartz is milled to 

less than 150 μm and calcite is milled to less than 50 μm). 

7. Materials are transported and dried in preheaters and then further blended. 

8. Materials are calcined before entering the kiln (modern plants only). 

9. Materials are fired in a rotary kiln at approximately 1,450°C to produce clinker. 

10. Clinker is cooled and transported for storage. 

11. Clinker is crushed and blended with 3.5 percent to 5 percent gypsum to control setting time, and 

possibly with other additives (blast furnace slag or fly ash).

12. Clinker is milled (using roller and ball mills) to finely powdered cement.
Chapter 16B. Cement in Afghanistan 1249

13. Cement is transported for storage. 

14. Cement is loaded in bulk into tankers, or into bags by automatic filling and palletizing systems.

16B.2.5 Quality Control

The broad variations in the chemical makeup of the natural raw materials that go into cement 

production, and the sensitivity of the final product to relatively small differences in chemistry, make 

quality control mandatory at all stages of production. One of the challenges is that computation of 

mineralogy based on total oxide composition provides only the potential mineralogy of the product; that 

is, the possible mix of cementitious minerals in the final product under the assumption that the sintering 

reactions and cooling take place as designed. Analysis of raw materials and blends for chemistry and 

homogeneity are best used when conducted real-time in closed-loop systems. Typical methods applied 

in modern cement plants include automated particle size distribution measurements; cross-belt chemical 

analysis with prompt gamma neutron activation analysis that provides one analysis per minute for 

silicon, aluminum, iron, calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, sulfur, chlorine, nickel, phosphorus, 

manganese and titanium; wavelength dispersive x-ray fluorescence for raw materials; and x-ray

diffraction for free lime estimation. It is necessary to actively control the chemistry, particle distribution, 

and blend homogeneity of the kiln feed, and it is equally essential to conduct systematic physical testing 

on the final product to ensure that the production stages are executed as designed and that the properties 

of the cement conform to the requirements of the industrial standards. These tests are typically relatively

low-technology tensile and compressional strength measurements. Finally, statistical process control is 

exercised across the production line to ensure that product that is noncompliant with standards is never 

produced. Foreign cement producers have adopted the quality control system outlined here without 

exception (Hewlett, 2006). 

16B.3 Framework for Field Investigations

In the spring and summer of 2010, a USGS-U.S. Department of Defense Task Force for Business 

and Stability Operations (TFBSO) field team visited cement plants at Jabal-e Saraj in Parwan Province 

and at Pul-e Khumri in Baglan Province. The team also conducted a number of meetings at the AGS 

with geologists and cement plant personnel. The central questions driving the team’s inquiry at the 

cement plants were as follows: 

• How prepared are particular indigenous industry sectors and specific operations to capitalize on 

Afghanistan’s mineral resources?

• What is needed at the sector level and at the local plant level?

• What suggestions can the field team offer to the TFBSO?

• What are the expected effects of the suggested actions?

• What are the likely effects of not taking action? 

16B.4 Assessment of Specific Sites for Cement Production

The following sites are regularly mentioned in unpublished reports and on the Internet as hosting 

cement plants that are either in production or are scheduled to be brought online in the near future: 

• Herat (Herat Province) (34°19′19.72′′ N, 61°57′12.61′′ E) 

• Kandahar (Kandahar Province) (31°34′22′′ N, 65°49′25′′ E) 

• Jabal-e Saraj (Parwan Province) (35°07′40.49′′ N, 68°14′21.04′′ E) 

• Pul-e Khumri (Baghlan Province) (35°58′50.54′′ N, 68°41′14.834′′ E) 

Interest in cement production at these sites developed because of their vicinity to population centers in 

the north and south of the Hindu Kush and in the east and west of the country. Although the sites in 

Herat and Kandahar have never produced cement, they are favorably mentioned in various reports as 

being licensed sites for greenfield plants (this report provides only a brief overview of the conditions at 
1250 Summaries of Important Areas for Mineral Investment and Production Opportunities of Nonfuel Minerals in Afghanistan

the Herat and Kandahar sites). The sites at Jabal-e Saraj (Parwan Province) and at Pul-e Khumri 

(Baghlan Province) have a long history of cement production.

16B.4.1 Cement Production Site at Herat, Herat Province

For thousands of years, the City of Herat has been an important center of commerce in the 

region; in that respect, nothing in recent years has changed. The most important industry is trade in 

imported used vehicles from Iran (Box, 2006a). After vehicles, the second most imported product is 

reported to be cement. The customs office in Islam Qala reported that 27,750 t of cement was imported 

from Iran during the Ramadan month of October 2005, and that 750 t was imported from Turkmenistan

(Box, 2006a). 

16B.4.1.1 Existing Facilities

The plant, or more accurately, what is left of the plant, located in western Afghanistan in Herat 

Province is 25 km west of Herat City at an elevation of 896 m (fig. 16B–2). The Harirud River that 

flows from east to west is approximately 1 km north of the plant site. The site, which covers 

approximately 140 hectares, is surrounded by sparse residential settlements to the north and west and by 

the Kaftarkhana Mountains (the potential limestone source) to the south. Several members of the field 

team visited the site of the Herat cement facility on April 12, 2010. Because of a security threat and 

because there were few facilities of interest to examine, the field team stayed at the site for only 

15 minutes. 

The original circumstances under which the Herat plant was planned have changed demonstrably 

since its conception in the mid-1970s. Construction of the Herat facility was scheduled to be completed 

by the end of 1978. The plant was originally designed to produce 700 t/d, or 210,000 metric tons per 

year (t/yr), using the wet blending process. After 21⁄2 years into a 4-year construction schedule, all work 

was halted because of the onset of artillery attacks on the job site. The Czech contractor1

 pulled their 

engineers and immediately abandoned the project. At the time, no more than 25 percent of the 

mechanical process equipment had been installed. The equipment that had been delivered was either 

removed to unknown destinations or left exposed to the elements where it rusted or was salvaged for use 

elsewhere in the country. Of the electrical equipment delivered to the Herat facility, it appears that 

several diesel generators and large electrical motors were shipped to the cement plant at Jabal-e Saraj 

and possibly to Pul-e Khumri.

