Chapter 16A. Introduction to Industrial Minerals

Contribution by Victor G. Mossotti

Abstract

This chapter is a synopsis of the industrial minerals summary chapters (chapters 17A through 

26A) that follow. Each of those chapters includes an assessment of selected industrial mineral resources 

in specific areas of interest (AOIs) in Afghanistan, including barite, carbonatite, celestite, clay, fluorite,

gypsum, limestone (industrial grade), magnesite, pegmatite, talc, and travertine. Chapters on cement and 

coal are also included (although coal is not a nonfuel mineral, it is included with the assessments of 

industrial minerals because of its importance to cement production). This chapter provides a brief 

overview of the geologic settings of the AOIs that are described in the following chapters. The summary 

chapters provide more detailed information on what industrial minerals are present in these areas of 

interest, the nature of their respective depositional settings, and which commodities may offer 

significant economic potential for Afghanistan.

All the chapters on industrial minerals (chapters 17 through 26) summarize and interpret results 

from studies of industrial minerals in Afghanistan that began in the mid-20th century and that culminate 

with this report. They contain updated hyperspectral data and geohydrologic assessments. This study has 

been a cooperative effort of 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 on industrial minerals in Afghanistan are available from the Ministry of Mines in Kabul.

16A.1 Introduction

This chapter is a guide to subsequent chapters that provide updated information on the 

assessment of industrial mineral resources in Afghanistan. Much of the material summarized here and in 

subsequent chapters has been gleaned from an array of reports written since the early 1950s. These early 

studies, which provide much of the factual basis for the updates reported here, were conducted by 

collaborations between geoscientists from the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), the 

British Geological Survey, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), countries of Eastern Europe, and the 

Afghanistan Geological Survey (AGS). Data on fundamental Afghanistan geology generated during this 

early period, combined with a preliminary assessment by the USGS in 2007 (Peters and others, 2007), 

provided the framework for this updated report.

Throughout the period 2009–11, the USGS, in collaboration with the AGS, integrated newly 

acquired geochemical, geologic, geophysical, hydrologic, and remote sensing data into comprehensive 

information packages focused on specific areas of interest (AOIs) defined according to near-term 

economic potential for mineral resource development. These AOI packages contain information on 

mineral prospects and occurrences, some of which have been quantitatively assessed for grade and 

tonnage, and most of which are genetically related to known deposits elsewhere. Digital data and 

archival information on nonfuel minerals for each of the 24 AOIs are available through the AGS Data 

Center in Kabul (Afghanistan Ministry of Mines). Of the 24 AOIs, 10 AOIs have been identified as 

hosting industrial minerals of potential economic value to Afghanistan; the data on industrial minerals in 

the 10 AOIs are reviewed in this introductory chapter. An additional chapter covering the cement sector 

in Afghanistan is included with the chapters on specific AOIs; the cement sector is not associated with a 

specific AOI. It should be noted that areas outside of the identified AOIs could also have mineral 
1228 Summaries of Important Areas for Mineral Investment and Production Opportunities of Nonfuel Minerals in Afghanistan

resource potential, but the potential is not directly measurable currently because field work at many of 

the sites has been limited or not possible.

Industrial minerals are broadly defined as nonfuel nonmetallic geologic minerals of potential 

economic value. Among the large set of generally recognized industrial minerals, those reported in the 

chapters reviewed here include barite, bauxite, carbonatite, celestite, clay, coal, fluorite, gypsum, halite 

limestone, magnesite, pegmatites, salt, sulfur, talc, and travertine. Some metallic minerals, such as 

aluminum and titanium, are also regarded as industrial materials, depending on their application, and 

especially when used in their nonmetallic form, such as aluminum oxide and titanium oxide. Although

coal does not qualify as a nonfuel mineral, it is covered in chapter 19A (Dudkash AOI) because of its 

importance to cement production in the region. Figure 16A–1 shows the locations of the AOIs identified

for industrial minerals.

Figure 16A–1. Index map showing locations of areas of interest for industrial minerals. Map from 

U.S. Geological Survey, Western Mineral and Environmental Resources Science Center, Digital Information and 

Analysis Project; base maps from Doebrich and Wahl, 2006).

