Chapter 4A. Summary of the Balkhab Copper Area of Interest

Contribution by Stephen G. Peters,1 Robert D. Tucker,1 Abdul Gaffer,2 and Bernard E. Hubbard1

Abstract

This chapter summarizes and interprets results for the Balkhab copper area of interest (AOI) and 

its subarea that have come from geologic and compilation activities that were conducted jointly 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 chapters 4B and 4C address hyperspectral data and geohydrologic assessments, 

respectively, of the Balkhab copper AOI. Supporting data for this chapter are available from the 

Afghanistan Geological Survey Data Center in Kabul. 

The Balkhab copper volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) prospect lies within the Balkhab 

copper AOI and is part of an eroded exposure of deformed pre-Triassic, mainly Ordovician rocks, in 

Sar-i-Pul Province that lies in a canyon unconformably below horizontal Mesozoic sedimentary rocks 

(Peters and others, 2007). Copper mineralization consists of a silicified limonite-bearing 4,000- to 

5,000-m-long, 300- to 400-m-wide deformed and faulted rock that contains at least four areas of 

extensive malachite, azurite, pyrite, and disseminated chalcopyrite, bornite, and galena grading from 

0.25 to 1.34 weight percent (wt. %) copper. A number of old surface and underground workings are 

present in the high-grade areas. Old slag piles yield samples assaying 1.68 wt. % copper (Kafarskiy and 

others, 1972). Work by the Afghanistan Geological Survey in 2008 and 2009 confirmed the highly 

mineralized copper zones. Detailed mapping and sampling began in 2010. In addition, the Balkhab 

copper AOI contains a number of anomalous or mineralized areas and targets besides the main Balkhab 

copper prospect in the subarea.

The presence of the Balkhab copper prospect and various other copper showings throughout the 

Paleozoic rocks, the abundant water supply, and the Balkhab coal deposits in the northeast part of the 

Balkhab copper AOI and elsewhere in the Mesozoic rocks make the Balkhab copper AOI a promising 

area for mineral exploitation. Oxide copper ores are abundant in parts of the mineralized zones and may 

be amenable to hydrometallurgy. 

4A.1 Introduction

The Balkhab copper area of interest (AOI) is in northern Afghanistan (fig. 4A–1) and covers 

parts of southeastern Sar-i-Pul Province (Balkhab Administrative District), northwestern Balkh Province 

(Kishindih Administrative District) and the far eastern parts of Sam Angan Province (Dar-i-Suf 

Administrative District). The main Balkhab copper AOI is 1,858.31 square kilometers (km2), and the 

Balkhab prospect subarea is 321 km2 (fig. 4A–2). The main mineral deposit types of interest are 

volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) (Kuroko- or Bimodal-felsic type), including oxide copper ores, 

coal deposits, and possible granite-hosted gold deposits. 

4A.2 Previous Work

At the Balkhab copper prospect there is evidence of mineral extraction activity on the oxide 

copper outcrops at Balkhab as old as 3,000 years (Abdul Kadir Akkhunzada, Afghanistan Ministry of 

Mines, oral commun., 2008), because of its proximity to the Silk Road trade routes. It is likely that 

 

1

U.S. Geological Survey.

2

Afghanistan Geological Survey.
Chapter 4A. Summary of the Balkhab Copper Area of Interest 225

continuous extraction of copper has taken place from at least then to today by surface and underground 

workings. The age of the slag piles that resulted from ancient smelting furnaces is not known, nor have 

the different mine workings been dated. Modern geologic investigations began in the area with the work 

of Mikhailov (1967) as part of coal studies in the area. The copper area was visited by Kafarskiy and 

others (1972), who conducted trench and grid sampling and also made a geologic map of the main 

Balkhab copper prospect area. Sborshchikov and others (1973) also conducted regional geologic 

investigations in the area.

Figure 4A–1. Location of the Balkhab copper area of interest and the Balkhab copper prospect subarea in 

northern Afghanistan, Sar-i-Pul Province.

The Balkhab copper prospect and surrounding areas were mentioned by Abdullah and others 

(1977), Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), (1995), and Metal Mining 

Agency of Japan (1998) as part of regional compilations of mineral occurrences in Afghanistan. 

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) compilations by Orris and Bliss (2002) and Doebrich and others (2006) 

suggested that the Balkhab copper mineralization is of the volcanogenic massive sulfide type, and Peters 

and others (2007) speculated that it was of the Kuroko subtype or Bimodal-felsic type of VMS deposits. 

No quantitative assessment for undiscovered VMS deposits was conducted by the USGS in 2007 

because of lack of information. 

Recent interest in the Balkhab copper AOI and its copper occurrences was initiated by the 

Ministry of Mines of Afghanistan from a request in 2007 by local villagers to the former Minister of 

Mines, H.E. Mohammad Ibrahim Adel, to examine the copper mineralization. The Ministry dispatched 

Engineer Abdul Kadir Akkhunzada, who examined the area and conducted reconnaissance sampling in 

2008 (figs. 4A–2 and 4A–3). In 2009, an Afghanistan Geological Survey district mapping party, led by 

Engineer Abdul Gaffer, conducted field work and sampled the copper mineralization. They produced 

maps and reports, which showed the general mineralized zone was more than 60 meters (m) thick and 

dipped southerly into the hillside (fig. 4A–4).