16B.4.1.2 Outlook

Over the long term, the Herat site offers a number of positive attributes for the location of a 

cement plant. It is near a large population center and has a significant supply of limestone and clay 

nearby. Coal is available from the Sabzak coal operation located 140 km north of the plant, and there is 

a spur electrical power line from the Iranian grid already pulled into the site. In the short term, a 

significant capital investment is necessary to demolish the remnants of the existing facility and for 

installation of a greenfield plant. Capital investment is also needed to improve the road and rail 

transportation infrastructure between Herat and the Sabzak coal region, which currently are less than 

optimal. The main factor working against the viability of a greenfield plant at Herat is the intense 

competition from the cement manufacturing facilities in Iran and Turkmenistan.

16B.4.2 Cement Production Site in Kandahar Province

Kandahar is a large province in southern Afghanistan with an estimated population of about 

500,000, nearly 88 percent of which reside in or near the provincial capital city of Kandahar (Ministry of 

Rural Rehabilitation and Development, 2011). The region produces pomegranates and grapes, and the 

city has a thriving dry fruit and canning industry. Kandahar City is linked by road to Farah to the west, 

 

1

Prerovske Strojirny of Czechoslovakia
Chapter 16B. Cement in Afghanistan 1251

Herat to the northwest, Tarin Kot in Uruzgan Province to the north, Ghazni and Kabul to the northeast, 

and Quetta in Pakistan to the southeast. 

Figure 16B–1. Google Earth satellite imagery showing the setting for the Herat cement plant.

16B.4.2.1 Existing Facilities

In the spring of 2003, Hamid Qaderi (a prominent Afghan businessman) proposed to establish a 

1,500-t/d (nominally 500,000-t/yr) cement plant in Kandahar to serve reconstruction activities in the 

surrounding region (United States Trade and Development Agency, 2003). The proposed project, which 

was based on a 1977 report (Chase World Information Corp., 1977), was approved by the Afghanistan 

Government and the local authorities. The Afghan sponsors of the project anticipated contributing about 

30 percent of the costs by providing land, raw materials, and services. A tender was prepared for funding 

or financing the uncovered part of the capital investment. The plan was to build a modern cement plant 

and industrial park; the tender outlined a turnkey plant to be build by PSP Engineering A.S. of the Czech 

Republic. As of mid-2011, a cement plant has not been built in Kandahar. 

16B.4.2.2 Outlook

Although demand for cement in Kandahar Province is increasing, the development of a 

competitive cement production operation in Kandahar City presents a number of challenges. At this 
1252 Summaries of Important Areas for Mineral Investment and Production Opportunities of Nonfuel Minerals in Afghanistan

time, coal provides the source of energy in the region. Coal for a plant at Kandahar would have to be 

delivered from the Sabzak coal mine, which is located more than 600 km north of the site. Without a 

cost-efficient means of delivery, such as by rail, the fuel cost would be untenable. The coal problem 

could possibly be resolved in the long run by the installation of a natural gas pipeline to Kandahar 

(Afghan Chamber of Commerce, 2011) (fig. 16B–3), but there is still a more difficult problem with no 

obvious solution: there are only minimally adequate limestone reserves close to Kandahar. For a 

500,000-t plant, the three relatively small limestone quarries in the Province may be depleted before a 

greenfield plant could be fully amortized. Under this scenario, limestone transportation costs from more 

distant mineral resources would be prohibitive, and a 1-million-metric-ton-per-year (Mt/yr)-capacity

plant, which would be more competitive, would not be feasible. Finally, owing to the site’s close 

proximity to Pakistan, the regional market would be difficult to penetrate. 

Figure 16B–3. Map showing proposed Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) natural gas pipeline. 

Base map from Doebrich and Wahl (2006); pipeline route after Foster (2008). 

16B.4.3 Cement Production Site at Jabal-e Saraj, Parwan Province

The cement plant at Jabal-e Saraj is located at the southern base of the Hindu Kush next to the 

town of Jabal-e Saraj (population about 726,600) at an elevation of 1,670 m. Ownership and control of 

the plant is the responsibility of the Afghanistan Ministry of Mines. The Jabal-e Saraj plant, which was 

the first rotary kiln built in Afghanistan, delivered its first bag of cement in 1957. The plant was built for 

Afghanistan as part of an economic aid package from the Soviet Union. The Czechoslovakian firms 

Prerovske Strojirny and Prerov Machinery were contracted to provide the equipment and do the 

construction. Production at the Jabal-e Saraj plant was halted by the Taliban regime in 1996. During the 
Chapter 16B. Cement in Afghanistan 1253

Taliban period, the plant was bombed 10 times, including a direct hit on the main central kiln ring 

bearing; the kiln has not operated since that time. No plant upgrades or expansions have been made to 

the original layout or design of the plant since 1957. 

Figure 16B–4. Google Earth satellite imagery showing the Jabal-e Saraj cement plant (foreground) and the 

plant’s main limestone deposit.

16B.4.3.1 Existing Facilities and Plant Development Potential

The Jabal-e Saraj plant was designed as a single kiln, wet process plant with a production 

capacity of 100 t/d of clinker (33,000 t/yr). On March 27, 2010, a field party of the USGS-TFBSO team 

traveled to Jabal-e-Saraj in Parwan Province to inspect the cement plant; collect samples of raw 

materials, clinker, and cement; inspect the equipment; and hold extended discussions with the chief 

engineer of the plant, Mr. Islamuddin Ahmadi. The team spent about 5 hours at the plant. The equipment 

appeared to be in virtually the same condition as shown in the photographs made by Box 4 years earlier 

(Box, 2006b). The following day, the team spent most of the day in discussions on the merits of any 

number of models for restoration and renovation of the plant. At the end of the meeting, the team had 

concerns about the viability of the plant, while at the same time agreed that an electrical power spur line 

from the main grid might serve to attract investors to the plant. It was agreed collectively that before 

proceeding with any forward movement at the Jabal-e Saraj site, the equipment at the plant would need 

to be shown to be operational. 