The summary chapters that discuss the AOIs for industrial minerals are as follows:

16B Cement in Afghanistan 22A Kunduz Celestite

17A Baghlan Clay-Gypsum 23A North Herat Barium-Limestone

18A Bakhud Fluorite 24A Nuristan Pegmatite

19A Dudkash Industrial Minerals 25A South Helmand Travertine

20A Ghunday-Achin Magnesite-Talc 26A Takhar Evaporite

21A Khanneshin Carbonatite 
Chapter 16A. Introduction to Industrial Minerals 1229

16A.1.1 Geologic Setting

Figure 16A–2 shows a highly simplified tectonic map of the major blocks and faults in 

Afghanistan. Of the 10 industrial mineral AOIs, one-half are located north of the Herat fault system 

(chapters 17, 19, 22, 23, and 26) and one-half are distributed along a wide southwest-to-northeast 

trending zone defined by the complex that includes the Helmand, the Kabul, and the Nuristan blocks and 

the Tirin-Arghandab accretionary zone (chapters 18, 20, 21, 24, 25). Of the five AOIs located south of 

the Herat suture zone, the Khanneshin carbonatite AOI (chapter 21) and the south Helmand travertine 

AOI (chapter 25) are located along the south-central margin of the Helmand block, and the Bakhud 

fluorite AOI (chapter 18) is located on the southeastern margin of the Helmand block where it is 

intersected by the southwest-to-northeast trending Tirin-Arghandab interfluves; the Ghunday-Achin 

magnesite-talc AOI (chapter 20) and the Nuristan pegmatite AOI (chapter 24) are located on the 

Nuristan block. 

Figure 16A–2.

It has been proposed that the Tirin-Arghandab zone and the highly fractured terrane proximal to 

the zone emerged as a consequence of the Cimmeride Orogeny (Sengor, 1990). During the Triassic

Period, the northern edge of the Gondwanaland supercontinent broke away and drifted north, resulting in 

at least two distinct collisions that closed the ancient Paleo-Tethys Ocean (Whitney, 2006). The first 

collision brought the Farad block against the Tadjik block and created the Paropamisus Range that 

defines the northern boundary of the Helmand Basin and the suture recognized as the Herat fault system

(which comprises the main Hari Rod fault and the Qarghanaw fault). This collision was completed in the 

Map showing major blocks and faults in Afghanistan.
1230 Summaries of Important Areas for Mineral Investment and Production Opportunities of Nonfuel Minerals in Afghanistan

Early Cretaceous Period. The second collision, most likely completed by the Late Cretaceous Period, 

brought the Helmand block against the Farad block. The Panjao Suture, which is a zone of ophiolitic 

mélange that separates the Farad and Helmand blocks, verifies this conjunction (Moores and Fairbridge, 

1997). The extent of the suture zone suggests that a sizable ocean existed at one time between the Farad 

and the Helmand blocks. 

After a period of relative quiescence, tectonic activity continued during the Cretaceous Period to 

early Tertiary Period. During this time, India drifted north from Gondwanaland and collided with the 

Afghan block at its southern margin, producing the Tirin-Arghandab accretionary zone and the Dari Rod 

Trough. Evidence of this is preserved as the Kandahar volcanics, which mark the beginning of a 

volcanic arc on the margins of the Eurasian plate (Debon and others, 1987). The active Eurasian 

continental margins were intruded by subduction-related I-type granitoids in the Helmand and the 

Nuristan blocks. As a consequence, the geologic settings in the Khanneshin carbonatite AOI (chapter 

21), the south Helmand travertine AOI (chapter 25), and the Tirin-Arghandab/Nuristan complex in 

southeastern Afghanistan are highly prospective for a number of different mineralization styles, most of 

which involve hydrothermal fluids as a source of mineral components in ore genesis. In particular, the 

Bakhud fluorite AOI (chapter 18), framed as it is by the Tirin-Arghandab zone and the Helmand block, 

has been reported to host a variety of mineral occurrences, among which include barite (BaSO4), 

chalcopyrite (CuFeS2), fluorite (CaF2), galena (PbS), sphalerite (ZnS), and tennantite (Cu12As4S13) 

(Avtonomov and Polvanov, 1976). 

The geologic situation of the AOIs located north of the Herat fault and the mineralization of the 

industrial ores in the area are related to the Cimmeride Orogeny by virtue of the closing of the 

Paleo-Tethys Ocean. The Tadjik block of northern Afghanistan formed the southern margin of the 

Eurasian continental plate during the Permian and Triassic Periods. During this time, the paleo-latitude 

of the region was equatorial, giving it a tropical climate. The Paleozoic Era basement was intruded by 

Triassic granitoids as a result of subduction related to the first stages of the closure of the Paleo-Tethys 

Ocean during the Cimmeride Orogeny (Moores and Fairbridge, 1997). The pre-Jurassic basement of the 