A scoping mission was undertaken to the area in 2009 by the USGS and the U.S. Department of 

Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations (TFBSO) (U.S. Department of Defense Task 

Force for Business and Stability Operations, 2010), and brief descriptions support the volcanogenic 

nature of the mineralized system. In 2010, the TFBSO, USGS, and AGS initiated a 50-m-sized grid 

geologic mapping and sampling program over the area of known mineralized rock and mine workings. 

Results of this work are pending. Sabins and Ellis (2010a,b) conducted remote-sensing targeting 

analysis on the area for both copper deposits and coal. Recent work has focused on developing 
226 Summaries of Important Areas for Mineral Investment and Production Opportunities of Nonfuel Minerals in Afghanistan

geophysical and drill targets; seven mineralized targets have been identified in the Balkhab copper AOI 

and its subarea from anomalies in the remotely sensed data. Security issues have prevented extensive 

field work in the area in recent times, and, therefore, most interpretations and analysis have been by 

remote sensing methods. 

An inventory of individual datasets compiled for the Balkhab copper AOI and its subarea is 

included with the data information package in the Data Center of the Afghanistan Geological Survey 

and specifies which data have been compiled. Most existing mineral-resource information has been 

gathered from reports written during the 1970s by geologists from the Union of Soviet Socialist 

Republics (USSR) and its Eastern European allies, who provided Afghanistan with technical assistance. 

This information, combined with a preliminary assessment by the USGS (Peters and others, 2007) and 

recent field work by the Afghanistan Geological Survey (AGS), provided much of the basis for analysis 

and interpretation during the period 2009 through 2011. The Balkhab copper AOI and its subarea are 

also thought likely to host deposits that might have near-term mineral production, with some areas of 

mineralized rock forming surface bodies with promising metallurgical and mining characteristics.

Figure 4A–2. Photograph of malachite- and azurite-coated phyllite from Balkhab copper prospect collected by 

Engineer Abdul Kadir Akkhunzada, Ministry of Mines, in 2008. Photograph by Stephen G. Peters, U.S. Geological 

Survey. 

4A.3 Geology

The Balkhab copper AOI contains deformed Middle to Late Paleozoic sedimentary and volcanic 

rocks that are exposed in the central parts of an eroded canyon of the Balkh River (figs. 4A–1 and 

4A–5). The Paleozoic rocks are overlain unconformably by near-horizontal Mesozoic sedimentary rocks 

(Mikhailov, 1967; Kafarskiy and others, 1972; Doebrich and others, 2006). The oldest rocks mapped are 

Ordovician sandstone, siltstone, and shale (unit Ossl) (units from Doebrich and others, 2006), which are 

sheared, low-grade greenschist metamorphic rocks (figs. 4A–5 and 4A–6). These are overlain by Silurian to Devonian schistose limestone, dolomite, and sandstone (unit SDld), which are, in turn, locally 

overlain by Mississippian (Early Carboniferous) volcanic rocks, limestone, and sandstone (unit Clrb), 

and by Early Permian limestone and sandstone (P1lssa) and Late Permian limestone and dolomite (P2ld).

These basement rocks were intruded locally by a Mississippian dunite mass (C1um) south of the Balkh 

River and an Early Triassic(?) medium- to fine-grained biotite-chlorite granite porphyry north of the 

Balkh River (T3agp).
Chapter 4A. Summary of the Balkhab Copper Area of Interest 227

Figure 4A–3. Photograph of engineers Abdul Kadir Akkhunzada (left) from the Ministry of Mines and Abdul 

Gaffer (right) from the Afghanistan Geological Survey, who were responsible for the recent rediscovery and 

exploration of Balkhab copper prospect. Photograph by Stephen G. Peters, U.S. Geological Survey. 

The Mesozoic rocks consist of two main sequences. The first is a wedge of Lower Mesozoic 

rocks that is present only in the eastern parts of the Balkhab copper AOI. They are Late Triassic 

(Rhaetian) volcanic rocks, sandstone, and mudstone (T3val) and are overlain by Early to Middle Triassic 

sandstone and siltstone (Jl2ssl), which in turn are overlain by Late Jurassic conglomerate (J3cgs) and by 

an Early Cretaceous sequence of red sandstone and conglomerate (K1ssc). The second sequence overlies 

the entire area, including the Paleozoic rocks in the western part of the Balkhab copper AOI, and 

consists of Late Cretaceous sandstone, siltstone, and limestone (K2ssl). The youngest two sedimentary 

units are Late Cretaceous to Paleogene limestone and sandstone (KP1ld), and local valleys are filled with 

Pliocene conglomerate and sandstone. 
228 Summaries of Important Areas for Mineral Investment and Production Opportunities of Nonfuel Minerals in Afghanistan

Figure 4A–4. Maps produced by the Afghanistan Geological Survey (AGS) from 2009 field work in the Balkhab 

copper prospect area. (a) Outline of drainage areas. (b) Sampling map with topographic contours. (c) Geologic map 

of the main mineralized zone with cross sections; orebody in black. (d

Copper-sulfide mineralized zones are within or proximal to layers of quartzofeldspathic rocks 