16B.4.3.2 Limestone Quality

Figure 16B–4 shows an oblique view of the cement production facility at Jabal-e Saraj with the 

cement plant in the foreground of the main limestone deposit used for the factory. Inspection of hand 

samples of limestone collected at the quarry revealed the presence of significant amounts of siderite 

(FeCO3), which is a mineral that often is associated with significant amounts of magnesium. Some iron 
1254 Summaries of Important Areas for Mineral Investment and Production Opportunities of Nonfuel Minerals in Afghanistan

and magnesium are tolerable in the limestone, but if these elements are present at concentrations 

exceeding a few percent, they can cause the concrete made from the limestone to degrade. It would be 

relatively easy to assess the quality level of the limestone by conducting geochemical mapping at the 

limestone quarry at Jabal-e Saraj using a hand-held energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence spectrometer. 

Geologists at the AGS report that another favorable limestone deposit has been identified in relatively 

close proximity to Jabal-e Saraj, but the grade and tonnage of the deposit has not yet been determined. 

Verification of this deposit and close-grid geochemical mapping of the main limestone deposit are 

essential in evaluating the cement production potential of the Jabal-e Saraj site.

16B.4.3.3 Quality Control at Jabal-e Saraj

When the cement plant at Jabal-e Saraj was in operation, limestone and clay materials were 

analyzed by classical wet chemical methods to determine the relative proportions of the input materials 

to be blended. Because the analytical procedures required many hours to complete for a batch of 

samples, the practice was to select samples from input ores randomly at the truck-load scale; the 

assumption was that the chemical composition of the input materials was reasonably consistent 

throughout the entire batch, which might be as large as 5 to 10 t. Because this procedure was carried out 

before the input materials were crushed, blended, and fired in the kiln, the system was open-loop and 

provided no quality control of the product during processing. Regular quality testing was conducted on 

the mechanical properties of the finished clinker, however. The mechanical testing was conducted in 

accordance with industry standards for compression and tensile strength (fig. 16B–5).

During earlier visits to Jabal-e Saraj, USGS scientists were provided cement samples that were 

represented as being recent Jabal-e Saraj products; what follows is a mineralogical comparison of these 

samples with those of other producers. The samples were submitted to the USGS laboratories for 

analysis and were labeled JblShrz-1 and JblShrz-2. USGS scientists later acquired samples from Ghori I, 

which is a cement plant site in Pul-e Khumri, as well as samples from Pakistan and Iran. These samples 

were also submitted to USGS laboratories for analysis. Based on the major oxide compositions of 

the field samples, potential mineral phases were computed using the Bogue algorithm (Bogue, 1955) and 

compared with compositional patterns computed from data from five separate U.S. producers. 

Themineral compositions of the JblShrz-1, JblShrz-2, Ghri-I, and Pakistani products are compared in 

figure 16B–6. Cursory inspection of the patterns in figure 16B–6 reveals that the JblShrz-1 and Ghri-I 

are mineralogically nearly identical. If JblShrz-1 and JblShrz-2 were made at Jabal-e Saraj, the 

significant difference in C2S composition between JblShrz-1 and JblShrz-2 indicates that quenching of 

the high temperature C3S phase by the satellite coolers in the Jabal-e Saraj kiln is not adequately 

reproducible for meeting modern quality control standards. A more likely explanation is that clinker 

fired at Ghori I was milled at Jabal-e Saraj but not fired at the Jabal-e Saraj plant. Figure 16B–6 also 

shows that JblShrz-2 submitted as a product of the Jabal-e Saraj plant is mineralogically identical to the 

Pakistani sample; several alternative interpretations are possible to account for these data.

The compositional patterns graphically represented in figure 16B–7 show that the Pakistani 

cement is much closer in mineral composition to Iranian cement, and as shown in figure 16B–8, the 

Iranian cement is similar to that produced in the United States.
Chapter 16B. Cement in Afghanistan 1255

Figure 16B–5. Physical testing laboratory at the Jabal-e Saraj cement plant. Photograph by Victor G. Mossotti, 

U.S. Geological Survey
1256 Summaries of Important Areas for Mineral Investment and Production Opportunities of Nonfuel Minerals in Afghanistan

Figure 16B–6. Charts showing mineral composition of JblShrz-1 and JblShrz-2, Ghri-I, and Pakistani cement

samples. Charts are from Bogue (1955). C3A, tricalcium aluminate; C4AF, tetracalcium aluminoferrite; C2S, 

bicalcium silicate; C3S, tricalcium silicate. 

16B.4.3.4 Electrical Power

At the Jabal-e Saraj cement plant, there are two potential sources for long-term supply of 

electrical power. The first, and that which could provide the greatest amount of power, is a spur line that 

would connect a substation at Jabal-e Saraj with the main north-south power grid for Kabul. The 

estimated cost of building the spur line, which would include a transformer farm at Jabal-e Saraj, is 

expected to be less than US$1 million. The second source of power, a facility that is primarily for the 

use of the town of Jabal-e Saraj, is a micro-hydroelectric plant that is to be located relatively close to the 

cement plant. This small powerplant, which will have a capacity of 2.5 to 4.5 MW, is planned for 

completion in 2011.2 The fraction of the electrical power from the hydroelectric plant that will be 

available for cement production was undetermined. It should also be noted that there are considerable 

uncertainties in the power estimate and timelines for production. 

 

2

According to a discussion at Jabal-e Saraj with Mr. Ethan Glick, U.S. State Department representative in Parwan, such a 

facility is in the advanced planning stages, although the precise cost and funding source for the spur line have not yet been 

determined.
Chapter 16B. Cement in Afghanistan 1257

As a backup system, the Jabal-e Saraj plant has a diesel electric generator (salvaged from the 

Herat plant) that was intended to provide emergency power (fig. 16B–9). This backup generator was 

designed to have sufficient power to keep the kiln rotating and the essential pumps running (it is 

important to keep a kiln operating at its functional temperature for many months without interruption). If 

the generator were restored to its new condition, it could provide enough power to rotate the kiln and to 

run the basic mechanical support systems for the kiln, but not enough power to run the grinding and 

milling equipment. This generator has never been in operation, however, and the engine that drives the 

generator, and virtually all of the support equipment for the engine (starter engine, starter compressor, 

cooling system, fuel tank, exhaust system, and turbo charger), are not working at present. 