North Afghan platform is unconformably overlain by a Jurassic to Middle Tertiary sedimentary rock 

platform cover, unconformably overlain by Neogene syn- and post-orogenic continental clastics. This 

cover has three units that are relevant to the industrial mineral AOIs— 

1. A Late Triassic to Middle Jurassic rift succession is dominated by continental clastics. This 

includes thick, coarse, lenticular formations hosting coal, which is one of the commodities 

discussed in chapter 19A; 

2. A Middle to Late Jurassic transgressive–regressive succession consisting of mixed continental 

and marine clastics and carbonates overlain by regressive Late Jurassic evaporite-bearing 

clastics; and

3. A Cretaceous succession consisting of Lower Cretaceous red beds with evaporites resting 

unconformably on Jurassic and older deposits. These beds are overlain (usually unconformably) 

by Upper Cretaceous shallow marine limestone, which forms a fairly uniform transgressive 

succession across most of Afghanistan. A Paleogene succession rests on the Upper Cretaceous 

limestones, with a minor break marked by bauxite in places. Stratigraphically, thin Paleocene to 

Upper Eocene limestones with gypsum are overlain by thin conglomerates; these transition 

up-section into shales. 

The Neogene succession consists of a variable thickness of coarse continental sediments derived 

from the rising Pamir Mountains and adjacent ranges. Almost all the deformation of the North Afghan 

platform began in the Miocene Epoch (Brookfield and Hashmat, 2001). Thus, orogenesis north of the 

Herat suture zone is expected to favor the formation of different types of mineral deposits than occur 

south of the suture zone. 

A given commodity may occur in any of a number of AOIs. Figuress 16A–3 and 16A–4 crossreference target commodities with AOIs. Entries in figure 16A–3 represent commodities associated with 
Chapter 16A. Introduction to Industrial Minerals 1231

the North Afghan Platform and entries in figure 16A–4 represent commodities associated with 

hydrothermal fluids. 

Figure 16A–3. Target commodities in areas of interest on the North Afghan platform cross-referenced to areas of 

interest. km2, square kilometers.

Figure 16A–4. Target commodities in areas of interest south of the Herat suture zone cross-referenced to areas 

of interest. km2, square kilometers.

16A.1.2 Assessment Methods

The purpose of the mineral assessment is the delineation of geographical tracts that are 

permissive, favorable, or prospective for the presence of undiscovered mineral deposits. The assessment 

was conducted by a team that included scientists from the USGS and the AGS. To begin the assessment, 

the team reviewed the geology of Afghanistan and selected appropriate deposit models. They then 

delineated permissive tracts for each type of deposit.

The permissive tracts were defined by the environments of formation described in the deposit 

model such that the probability of deposits of the type delineated occurring outside the tract is negligible 

(that is, less than 0.00001 to 0.000001) (Singer, 1993). Geologic maps and location maps showing the 
1232 Summaries of Important Areas for Mineral Investment and Production Opportunities of Nonfuel Minerals in Afghanistan

distribution and types of existing mineral deposits and occurrences were used in outlining these 

permissive tracts. Geophysical and geochemical maps, as well as knowledge about the exploration 

history, were used in tract delineation and estimation. One important factor in assessment of a particular 

tract was the degree of previous and current exploration activity.

The team reviewed the descriptive characteristics and grade and tonnage data for known deposits 

in all defined tracts and decided which deposit type and grade and tonnage models were appropriate for 

the tract. Reasoning by analogy to other parts of the world where similar deposits are present, the 

undiscovered deposits estimated in the area were assumed to be similar in grade and tonnage to known 

examples. Whenever possible, the team then estimated the number of undiscovered deposits in the 

permissive tract. These estimates are subjective and are expressed in terms of the least number of 

deposits for specified cumulative probabilities. Commonly, subject matter experts were asked for the 

least number of deposits at a specified cumulative probability, and the answer is a specific number of 

deposits. A series of these questions for several quantiles (generally 0.9, 0.5, 0.1, and 0.05) was used to 

develop a cumulative probability distribution. Teams used a variety of methods to arrive at a consensus. 

The most common method was simply to continue the discussion until all agreed; however, many tools, 

including deposit density estimates and assumptions about exploration adequacy, were used to guide the 

final estimates (Singer, 1993).

The result of the estimation process is a probability distribution of numbers of undiscovered 

deposits that are consistent with the grade and tonnage model for a given deposit type. Estimates can be 

guided by counting mineral occurrences, geochemical anomalies, or exploration “plays” and assigning 

to each a probability of its being a member of the grade and tonnage distributions for a given deposit 

type. Estimates can also be guided by analogy with well-explored areas that contain known numbers of 

deposits and that are geologically similar to the study area. More details and the theoretical basis for 

these procedures can be found in Singer (1993).