(felsic volcanic rocks), which make up parts of the basement metamorphic sequence. The low-grade 

Ordovician to Silurian-Devonian volcano-sedimentary metamorphic rocks in the Balkhab copper AOI 

are highly deformed and extensively faulted (figs. 4A–5 and 6a,b). The rocks are pervasively sheared 

green- to gray- to black-colored chloritic phyllite and schist (figs. 4A–6a,b). Chloritic schist and phyllite 

also enclose layers and lenses of black chert and jasper, and blocks and sheets of serpentinite, and 

extensive sheet-like layers (tens of meters thick) of brecciated and altered quartzofeldspathic schistose 

felsic volcanic rocks (fig. 4A–6). Many of the quartzofeldspathic layers are extensively mineralized, in 

zones centimeters to meters thick, with porphyroblastic euhedral cubes of pyrite, chalcopyrite, and 

bornite (fig. 4A–6d). Subsequent weathering of the pyrite-rich seams and layers has left an iron-oxide 

staining on the rocks. 

) Detailed measurements of the main 

mineralized zone and cross sections. The main copper-mineralized zone dips southerly into the hillside. These 

maps are available in the AGS archives and are illustrated here as examples of the type of work that was 

conducted.

A medium- to fine-grained chloritic granite porphyry (leucogranite) lies west of the main 

mineralized zone on the north side of the canyon (fig. 4A–5b). The granite porphyry is propylitically 

altered and contains through-going quartz-pyrite veinlets marked by an absence of alteration selvages. 

This stock locally contains extensive quartz stockworks in the wall rock of the granite porphyry north of 

the main Balkhab River drainage. Geochemical sampling of the more promising stockwork zone by the 

USGS in 2009 did not show more than trace amounts of precious or base metals.
Chapter 4A. Summary of the Balkhab Copper Area of Interest 229

The host rocks around the copper mineralization in the Balkhab copper prospect contain strong 

east-striking foliation and shears. Faulting in these rocks is intense, and tight folding is common (figs. 

4A–5 and 4A–6). Some of the faults are brittle, and much of the shearing is parallel to the schistosity 

and is locally mylonitic (Alex Chaihorsky, U.S. Department of Defense Task Force for Business and 

Stability Operations, 2010, written commun.). This suggests that any mineralization that formed coeval 

with the volcanism has been faulted and folded. Some layering in the rock may be flow banding in the 

more felsic volcanic rocks. This would imply that the deformation might be highly partitioned along 

sheared and mylonitic zones. 

Conspicuous white stains of the metamorphic rocks immediately beneath the unconformity are

either clay alteration of the mineralized felsic volcanic horizons in the older metamorphic sequence or a 

Permian-Carboniferous age paleosol resulting from a peneplanation surface below the horizontal 

Mesozoic strata. For this reason, copper mineralization on the high slopes of the canyon, closer to the 

Mesozoic contact, may be the most oxidized, whereas mineralized zones on the lower slopes, far below 

the Mesozoic contact, are more likely to be below the original paleo-oxide zone. 

4A.4 Metallogeny

Distribution of known or interpreted volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) deposits in 

Afghanistan is restricted to the mostly covered Late Paleozoic volcanic rocks in the north of the country 

and also to Jurassic and Oligocene volcanic rocks in the west (Doebrich and others, 2006; Peters and 

others, 2007). 

According to Peters and others (2007), the Balkhab copper prospect contains geologic 

characteristics that most closely resemble Kuroko or Bimodal-felsic VMS deposits (see also Singer, 

1986; Franklin and others, 2005; Shanks and others, 2009) or a Noranda-type VMS deposit, also 

referred to as felsic to intermediate volcanic type deposit. This family of mineralized systems contains 

copper- and zinc-bearing massive sulfide deposits hosted in volcanic rocks that are dominantly of 

intermediate to felsic composition. The main associated rocks in these deposits throughout the world are 

marine rhyolite, dacite, and subordinate basalt and associated sedimentary rocks, principally organicrich mudstone or shale and pyritic siliceous shale. 

The rock types and geologic environment on the Balkhab copper AOI match closely those found 

in Kuroko or Bimodal-felsic VMS deposits. Extensive field and laboratory investigations are necessary 

to confirm this tentative classification. Typical rocks associated with Kuroko or bimodal-felsic VMS 

deposits are lava flows, volcanoclastic rocks, breccia, bedded sedimentary rocks, and in some cases, 

felsic lava domes. The Kuroko or Bimodal-felsic VMS deposits form toward the more felsic tops of 

volcanic or volcanic-sedimentary sequences. Deposits are present near centers of felsic volcanism. 

Pyritic siliceous rock (exhalite) may mark horizons at which deposits occur. Geochemical signatures in 

gossan may be high values of lead, with gold typically present. Adjacent to the deposit there is 

enrichment in magnesium and zinc, and depletion in sodium. Within deposits the ores are enriched in 

Cu, Zn, Pb, Ba, As, Ag, Au, Se, Sn, Bi, and Fe (Singer, 1986; Franklin and others, 2005; Shanks and 

others, 2009).