Figure 16B–7. Charts showing mineral composition of cement samples produced at Ghori I, Pakistan, and Iran

plants. Charts are from Bogue (1955).

On April 17, 2010, representatives of the TFBSO had a meeting at the AGS in Kabul with the 

Director of the Jabal-e Saraj cement plant. At that meeting, they decided to go forward with the 

restoration of the backup diesel electric generator at the plant in order to be able to test some of the 

machinery used for cement production. Arrangements were made for three engineers from the Czech 

Republic to work on the generator at the plant for 10 days. On July 27, 2010, members of the 

USGS-TFBSO team met with the engineers at Bagram when they arrived from the Czech Republic. 

Work began that afternoon at the Jabal-e Saraj plant.

On first inspection, it was concluded that the generator could not be put into operation without 

new parts and a great deal of work. For a variety of reasons, it was decided that the engineers would 

continue in Jabal-e Saraj for two more weeks, using the time to analyze the mechanical and electrical 

issues with the generator system thoroughly and to prepare a proposal for its repair. The data in 

Table 16B–2 summarize the cost of implementing a highly detailed plan for restoration of the generator 

submitted by CKD Elektrotechnika of Prague, Czech Republic. 
1258 Summaries of Important Areas for Mineral Investment and Production Opportunities of Nonfuel Minerals in Afghanistan

Figure 16B–8. Charts showing mineral composition of cement samples from one Iranian and five U.S. cement 

plants. Charts are from Bogue (1955).

Because it was clear that the generator would not be available for testing the plant equipment, the 

USGS representative arranged with the director of the Jabal-e Saraj plant to have all the electrical power 

that might be available in the area of Jabal-e Saraj redirected to the cement factory. When the power was 

routed to the plant, it was apparent that the main switch box was adequate to handle the power load. The 

electrical power was sufficient to test only pumps, compressors, conveyers, bagging equipment, and the 

rotation of the kiln, however (fig. 16B–10). All the equipment tested was found to operate. It was also 

apparent that the machinery was in need of maintenance and would require parts to be replaced in order 

to be able to hold up to continuous operation. The USGS representative closely inspected the interior of 

the kiln by crawling through its interior to about one–third of its length from the burner. The brick lining 

and slag deposits on the interior sides in the burning zone were found to be in reasonably good condition 

(fig. 16B–11). On being apprised of the findings, the TFBSO representative met with the plant director 

and the Parwan Power commissioner and agreed to explore pulling in a spur line to the plant. 

16B.4.3.5 Raw Blending

Kiln roasting of raw blends prepared by the wet method is significantly more energy intensive 

than roasting dry kiln feed. Because of this, there are questions as to whether the production of products 

involving calcining and kilning at Jabal-e Saraj can be cost competitive with products delivered to the 

marketplace by the dry method. 

16B.4.3.6 Availability of Trained Workforce

Because cement has not been produced at Jabal-e Saraj for a considerable period of time, the 

engineering and management staffs would likely need updated training to deal with the complexities of 
Chapter 16B. Cement in Afghanistan 1259

modern cement production and with up-to-date marketing, sales, and delivery methods. Recent 

graduates or students that are near graduation could be trained at Kabul University or Kabul Polytechnic 

University where a venue could be arranged to support a training program. 

16B.4.3.7 Transportation Infrastructure

The chief advantage of Jabal-e Saraj is its location to Kabul. At present, the surface of the road 

linking Jabal-e Saraj to the Kabul highway is quite broken up; a rail line linking Jabal-e Saraj with 

Kabul would be ideal. 

Figure 16B–9. Power generator at Jabal-e Saraj cement plant (not functional). Photograph by Victor G. Mossotti, 

U.S. Geological Survey.

16B.4.3.8 Outlook and Near-Term Guidance

For the Jabal-e Saraj cement plant to become productive in the near term, the actions outlined 

below are suggested. Although the factory at Jabal-e Saraj could produce cement in the near term, it 

would be challenging to produce cement at a competitive price without extensive renovation of the 

facility. The following are the essential elements of a near-term model for producing cement at 

Jabal-e Saraj, which is based on utilizing existing production infrastructure with as few upgrades as 

possible. 

Funding: Conduct a detailed feasibility study to determine if the following actions can be achieved and 

funding obtained. 
1260 Summaries of Important Areas for Mineral Investment and Production Opportunities of Nonfuel Minerals in Afghanistan

Staff: Hire well-qualified people who already know how to make cement. The following positions are 

suggested: 

• Chief executive officer and chief financial officer

• Cement factory engineer

• Cement chemist

• Administrative officer

• Information technology/database technician

• Marketing/sales person

• Human resources personnel to handle all issues related to staff 

• Mining geologist

• Factory workers to specialize in specific plant operations 

Electrical power: AA spur line to power the plant. 

Fuel for kiln: Make arrangements with a coal producer that can guarantee a reliable supply of coal. 

Consider purchasing coal from wherever it is available.

Table 16B–2. Summary of cost for restoration of the 1,450 kilovolt-ampere DG generator at the Jabal-e Saraj

cement plant.