As a general rule, current methods of estimating undiscovered resources are made to a depth of 

1 kilometer (km) beneath the surface of the earth. Thus, if an area of permissive rock is covered by more 

than 1 km of rock known to be barren, or by younger sediment, it was excluded from the tract. This 

rationale is consistent with mining practice; direct exploration is seldom conducted at depths greater 

than 1 km, although extensions of mineral deposits may be explored and developed deeper (up to 3 km) 

once they have been discovered at shallower depths.

The most important data sources used for this assessment were the digital geologic map of 

Afghanistan (Doebrich and Wahl, 2006), the mineral deposit database for Afghanistan (Doebrich and 

Wahl, 2006), which was based on the earlier studies of Abdullah and others (1977) and the United 

Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (1995), along with new geophysical 

data collected by the USGS that is in the process of being published.

16A.2 Guide to Summary Chapters

16A.2.1 Chapter 16B—Cement in Afghanistan

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

cement to the construction industry in Afghanistan is of the highest 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 (S.S. Sharma, Chief Financial Officer, Ghori Cement Works, written commun., 

November 2007); the demand is currently being met by imports from neighboring countries at prices set 

by foreign suppliers. The essential resources for cement production include raw materials, thermal 

power, electrical power, water, physical infrastructure, and human resources (skilled labor, management, 

finance, marketing, sales). Assessments of the raw minerals used in cement production are considered in 

subsequent chapters, including limestone (chapters 17A, 19A, 22A, 23A, and 26A); clay (chapters 17A, 

19A, 23A, and 26A); bauxite (chapter 17A); gypsum (chapters 17A, 19A, 22A, and 26A); and coal

(chapters 17A, 19A, and 26A) (fig. 16A–3). In addition to providing an assessment of the availability of 
Chapter 16A. Introduction to Industrial Minerals 1233

industrial minerals used for cement production, chapter 16B also provides an assessment of the state of 

indigenous cement production in Afghanistan within the context of the country’s geographical and 

geopolitical setting. 

There are currently two potential facilities for cement production in Afghanistan; one is located

south of the Hindu Kush at Jabal-e Sharaj in Parwan Province and the other is located north of the Hindu 

Kush 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, but it has insufficient electrical power and coal. The facility at Jabal-e Sharaj 

has not produced cement for some years, and the technology installed at the plant is 40 years old. 

Modernizing and completing facilities at Pul-e Khumri and upgrading facilities at Jabal-e Sharaj, 

redeveloping the coal mines near Pul-e Khumri, upgrading power lines for both plants, and setting up a 

sustainable training program for cement engineers, chemists, plant managers, and technicians would 

require an initial capital outlay. 

16A.2.2 Chapter 17A—Summary of the Baghlan Clay-Gypsum Area of Interest

Area 1,800.32 2 km .

Provinces, districts Baghlan and Samangan Provinces and Ruyi Du Ab, Kamard, and Tala Wa Baak 

districts.

Deposit type(s) Bauxite, clay, and gypsum.

Geology The southeastern parts of the AOI contain Paleozoic sedimentary rocks, which are 

overlain by Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous sedimentary rocks, which are in turn 

overlain in the central parts of the AOI by Eocene and Neogene sedimentary rocks. 

Triassic granitic plutons and stocks intrude the older rocks in the eastern part of the 

AIO. Gypsum, clay, and bauxite deposits are most abundant in the Jurassic 

sedimentary rocks associated with coal. Some Eocene sedimentary rocks also 

contain gypsum. 

Known deposits Examples of potentially important clay, gypsum, and bauxite deposits in the AOI—

with brief descriptions—are included below. Additional details and data on grade, 

reserve tonnage, and operational information for the deposits identified here, and 

for other deposits in the AOI, are provided in chapters 17A, 17B, and 17C. The 

listing of example deposits below is nonexclusive of other significant deposits and 

prospects that may be in the AOI. 

Clay Rafak, Samangan Province (35°31'49"N, 67°51'09"E). A 5-meter (m)-thick clay 

bed occurs in Lower Cretaceous siltstone. The clay is suitable for refractory 

products manufacturing.

Gypsum Kahmard, Bamyan Province (35°18'32"N, 67°54'E). Beds consisting of massive 

gypsum up to 2.5 m thick and stratified gypsum ranging in thickness from 20 to 

40 centimeters (cm) have been found in Upper Cretaceous-Paleocene clay and

dolomite deposits. The total thickness of the gypsum unit is 20 m and the average 

gypsum content is 98 weight percent (wt. %).