4A.5 Known Deposits

The Balkhab copper prospect was described by Abdullah and others (1977). The Balkhab copper 

prospect has not been well-studied and documented geologically; however, preliminary investigations 

have documented rocks and geochemistry of the rocks and ores that are compatible with the Kuroko or 

Bimodal-felsic VMS deposit model (Peters and others, 2007; U.S. Department of Defense Task Force 

for Business and Stability Operations, 2010). Samples of (1) fine-grained intergrown hexagonal 

pyrrhotite(?), chalcopyrite, and bornite from outcrop (fig. 4A–6c) and (2) relict layers of pyrrhotite in 

geochemical samples from the slag pile associated with mining activities are both compatible with a 

volcanogenic genesis. The sheared felsic rocks contain interlayered narrow zones of millimeter-wide 
230 Summaries of Important Areas for Mineral Investment and Production Opportunities of Nonfuel Minerals in Afghanistan

porphyroblastic pyrite cubes (fig. 4A–6d). This does not conflict with the hypothesis that the coppermineralized rocks may be associated with the felsic volcanic host rocks in which they occur. 

Figure 4A–5. Photographs of the Balkhab copper area of interest (AOI). (a) Floodplain of the Balkhab River and 

the steep topography of the river gorge (long. 66.73341°E., lat. 35.55851°N.). (b) Photograph of dark, highly 

sheared granite porphyry (left foreground) faulted against steep-dipping felsic metavolcanic rocks, south bank of the 

Balkhab River. (c) Rusty-weathering quartzofeldspathic schist and gneissic-texture felsic metavolcanic rocks of the 

Balkhab copper prospect area, south bank of the Balkhab River (long. 66.73750°E., lat. 35.55285°N.). (d

The Balkhab copper prospect is described by Kafarskiy and others (1972) and Abdullah and 

others (1977) as copper- and lead-mineralized rock in a zone that contains copper concentrations which 

range from 0.25 to 1.66 weight percent (wt. %) copper (tables 4A–1 and 4A–2). Mineralized zones 

mapped by Kafarskiy and others (1972) are reproduced on figure 4A–7a. 

) Aerial 

view of a dry tributary stream in a watershed showing extremes in elevation in Balkhab copper AOI. Photographs by 

Robert D. Tucker, U.S. Geological Survey. 
Chapter 4A. Summary of the Balkhab Copper Area of Interest 231

Figure 4A–6. Photographs of rocks and outcrops from the Balkhab copper prospect area. (a) Greenschist facies 

metamorphic rocks of the Balkhab copper area (long. 66.73318°E., lat. 35.55659°N.). (b) Foliated and kinked 

quartz-feldspathic schist-gneiss (felsic metavolcanic) of the Balkhab copper prospect area (long. 66.73747°E., lat. 

35.55294°N.). (c) Closeup of mineralized felsic metavolcanic gneiss with euhedral cubes of pyrite. Hand lens for 

scale. (d

4A.6 Prospects and Anomalies

) Meter-thick layer of brown-weathering black metachert and metasiltstone within chloritic schist. Hammer 

for scale. Photographs by Robert D. Tucker, U.S. Geological Survey. 

Kafarskiy and others (1972) describe a tectonic zone at the Balkhab copper prospect containing 

Ordovician(?) sandy schist below Upper Triassic rocks. The copper mineralization at the Balkhab 

copper prospect was described as a wide hydrothermal-metasomatic zone. The Soviet workers 

concluded that most of this mineralization was constrained to a zone of faults and specific gray zones 

within the schistosity of metatuff and volcanic rocks and was also at the “top” of hypabyssal granite 

intrusions. Figure 4A–7 interprets the “ore zones” mapped by Kafarskiy and others (1972) to lie within a 

sheath of deformation of folded metavolcanic stratigraphy. The mineralized zone is evident along the 

hillside as a gray-colored layer of rock, tinted mainly by sulfide minerals (fig. 14A–8). Geochemical 

sampling by the AGS has taken grab samples from the Balkhab copper prospect area that contain 

concentrations of 11,000 parts per million (ppm) copper, 1,900 to 6,890 ppm zinc, as much as 5,288 

ppm lead, 1,987 ppm cobalt, 110 to 3,939 ppm arsenic (as much as 155,000 ppm arsenic), and 500 to 

1,000 ppm phosphorus. 

The main copper, lead and zinc mineralization is contained within highly fractured siliceous and 

limonitized rocks, which contain thin zones of pyrite and occasional galena. In the oxidized areas, 

malachite and azurite are present along highly fractured zones parallel to schistosity. The entire 

mineralized copper zone was mapped by Kafarskiy and others (1972) to extend between 4 and 5 km and 

was measured between 300 and 400 m thick. The mineralized zone was outlined as four individual areas 

of intensive mineralization that are from 20 to 50 m long along the fault zone. An interpretation and 
232 Summaries of Important Areas for Mineral Investment and Production Opportunities of Nonfuel Minerals in Afghanistan

mapping of ASTER imagery by Sabins and Ellis (2010a) produced a geologic map of the main 

mineralized zone of the Balkhab copper prospect, and this zone closely matches the reconnaissance 

geologic map of Kafarskiy and others (1972). Further interpretation and analysis have yielded an 

“envelope” around the mapped mineralized bodies and metavolcanic rocks that indicates a gently 

southwest-plunging isoclinal fold as indicated in figure 4A–7. The “envelope” also contains significant 

zones of iron and clay alteration (fig. 4A–7b, Sabins and Ellis, 2010a).