[Source: CKD Elektrotechnika]

Restoration cost

Item Name Total price Remarks

1–16 Accessories $86,061 Necessary

17–20 Measuring instruments 2,2062 Necessary

21–91 Tools 14,043 Necessary

92–379 Installation material 132,149 Necessary

380–445 Set of spare parts for initial operation 129,123 Necessary

446–465 Compressor spares 5,533 Necessary

466–468 Turbocharger tools and spares 15,904 Necessary

469 Set of spare parts for governor 1,371 Necessary

470–471 Electrical items 45,087 Necessary

Total necessary 451,333

472–481 2-stage signaling system 678 Optional

482–489 2-cooling circuits 53,908 Optional

490–499 Cooling tower 146,661 Optional

500 Exhaust silencer 12,984 Optional

501–531 Workshop equipment 9,578 Required

Total optional 223,810

Grand total 675,142

Estimated cost of technicians

Days Rate per day Total

I. stage Mechanical engineer 23 $1,600 $36,800

Electrical engineer 12 1,600 19,200

II stage Mechanical engineer 16 1,600 25,600

III stage Mechanical engineer 16 1,600 25,600

Electrical engineer 12 1,600 19,200

Total 79 126,400

Total restoration cost 801,542

Physical infrastructure suggested: 

• A “Rock Hawg” for excavation, primary crushing, road preparation, and trenching in limestone 

and clay quarries.

• Gypsum and bauxite. 

• At least four trucks: two trucks to haul ore; one truck to haul product; and a truck for hauling 

maintenance equipment and materials around the plant grounds. 

• Grinding and milling: Buy new milling balls, but use existing open-loop equipment without 

introducing updated particle-size distribution engineering and monitoring methods. 
Chapter 16B. Cement in Afghanistan 1261

• Renovate conveyer systems. 

• Renovate the chemistry laboratory and purchase a wavelength dispersive x-ray fluorescence 

spectrometer.

• Renovate the machine shop and storage facilities for spare parts.

• Renovate the power station and backup generator, cooling cistern, and pumps. The kiln should 

run 24×7×12; it should be allowed to cool only for repairs. 

• Spare parts for the kiln, pumps, and grinding and milling equipment. 

• Renovate the office facilities to accommodate management staff and factory workers.

• Instigate a training program.

• Stay with the wet method of blending with existing equipment.

Methods suggested: 

• Use existing bagging equipment. 

• Spot monitor particle sizes with sieves.

• Monitor kiln temperature. 

Figure 16B–10. Kiln at Jabal-e Saraj cement plant with rotary motor powered on. Photograph by Victor G. 

Mossotti, U.S. Geological Survey.

16B.4.4 Cement Production Site at Pul-e Khumri, Baghlan Province

Ghori I has been operating at this location since the 1950s and is still in operation. Construction 

of Ghori II was started in 1986 but was halted in 1989 with the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan. In 

2005, the Afghan Ministry of Mines elected to share ownership of the Ghori cement works with the 

newly created, and privately held, Afghan Investment Company (AIC). As its first endeavor, the AIC 
1262 Summaries of Important Areas for Mineral Investment and Production Opportunities of Nonfuel Minerals in Afghanistan

decided to finance rehabilitation of the coal mines, to complete and finish the Ghori II cement plant, and 

to initiate the design of a new modern cement plant with the capacity of 4,000 t/d (Ghori III). According 

to the Afghanistan Enterprise Information Center and cement plant officials, the Afghan Ministry of 

Mines seeks to continue privatizing the facilities and the parcel of land occupied by the facilities.3

Figure 16B–11. Interior of kiln at Jabal-e Saraj cement plant. Photograph by Victor G. Mossotti, U.S. Geological 

Survey. 

16B.4.4.1 Existing Facilities

The cement plants identified as Ghori I and Ghori II are located side-by-side 200 km north of 

Kabul along highway A76 and 1 km west of the highway in Baghlan Province near the town of 

Pul-e Khumri. A plant identified as Ghori III is still on the drawing board as a greenfield plant to be 

situated next to Ghori I and Ghori II. The photograph in figure 16B–12 provides a perspective of the 

spatial relationship of the cement plants to the water supply from the Pul-e Khumri River and to the 

large limestone deposit framing the view. The quality of the buff-colored limestone and of the clean clay 

is reported to be very high (Box, 2006a). The deposit is located directly west of the plant and forms a 

north-south trending ridge about 1 km long. The clay deposit, which is light-gray in color with a 

brownish tint, extends about 1 km south from the limestone quarry. The limestone reserve is reported to 

be about 11 Mt, and that of clay is about 3 Mt (Box, 2006a). Ample quantities of coal are potentially 

available at the Karkar and the Dudkash coal mines located within 18 km (by road) from the plant. The 

limestone deposit is intended to be shared with Ghori II when it comes into production. Gypsum 

required for the last stage of production is mined from a quarry located adjacent to the Dudkash coal 

 3

No deed records could be located that document the transfer of ownership of the property to the Afghan Investment 

company (Box, 2006a). 
Chapter 16B. Cement in Afghanistan 1263

mine, about 10 km east of Pul-e Khumri. The gypsum, which is sized to less than 300 millimeters, is 

received by truck at the plant site.

Ghori I is a two-kiln operation with a design capacity of 400 t/d (120,000 t/yr) of clinker with 

closed-loop grinding, wet blending, and limited quality-control facilities (fig. 16B–13). At Ghori I, one 

kiln (kiln #2) was down for repair when the USGS-TFBSO team visited the facility on March 30, 2010. 

The kiln appeared to have been out of commission for a considerable period of time. Kiln #1 was 

running but upon inspection of the satellite cooler (fig. 16B–14), the team witnessed only a low rate of 

clinker delivery at its output. Product testing at the plant was conducted only on the finished product. 

During open-loop processing as practiced at Ghori I, the chemistry of materials in the production stream 

and the temperature of the kiln was not monitored. The team inquired about the heaps of discarded 

clinker outside the perimeter of the factory, which was reportedly placed there for storage.

The team observed the operation of a hammer mill receiving limestone at the foot of the deposit; 

each load was delivered using a 30-year-old truck. A conveyer transported crushed stone into the plant 

for slurry blending with clay. Water for the operation is pumped from the Pul-e Khumri River, which 

flows north-south just adjacent to the Ghori I and Ghori II plants. 