The fractured and mineralized zones at the Balkhab copper prospect lie unconformably below 

horizontal Early Cretaceous and Late Triassic sedimentary and volcanic rocks (fig 4A–8a,b). These 

mineralized zones are fractured, sheared, and silicified and have a pronounced schistosity. The zones are 

strongly stained by iron oxide minerals and contain quartz, malachite, and azurite (figs. 4A–9d and

4A–10). Several mine excavations follow the oxide mineralized zones, especially when marked by 

malachite and azurite (fig 4A–9). Many of these workings are “glory holes,” or open pit diggings, but 

several consist of shafts, tunnels, and galleries (fig. 4A–9).

A number of malachite-stained outcrops strike across the hillside for hundreds of meters 

(fig. 4A–10). Iron staining also is prevalent in some of the outcrops and underground workings 

(fig. 4A–11). The size of a small mineralized zone, according to Kafarskiy and others (1972), is 0.5 to 

2.5 m thick and 180 to 200 m long. Large mineralized zones are about 150 to 800 m long (figs. 4A–7, 

4A–10, and 4A–11). The content of copper in the mineralized zones, based on the spectral results, is 

0.3 to 0.7 wt. % copper (Kafarskiy and others, 1972; Abdullah and others, 1977). The mineralized zones 

were sampled by grid sampling (table 4A–1) and by trenching by Kafarskiy and others (1972), and two 

different methods were used and compared (table 4A–2). Based on a combination of grid and trench 

sampling and other sampling, the average content of copper in these zones was reported by Kafarskiy 

and others (1972) to be 0.5 wt. % copper, with between 0.02 and 0.07 wt. % zinc, by spectral analysis, 

whereas chemical analysis showed the average content of copper to be 0.57 wt. % copper and 0.07 wt. 

% zinc with traces of tin and arsenic (tables 4A–1 and 4A–2). Kafarskiy and others (1972) 

recommended detailed geologic studies as well as geophysical studies and reconnaissance drilling.

Table 4A–1.

[Data are from Kafarskiy and others (1972). Cu, copper; Zn, zinc; wt. %, weight percent]

The results for spectral and chemical analysis of grid sampling in the main Balkhab copper 

mineralized area. 

Rank Sample no. Description Spectral analysis, in wt. % Chemical analysis, in wt. %

Cu Zn Cu Zn

1 1516 crushed schist 0.02 0 0 0

2 1516–1 quartz 0.03 0 0 0

3 1516–4 silicified schist 0 0.02 0 0

4 1516–8 silicified schist 0.5 0.03 0.56 0

5 1517 silicified schist 0.7 0.03 0.51 0

6 1517–1 malachite and limonite 0.5 0.03 0.56 0

7 1517–2 malachite and limonite 0.7 0.03 0.6 0

8 1517–3 malachite and limonite 1 0.07 0.71 0

9 1517–4 quartz 0.3 0 0.25 0

10 1517–6 dacite 0.02 0 0 0

11 1518 dacite 0.02 0 0 0

12 1518–1 schist 0.5 0.03 0.61 0

13 1518–4 dacite 0.03 0.03 0 0

14 1518–5 schist 0.02 0 0 0

15 1518–7 schist 0.03 0 0 0

16 1517–7 slag 1 0 1.66 0.12

17 1518–2 schist 0 0 0 0.07
Chapter 4A. Summary of the Balkhab Copper Area of Interest 233

Table 4A–2.

[Data are from Kafarskiy and others (1972). Cu, copper; Pb, lead; wt. %, weight percent]

The results of spectral and chemical analysis of trench sampling in the mineralized zones of the 

Balkhab copper prospect. 

Rank Sample no. Spectral analysis, in wt. % Chemical analysis, in wt. % Cu Cu Pb

1 1125–1 0.5 0 0.34

2 1125–2 0.3 0 0.31

3 1125–3 0.7 0 0.83

4 1125–4 0.3 0 0.19

5 1125–5 1 0 1.34

6 1125–6 1 0 0.98

7 1125–7 1 0 0

8 1125–8 0.5 0 0 

9 1125–9 1 0 0

10 1125–10 0.7 0 0.23

11 1125–11 0.3 0 0.3

12 1125–13 0.07 0 0

13 1125–14 0.1 0.03 0 

4A.7 Remote-Sensed Anomalies

The Balkhab copper AOI is delineated to encompass favorable Paleozoic stratigraphy for VMS 

deposits exposed in the Balkh River Canyon (fig. 4A–12). Mapping of ASTER and hyperspectral 

images has identified a number of areas that have anomalous signatures of iron and clay minerals. These 

areas contain anomalous zones that have similarities to the main Balkhab copper prospect area. Sabins 

and Ellis (2010a) used a “mask” of the upper contact of the deformed Paleozoic rocks with the overlying 

horizontal Mesozoic rocks in order to map only the underlying potential host rocks for the copper 

deposits of the Balkhab type (fig. 4A–12). Their study resulted in the identification of seven anomalous 

areas within the Balkhab copper AOI and its subarea (fig. 4A–12); the first anomalous area is the main 

Balkhab copper prospect. Each anomalous area will require extensive field mapping and sampling to 

determine if there is potential for additional copper mineralization. The three most extensive anomalous 

zones are 2, 3, and 5 (fig. 4A–12), which are briefly described below. 
234 Summaries of Important Areas for Mineral Investment and Production Opportunities of Nonfuel Minerals in Afghanistan

Figure 4A–7. Structural geology of the main Balkhab copper prospect mineralized zone. (a) “Geologic Map” 

constructed by Sabins and Ellis (2010a) from ASTER mapping of different rock units. Yellow outline is the enclosing 

area of the known, mapped, or suspected outcropping ore zone mapped by Kafarskiy and others (1972), interpreted 

here as a refolded southwest-plunging fold. (b) Hyperspectral anomalies located by Sabins and Ellis (2010a) plotted 

with ore outlines from Kafarskiy and others (1972) and “envelope” of folding interpreted from geologic map (a) 

above. Red and blue circles in north part of (b) are sample points from AGS 50-m2 sampling grid.
Chapter 4A. Summary of the Balkhab Copper Area of Interest 235

Figure 4A–8. Photographs of the Balkhab copper prospect area, looking south. (a) View from the river showing 

gray mineralized rocks with brown cap rocks and colluvial cover.(b) View from the air showing gray mineralized 

zone capped by horizontal Mesozoic strata and also covered by colluvial rocks (on right side) and footwall 

Paleozoic strata (on left side). Photograph (a) by Afghanistan Geological Survey, and (b) by Robert D. Tucker, 

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

Figure 4A–9. Photographs of underground and surface workings in the Balkhab copper prospect area. (a) 

Narrow workings dipping into the hillside following schistosity and bedding in the host rocks. (b) Local “glory holes” 

sunk into the mineralized zones along the hillside. (c) Interior of a shaft inside the mine workings. (d) Narrow crawl 

hole excavated along malachite-rich zone. Photographs by Abdul Gaffer, Afghanistan Geological Survey.

Figure 4A–10. Photographs of copper oxide mineralization in outcrop in the Balkhab copper prospect. (a) 

Malachite in foreground and background parallel to schistosity. (b) Malachite zone in rill on side of the hill. (c) 

Typical malachite-stained foliated outcrop. Field of view is 2 meters. (d) Malachite-stained outcrops above rubble 

pile. Photographs by Abdul Gaffer, Afghanistan Geological Survey. 
Chapter 4A. Summary of the Balkhab Copper Area of Interest 237

Figure 4A–11. Photographs of iron-rich mineralized zones in the Balkhab copper prospect area in underground 

workings. (a) Brecciated zone with bedded azurite and red iron-stained oxide minerals. (b) Red-stained iron-oxide 

zone rimmed by copper oxides. (c) Layered malachite and azurite along schistosity and layering in felsic volcanic 

rocks. (d

Anomalous zone 2 lies to the northeast of the Balkhab copper prospect in the Balkhab copper 

prospect subarea (fig. 4A–12) and consists of three main zones of extensive iron, secondary iron 

minerals plus clays, and other alteration minerals and clay; the largest is about 1. 5 km long by 1 km 

wide (zone X on fig 4A–13). The other two zones (zones Z and Y) are about 1,000 by 200 m and 500 by 

500 m in size. The anomalous area lies on the south side of the Balkh River and may be the northeastern 

extension of the Balkhab copper prospect (figs 4A–13 and 4A–14).

) Interlayered malachite and red-stained mineralized zone in gallery. Photographs by Abdul Gaffer, 

Afghanistan Geological Survey.

Anomalous area 3 lies to the southwest of the Balkhab copper prospect in the Balkhab prospect 

subarea and consists of a northeast-striking, 3-km-long, 1-km-wide zone of secondary iron minerals plus 

clays and other alteration minerals that are mainly on a north-facing hillside but also traverse across a 

valley to the adjacent north-facing hillside (figs. 4A–12 and 4A–14). Anomalous zone 3 may be a folded 

or faulted extension of the Balkhab copper prospect mineralized system (fig. 4A–12).

Anomalous zone 5 lies 25 km west of the Balkhab and may represent the northeastern part of a 

mineralized system that extends to the southwest into anomalous zone 6 and 7 (fig. 4A–12). Anomalous 

area 5 is boomerang-shaped and consists of two large areas that are approximately 2 km long and 1 km 

wide; each occupies the hillsides and is separated by a drainage. It is likely that the mineralized zone is 

continuous across the drainage (fig. 4A–15). This analysis (Sabins and Ellis, 2010a) suggests that there 

are possibly three mineralized systems, the first along anomalous areas 1, 2, and 3, the second along 

anomalous areas 5, 6, and 7, and a third at anomalous zone 4 (fig. 4A–12).
238 Summaries of Important Areas for Mineral Investment and Production Opportunities of Nonfuel Minerals in Afghanistan

Figure 4A–12. Anomalous zones determined from Landsat Thematic Mapper alteration patterns in the Balkhab 

copper area of interest and the Balkhab copper prospect subarea. Seven anomalous areas were identified by 

Sabins and Ellis (2010a) and are numbered in the rectangles.