Ghori II was said to be 95 percent completed. The plant is new in the sense that it has never been 

in operation since construction began 25 years ago. Just as with Ghori I, Ghori II is a dual kiln wet 

blending plant (fig. 16B–15), but its designed capacity of 1,000 to 1,200 t/d (1 to 1.2 Mt/yr) of clinker is 

three times that of Ghori I. The 400-foot-long kilns are impressive, one of which is visible in 

figure 16B–16. The workshop is well equipped with clean 20-year-old equipment that has never been 

turned on. The equipment appeared to be in working order. A deficiency at Ghori I and Ghori II is the 

lack of modern analytical chemistry instrumentation. 

The control and recycling of airborne particulate material and fugitive dust emissions is an 

important concern in all modern cement factories. Improved dust collection at Ghori I and Ghori II is 

suggested, including installation of dust collection and recycling on kiln exhaust stacks, cooler vents, 

crushing and milling operations, packaging houses, silos, material conveyances. Apart from the apparent 

absence of dust control equipment, the team did not explicitly assess any other environmental issues 

associated with the use of the Pul-e Khumri River or with coal mining.

16B.4.4.2 Outlook and Near-Term Guidance

The Ghori I and Ghori II production facilities are uniquely positioned to initiate the restoration of 

the cement sector across Afghanistan. Currently, the northern Afghan OPC market is dominated by 

Pakistan, although Pakistan is located south of the Hindu Kush and about 1,000 km from the northern 

Afghanistan market. In contrast, the facilities at Pul-e Khumri are located in the heart of the northern 

Afghanistan region and relatively close to an abundance of high-quality raw materials, including coal. 

The current deficiencies in coal production and electrical power are fundamentally solvable problems. 

Given that the quality and quantity of the mineral resources near the Ghori cement works is 

exceptional, the plant has the potential to produce high-quality cement. The crucial tasks that we suggest 

be addressed in the near-term are (1) complete the remaining 5 percent of construction, (2) modernize 

coal production at the nearby mines, (3) install a modern instrumental analytical chemistry laboratory 

and online analysis equipment, and (4) provide training in modern production methods for workers at all 

levels.

16B.5 Challenges from Afghanistan’s Neighbors

The strategies and suggestions for improvement of specific production operations investigated 

here are ultimately driven by consideration of (1) production factors at specific production sites, (2) the 

cost-effective availability of indigenous mineral resources for cement production, (3) the dynamics as 

they exist in the regional and national cement manufacturing sector (supply, demand, distribution 

systems, local and regional economics), and (4) the challenges related to the dynamics of the 

international import and export trade in OPC. 
1264 Summaries of Important Areas for Mineral Investment and Production Opportunities of Nonfuel Minerals in Afghanistan

Figure 16B–12. View of the Pul-e Khumri Ghori I and Ghori II cement plants. Photograph by Victor G. Mossotti, 

U.S. Geological Survey.

16B.5.1 Perspective on Markets and Competition

As a matter of perspective, in the United States in 2010, 102 cement plants in 36 States produced 

about 61 Mt of OPC and 1.8 Mt of masonry cement (Kelly and others, 2010). By comparison, China 

produced about 1.1 billion metric tons of OPC in the same year. About 85 percent of the cement 

produced in the United States is manufactured using dry process technology. The cement business is 

typically seasonal. Nearly two-thirds of U.S. cement consumption occurs in the 6 months between May 

and October. Cement producers typically build up inventories during the winter and ship them during 

the summer.

16B.5.2 Import Competition

The Afghan national cement market study by Lister and Karaev (2004) reported that, by 2004, 

Afghan producers in key domestic markets were already displaced by imports of excess capacity from 

new cement plants in Iran, Pakistan, and Turkmenistan. What follows is a brief sketch of the production 

capacity of Afghanistan’s immediate neighbors and an update on the state of saturation of the 

Afghanistan OPC market with imported product. 
Chapter 16B. Cement in Afghanistan 1265

Figure 16B–13. View of the Ghori I cement plant at Pul-e Khumri with kiln #2 dismantled for repair. Photograph by 

Victor G. Mossotti, U.S. Geological Survey.

16B.5.2.1 Cement Production Capacity in Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan has recently reported cement production of 6.8 Mt for a country with a population of 

25 million (Ashurmatov, 2007; Kelly and others, 2010). There are currently six cement plants in 

operation; those with the largest capacity are the plant at Qizilqum (3.15 Mt/yr), the plant owned by 

Ohangaron Cement JSC (1.74 Mt/yr), and the Quvasoy cement plant (1 Mt/yr). The Uzbek Government 

announced in 2010 that, to allow Uzbekistan to increase the export potential of its cement industries, 

three additional plants had been ordered with a total capacity of 4.5 Mt/yr. These include the Jizzakh 

(3 Mt/yr), Surkhandarya (1 Mt/yr), and Karakalpakstan (0.5 Mt/yr) plants. According to experts, the 

total recent investment in the development of the Uzbekistan cement industry is about US$250 million 

(Ashurmatov, 2007). 

16B.5.2.2 Cement Production Capacity in Tajikistan

According to recent reports, production at Tajikistan’s cement plant in Dushanbe, which is 

located 130 km north of the border with Afghanistan, is less than 200,000 t/yr (Pšeničný, 2006). 

Tajikistan, which has a population of 7 million, has one of the lowest gross domestic products in the 

region, and until recently, Tajik cement did not represent significant potential competition to the 

Afghanistan cement manufacturing sector. In May 2010, however, the Inekon Group was contracted to 

build a US$100 million cement plant in the town of Shartous, Tajikistan. The planned cement plant is 

projected to have an initial capacity of 500,000 t/yr, which could eventually be increased to 2.5 Mt/yr. 
1266 Summaries of Important Areas for Mineral Investment and Production Opportunities of Nonfuel Minerals in Afghanistan

Financing for the project is to be provided by the Czech Export Bank. While it was part of the Soviet 

Union, Tajikistan produced about 1.1 Mt/yr of cement at the Dushanbe cement plant. Rail access from 

Dushanbe is available to the northern border of Afghanistan by way of the connection near Termez. 

Figure 16B–14. Satellite cooler in operation at the Ghori I cement plant. Photograph by Victor G. Mossotti, 

U.S. Geological Survey.