4A.8 Metallurgical Slag

Slag piles are present in the Balkhab copper prospect area, but no current distribution or age of 

the slag piles is known. Figure 4–A16 shows a slag pile in the main Balkhab River valley and a closeup 

of a hand specimen-scale slag piece. The slag is made up of fayalite and spinel (confirmed by X-ray 

diffraction) but includes relatively abundant circular droplets of a copper-iron-sukfur phase (fig. 4A–17). 

In addition, the spinels, typically euhedral, are marked by titanium-rich rims. Melt textures are well 

developed throughout. Quartz is also present, as is an albite-equivalent phase. Traces of molybdenum 

and bismuth as sulfide phases also are present (fig. 4A–13). The chemical analysis of slag showed the 

content of copper to be 1.68 wt. % and zinc to be 0.12 wt. % (Kafarskiy and others (1972).

A scanning electron microscope (SEM) study was conducted on some of the slag specimens by 

Theodore (2010). The samples were vacuum impregnated using blue-stained epoxy prior to polishing in 

order to preserve delicate intergrown textural relations. All SEM images depicted (fig. 4A–17) are in a 

back-scattered mode, wherein minerals with higher effective atomic number are brighter on the resulting 

electron micrographs. On the electron micrographs, the numbers along the bottom are, from left to right, 

magnification, bar scale in microns, kilovolts used, and working distance (in millimeters) (fig. 4A–17).
Chapter 4A. Summary of the Balkhab Copper Area of Interest 239

Figure 4A–13. Images of Balkhab anomalous zone 2, Balkhab copper area of interest, Sar-i-Pul Province. (a) 

Landsat Thematic Mapper alteration pattern on digital elevation model and contour map, Balkhab anomalous area 

2. (b) Alteration patterns draped on IKONOS image. Green means secondary iron minerals plus clays and other 

alteration minerals (disregard green pattern in drainages, which is vegetation.) Red means iron plus secondary iron 

minerals plus clays and other alteration minerals. View is toward northwest from south of Balkhab River. West is 

toward the left. Vertical exaggeration is 1.5×. White outline is anomalous area 2 outline from figure 4A–12 (from 

Sabins and Ellis, 2010a). Image copyright [2010,2011] Google Maps. X, Y, and Z are target areas of Sabins and 

Ellis (2010a).
240 Summaries of Important Areas for Mineral Investment and Production Opportunities of Nonfuel Minerals in Afghanistan

Figure 4A–14. Images of Balkhab anomalous zone 3, Balkhab copper area of interest, Sar-i-Pul Province. (a) 

Landsat Thematic Mapper alteration pattern on digital elevation model and contour map. (b) Alteration patterns 

draped on IKONOS image. Green means secondary iron minerals plus clays and other alteration minerals 

(disregard green pattern in drainages, which is vegetation.) Red means iron plus secondary iron minerals plus clays 

and other alteration minerals. View is toward northwest from south of Balkhab River. West is toward the left. Vertical 

exaggeration is 1.5X. White outline is anomalous area 3 outline from figure 4A–12 (from Sabins and Ellis, 2010a). 

Image copyright [2010,2011] Google Maps. X, Y, and Z are target areas of Sabins and Ellis (2010a).
Chapter 4A. Summary of the Balkhab Copper Area of Interest 241

Figure 4A–15. Images of Balkhab anomalous zone 5, Balkhab copper area of interest, Sar-i-Pul Province. (a) 

Landsat Thematic Mapper alteration pattern on digital elevation model and contour map. (b) Alteration patterns 

draped on IKONOS image. Green is secondary iron minerals plus clays and other alteration minerals. Yellow is 

iron. Red is iron plus secondary iron minerals plus clays and other alteration minerals. View is toward the northwest 

along the Balkhab River. Vertical exaggeration is 1.5X. White outline is anomalous area 5 outline from figure 4A–12 

(from Sabins and Ellis, 2010a). ). Image copyright [2010,2011] Google Maps. X, Y, and Z are target areas of Sabins 

and Ellis (2010a).
242 Summaries of Important Areas for Mineral Investment and Production Opportunities of Nonfuel Minerals in Afghanistan

Figure 4A–16. Photographs of slag from the Balkhab copper area of interest. (a) Slag piles from metallurgical 

smelting in the Balkh River Valley. Photograph by AGS. (b) Hand specimen of metallic slag. Photograph by Robert 

D. Tucker, U.S. Geological Survey. 

4A.9 Coal Resources

Coal in the eastern parts of the Balkhab copper AOI is in Mesozoic rocks of the central 

Afghanistan platform. Aside from landslides and minor faults, the Balkhab coal measures are 

undeformed and lack the regional metamorphism of other Afghanistan coals. The coal is located in 

rugged terrane with limited access (Mikhailov, 1967; U.S. Geological Survey, 2005; Hare and others, 

2008; Sabins and Ellis, 2010b). 
Chapter 4A. Summary of the Balkhab Copper Area of Interest 243

Figure 4A–17. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) photographs of Balkhab slag samples. (a) Sample BK09005 

showing blades of oriented fayalite (Fa) and spinel crystals in a matrix of calcium, potassium, iron, aluminum, and 

silica glass. (b) Closeup of dots of copper, iron, and sulfur with spinel and fayalite crystals. (c) Large grains of 

copper and sulfur with trace iron along with fayalite, and spinel and potassium, calcium, iron, aluminum, silicon

matrix. (d) Closeup of part of (c) showing bismuthanite inclusions and clumps. SEM photographs courtesy of 

Theodore (2010).

The coal measures are overlain by massive, resistant limestone that forms cliffs throughout the 

region (fig. 4A–18). As shown on figure 4A–19, the top of the coal measures closely follow the base of 

map unit KPg1ld (Doebrich and others, 2006), composed largely of Late Cretaceous/Paleocene 

carbonate strata. The map unit is described as “Resistant Carbonate Beds.” The base of the coal measure 

is within the map unit K2ssl composed of Late Cretaceous clastic sedimentary rocks. The Cretaceous age 

for the Balkhab coal measures differs from the Jurassic age attributed to coal in most of the north 

Afghanistan platform by the U.S. Geological Survey (2005). Two possible explanations are 

1. The Late Cretaceous age assignment of unit K2ssl on the geologic map is incorrect and the map 

unit is actually Jurassic in age.

2. The Balkhab coal is of Cretaceous rather than Jurassic age.
244 Summaries of Important Areas for Mineral Investment and Production Opportunities of Nonfuel Minerals in Afghanistan

Figure 4A–18. Maps of the northeast part of Balkhab copper area of interest showing location of Balkhab East 

and Balkhab West coal areas. (a) Google map image. Dark green line is the top of coal measures. Light green line 

is the base of coal measures. Image copyright [2010,2011] Google Maps. (b) Geologic map of Balkhab East and 

Balkhab West coal measures. Dark green line is the top of coal measures. Brown line is the base of coal measures. 

Explanation for geologic map: KPg1ld, Late Cretaceous/Paleocene; K2ssl, Late Cretaceous; J12ssl, Early-Middle 

Jurassic; T3al, Late Triassic-Rhaetian; Ossl, Ordovician. Reproduced from Sabins and Ellis (2010b), after Doebrich 

and others (2006)
Chapter 4A. Summary of the Balkhab Copper Area of Interest 245

The coal beds are nonresistant, fine-grained sedimentary rocks that weather to slopes with a 

basal thin, light-gray, resistant bed (fig. 4A–20). The coal beds are underlain by dark-gray shale that is, 

in turn, underlain by a conspicuous nonresistant red unit that may correlate with a “Red Grit” unit that is 

spatially associated with coal deposits elsewhere in northern Afghanistan. The red beds are underlain by 

dark-gray shale. These stratigraphic relationships are consistent throughout the area. 

There is one large-scale coal mining operation in the Balkhab copper AOI where a surface longwall mine (540 meters long) has been opened (fig. 4A–20). The lack of a spoil dump suggests that that 

the mine has just been opened or that operations are suspended. Coal beds commonly ignite and burn 

both along strike and down dip. Lightning strikes, brush fires, and spontaneous combustion are possible 

natural causes. Campfires and poorly maintained spoil piles are man’s contribution to coal fires. The 

heat oxidizes iron minerals in the adjacent sediments and causes conspicuous red coloration. The heat 

fuses the poorly consolidated sand and clay into hard, brick-like rubble called “clinkers.” 

Figure 4A–19. Balkhab East Coal subarea 5, looking east. Dark green is top of coal measures. Light green is 

base of coal measures. Yellow arrows are coal beds. Subarea 5 has only limited evidence of coal measures or 

mining activity. Reproduced from Sabins and Ellis (2010b). Image copyright [2010,2011] Google Maps.
246 Summaries of Important Areas for Mineral Investment and Production Opportunities of Nonfuel Minerals in Afghanistan

Figure 4A–20. Photographs of coal deposit in the Balkhab copper area of interest. (a) View of outcrop of coal 

seam and small adits. (b) Closeup of one of the adits. (c) A 0.5-meter-high coal seam in underground workings. (d) 

Underground excavation with supported hanging wall. Photographs by the Afghanistan Geological Survey. 

4A.10 Summary of Potential

The Balkhab copper area of interest shows considerable potential for economic copper deposits. 

The main area of known mineralization is the Balkhab copper prospect, which contains outcropping 

copper-mineralized rock, extensive oxide copper zones, previous mining activity, and promising 

extensions down dip and along strike to the northeast and southwest. Additional mineralized zones, 

perhaps the size of the Balkhab copper prospect, may also exist in the Balkhab copper AOI to the 

southwest in anomalous altered areas 5, 6, and 7 (fig. 4A–12). These copper deposits plus various other 

copper showings throughout the Paleozoic rocks, along with the abundant water supply, and the Balkhab 

coal deposits in the northeast part of the Balkhab copper AOI, and elsewhere in the Mesozoic rocks, 

make the Balkhab copper AOI a promising area for mineral exploitation. The oxide copper ores are 

abundant and may be amenable to hydrometallurgy. 

4A.11 References Cited

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