16B.5.2.3 Cement Production Capacity in Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan is a country of approximately 5 million people, in contrast with Afghanistan, 

which has a population of about 27 million. With the opening of the Turkmenistan Siemens AG OPC 

plant, which is scheduled for 2011, Turkmenistan will have a cement production capacity of about 

1.4 Mt/yr. Siemens Industry Solutions (SIS) is supplying a complete range of high-efficiency equipment 

for the new plant, including electrical equipment and automation systems. The SIS design is centered on 

a modern real-time process-control system for supervisory control and data acquisition. Siemens is also 

responsible for the design and installation of the plant. The requirement for OPC in Turkmenistan is 

roughly half that of Afghanistan, which leaves an excess production capacity of 0.9 Mt/yr; any excess 

OPC produced would be available for export. 

16B.5.2.4 Cement Production Capacity in Iran

The Iranian cement industry currently produces some 65 Mt/yr to service a population of 

68 million. Iran will reportedly export about 550,000 t of cement in 2010, about 65 percent of which will 

go to Afghanistan; the remainder will go to the Persian Gulf countries. By the end of 2011, eight 

additional cement production projects in Iran, all with state-of-the-art technology, are projected to be 
Chapter 16B. Cement in Afghanistan 1267

completed; this will boost Iran’s cement production capacity to 76 Mt/yr (Tehran Times Economic 

Desk, 2011). The Iranian cement industry, which has some of the lowest manufactured cement costs in 

the world, is heavily subsidized by the Iranian Government (Box, 2006a, p. II-13). Iran could control the 

cement market in western Afghanistan because of (1) state-of-the-art cement manufacturing 

technologies, (2) low-cost fuel and electrical power, (3) the transportation infrastructure on Iran’s 

eastern border into western Afghanistan is in relatively good condition, (4) an historically strong trading 

relationship with western Afghanistan, and (5) the port of entry for imports from Iran to Afghanistan is 

Islam Qala, a border town 115 km northwest of Herat City (Box, 2006b). 

Figure 16B–15. View of the Ghori II cement plant’s dual 400-foot-long kilns. Photograph by Victor G. Mossotti, 

U.S. Geological Survey.

16B.5.2.5 Cement Production Capacity in Pakistan

Pakistan exports OPC to many countries around the world. In 2004, OPC exports from Pakistan 

to Afghanistan were estimated to total 1.3 Mt (Box, 2006a). By 2010, OPC production soared to about 

33 Mt/yr (All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association, 2011). For the most part, Pakistan cement 

plants are modern and efficient, making them cost competitive. As of 2011, the surplus capacity from 

Pakistani production was estimated to be about 10 Mt/yr. Cement produced in northern Punjab Province 

and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province (formerly North-West Frontier Province; name changed in 2010) is 

exported to Afghanistan principally along the Peshawar-Jalalabad highway using Torkham as the port of 

entry. Torkham is a border town located on the Durand Line on the eastern edge of Afghanistan’s 

Nangarhar Province. Torkham is the busiest port of entry between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Pakistan cement exports also come into Afghanistan from the southern Provinces of Balochistan 

and Sindh through Chaman, a town situated in Pakistan just south of the Afghanistan town of Spin 
1268 Summaries of Important Areas for Mineral Investment and Production Opportunities of Nonfuel Minerals in Afghanistan

Boldak in the Province of Kandahar. Pakistani OPC dominates the cement markets in Kabul and 

Kandahar (Box, 2006a, p. II-10). Pakistan cement is even competitive with imports from Afghanistan’s 

neighbors north of the Hindu Kush, which must be trucked through the Salang Tunnel (Box, 2006a, 

p. II–10). 

Figure 16B–16. View of the Ghori II cement plant’s 400-foot-long kilns and satellite coolers at Pul-e Khumri. 

Photograph by Victor G. Mossotti, U.S. Geological Survey.

16B.5.2.6 Cement Production Capacity in Afghanistan

The cement sectors in the countries neighboring Afghanistan are continuing to expand 

production significantly with a view toward competing in export trade. The most promising markets for 

Afghan OPC are domestic.

The current dominant source of cement to the OPC market north of the Hindu Kush is from 

Pakistan. High-quality cement produced in Pul-e Khumri, Baglan Province, could have a location 

advantage over Pakistani cement, considering that the only practical means to transport cement from 

Pakistan to the north is by way of the Salang Tunnel. Likewise, a location advantage would also apply 

for cement produced in Parwan Province near Kabul. 

16B.6 Long-Term Suggestions

Suggested near-term improvements for cement plants at Jabal-e Saraj and Pul-e Khumri are 

outlined in sections 16B.4.3.8 and 16B.4.4.2, respectively. The long-term goal for Ghori I and Ghori II 

is to establish the cement works at Pul-e Khumri for markets north of the Hindu Kush. Similarly, the 

long-term goal for the Jabal-e Saraj cement plant is to penetrate the Afghan market south of the Hindu 

Kush. This first step would need a reliable source of fuel for firing the four kilns at Pul-e Khumri and 

one kiln at Jabal-e Saraj. Potential fuels include coal or natural gas. 
Chapter 16B. Cement in Afghanistan 1269

16B.7 Acknowledgments

I wish to thank Dr. Henrik Weissling (Lehigh-Hanson Cement/Permanente Plant) and 

Dr. Hendrik G. van Oss (U.S. Geological Survey) for their generous support of this project and Thomas 

D. Box (Box International Consulting) for providing a solid informational foundation of the Afghanistan 

cement sector. I would also like to express my gratitude for the hospitality and cooperation from cement 

plant representatives in Afghanistan, including Director Islamuddin Ahmadi (Jabal Saraj Cement), Mr. 

Karim Farokh (Chief Executive Officer, Afghan Investment Corp.), Engineer Abdul Karem (Director, 

Ghori I and Ghori II cement plants), and Mr. S.S. Sharma (Chief Financial Officer, Ghori Cement). 

I would also like to thank Dr. Mohammad Omar (Director, Afghanistan Geological Survey) and his staff 

of geologist at the AGS for their elucidation of the many issues related to the beneficiation of mineral 

resources and to the functioning of indigenous industries in Afghanistan. Finally, I want to express my 

appreciation to Rudi Shenk (TFBSO) for facilitating the field work for this task.

16B.8 References Cited

Afghan Chamber of Commerce, 2011, Mining: Afghan Chamber of Commerce, accessed June 21, 2011, 

at http://www.afghanchamber.com/about/Mining.htm.

All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association, 2011, Quantitative data, historical analysis: All 

Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association, accessed July 11, 2011, at

http://www.apcma.com/pages/data_history.html.

Ashurmatov, Dilshod, 2007, Uzbekistan to launch cement enterprise by 2010: Uzbekistan Today, 

March 30, accessed July 11, 2011, at

http://www.ut.uz/eng/business/uzbekistan_to_launch_cement_enterprises_by_2010.mgr.

American Standards and Testing Materials, 2003, ASTM Standard C150/C150M–11, Standard 

specification for portland cement: West Conshohocken, Pa., American Standards and Testing 

Materials International, accessed August 9, 2011, at http://www.astm.org/Standards/C150.htm.

American Standards and Testing Materials, 2011, ASTM Standard C114–11a, Standard test methods for 

chemical analysis of hydraulic cement: West Conshohocken, Pa., American Standards and Testing 

Materials International, accessed July 14, 2011, at http://www.astm.org/Standards/C114.htm.

Blezard, R.G., 1998, The history of calcareous cements, in

Bogue, R.H., 1955, The chemistry of portland cement (2d ed.): New York, N.Y., Reinhold Publishing 

Corp., 793 p.

Hewlett, P.C., ed., Lea’s chemistry of cement 

and concrete (4th ed.): Burlington, Mass., Elsevier, p. 1–19.

Box, T.D., 2006a, Feasibility study for the Afghanistan cement sector—vol. I—Report for the Ministry 

of Mines and Industries, The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan: Arlington, Va., Box International 

Consulting, 298 p.

Box, T.D., 2006b, Feasibility study for the Afghanistan cement sector—vol. II—Report for the Ministry 

of Mines and Industries, The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan: Arlington, Va., Box International 

Consulting, 273 p.

Chase World Information Corp., 1977, Feasibility study 1600 MTPD cement plant for Kandahar, 

Afghanistan: Mumbai, India, Associated Cement Companies Ltd., and Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, 

Fuller India Co., 220 p.

Doebrich, J.L., and Wahl, R.R., comps., with contributions by 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 resource map of Afghanistan: U.S. Geological Survey 

Open File Report 2006–1038, scale 1:850,000, available at 

Foster, J., 2008, A pipeline through a troubled land—Afghanistan, Canada, and the new great energy 

game: CCPA Foreign Policy Series, v. 3, no. 1, 17 p., accessed July 7, 2011, at

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

http://www.policyalternatives.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/publications/National_Office_Pubs/2008/

A_Pipeline_Through_a_Troubled_Land.pdf.
1270 Summaries of Important Areas for Mineral Investment and Production Opportunities of Nonfuel Minerals in Afghanistan

Francis, A.J., 1977, The cement industry 1796–1914—A history: Newton Abbot, United Kingdom, 

David and Charles, 319 p.

Gregg, J.S., Andres, R.J., and Marland, G., 2008, China—Emissions patterns of the world leader in CO2

10.1029/2007GL032887

emissions from fossil fuel consumption and cement production: Geophysical Research Letters, v. 35, 

no. 8, L08806, 5 p. DOI: .

Hewlett, P.C., ed., 2006, Lea's chemistry of cement and concrete (4th ed.): Burlington, Mass., Elsevier, 

1057 p.

International Energy Agency Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme, 1999, The reduction of greenhouse gas 

emissions from the cement industry: Stoke Orchard, Cheltenham, United Kingdom, International 

Energy Agency Report no. PH3/7, 112 p.

Jänicke, M., Mönch, H., Ranneberg, T., and Simonis, U.E., 1985, Economic structure and environmental 

impacts—East-west comparisons: The Environmentalist, v. 9, no. 3, p. 171–183. 

DOI: 10.1007/BF02240467.

Kelly, T.D., Matos, G.R., Buckingham, D.A., DiFrancesco, C.A., and Porter, K.E., 2010, Historical 

statistics for mineral and material commodities in the United States: U.S. Geological Survey Data 

Series 140, accessed July 11, 2011, at http://minerals.usgs.gov/ds/2005/140/.

Lister, Sarah, and Karaev, Zainiddin, 2004, Understanding markets in Afghanistan—A case study of the 

market in construction materials: Kabul, Afghanistan, Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit Case 

Study no. 1469, 31 p., accessed July 11, 2011, at http://www.areu.org.af.

Locher, F.W., 2006, Cement—Principles of production and use. Düsseldorf, Germany, Verlag Bau 

Technik GmbH.

Ludington, S.D., Orris, G.J., Bolm, K.S., Peters, S.G., and the U.S. Geological Survey-Afghanistan 

Ministry of Mines and Industry Joint Mineral Resource Assessment Team, 2007, Preliminary mineral 

resource assessment of selected mineral deposit types in Afghanistan: U.S. Geological Survey 

Open-File Report 2007–1005, 44 p., accessed June 1, 2011, at http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2007/1005/.

Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development [Afghanistan], 2011, Provincial development plan—

Kandahar—Demography and population: Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development, 13 p., 

accessed July 7, 2011, at http://www.mrrd-nabdp.org/Provincial Profiles/Kandahar PDP Provincial 

profile.pdf

Pšeničný, M., 2006, Inekon Group to build cement works in Tajikistan worth over CZK 2.3 billion: 

Czech Business and Trade, v. 05–06, 34 p.

.

Tehran Times Economic Desk, 2011, Iran cement production capacity to rise 9.5m tons: Tehran Times, 

June 20, accessed August 8, 2011, at http://old.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=242744

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.]

.

United States Trade and Development Agency, 2003, Project resource guideAfghanistanRebuilding 

a nation: Chicago, Ill., United States Trade and Development Agency, p. 34−37.