Bauxite Eshpushta, Baghlan Province (35o18'44"N, 68°06'22"E). A bed-shaped bauxite 

body that varies in thickness between 1 and 3 m and extends for 300 to 400 m has 

been distinguished in the weathering crust on Upper Triassic extrusive rocks. The 

bauxites are light gray and pinkish and contain few iron terrigenous rocks of Early 

to Middle Jurassic age that are 20 m thick and extend for 300 m.

16A.2.3 Guide to Chapter 18A—Summary of the Bakhud Fluorite Area of Interest

Area 2 3,637.53 km .

Provinces, districts Kandahar and Daykundi Provinces and Nesh, Dihrawud, Tirin Kot, Chera, Sha 

Wali Kot, and Khakere Ghorak districts.

Deposit type(s) Sedimentary rock-hosted fluorite and fluorite vein deposits; prospects include 
1234 Summaries of Important Areas for Mineral Investment and Production Opportunities of Nonfuel Minerals in Afghanistan

copper, iron, polymetallic skarns, and tin.

Geology The main cluster of deposits lies in southern Daykundi Province and northern 

Kandahar Province and is hosted in unconformities in Triassic and Jurassic 

limestone sequences. A permissive tract was constructed in the Bakhud area 

near the settlements of Tirin Kot and Nesh in Daykundi Province and parts of 

northern Kandahar Province. The tract was partially defined using 

aeromagnetics (Sweeney and others, 2006).

Known deposits An example of a potentially important fluorite depositional complex in the 

AOI—with a brief description—is included below. Additional details and data 

on grade, reserve tonnage, and operational information for the fluorite deposit 

identified below, for other styles of fluorite deposits, and for prospects of iron, 

copper, tin, and polymetallic skarns in the AOI, are provided in chapters 18A, 

18B, and 18C. The description below is not exclusive of other potentially 

significant deposits and prospects that may be in the AOI. 

Fluorite Bakhud carbonate-hosted fluorite (32°27'17"N, 65°53'58"E). This example 

represents a hydrothermal replacement-style fluorite depositional complex that 

consists of tabular orebodies hosted in Upper Triassic to Lower Jurassic 

argillaceous-marly sediments and limestones. The deposit consists of a number 

of tabular zones located at the base of the angular unconformity between Upper 

Triassic dolomitic limestone of the Arghasu Formation and Upper Triassic to 

Lower Jurassic clay-marly sediments of the Arghasu Formation. There are four 

discontinuous mineralized zones in the north, south, east, and west that are 80 to 

860 m long, 10 to 200 m wide, and 1.1 to 2.8 m thick. Alteration consists of 

recrystallized dolomite with silicification that is restricted to limestone in the 

basal Alamghar Formation. Fluorite mineralization consists of abundant 

calcareous fluorite associated with lead and zinc sulfide minerals and 

less-abundant siliceous fluorite. Accessory minerals are sphalerite, galena, 

chalcopyrite, tennantite, and molybdenite. Gangue minerals are pyrite, barite, 

ankerite, dolomite, and silica. Supergene accessory minerals are common 

(Avtonomov and Palvanov, 1976).

16A.2.4 Guide to Chapter 19A—Summary of the Dudkash Industrial Minerals Area of Interest

Area 2 4,922 km .

Provinces, districts Baghlan Province in the south and main part of the AOI and Kunduz and Takhar 

Provinces in the north, and including the following districts: Dahana-i-Ghori, 

Ddushi, Pul-e Khumri, Naharin, Baghlan, Burkha, Baglani Jadid, Khost Wa 

Firing, Ishkamish, and Alibad.

Deposit type(s) Brick clay, coal, celestite, dolomite, gypsum, limestone (cement grade) covered 

by Upper Paleozoic and Lower Mesozoic sedimentary rocks

Geology The Dudkash Industrial Minerals AOI is underlain by Upper Paleozoic and 

Lower Mesozoic sedimentary rocks in the southeastern and southwestern parts 

of the area. These rocks are uncomformably overlain by Upper Cretaceous and 

Paleogene and some Jurassic sedimentary rocks that contain evaporite, 

limestone, and clay deposits. The rocks, in turn, are covered in large parts of the 

area by Quaternary basins.

Known deposits Examples of potentially important limestone, dolomite, celestite, gypsum, brick 

clay, and coal deposits in the AOI—with brief descriptions—are included 

below. Additional details and data on grade, reserve tonnage, and operational 

information for the deposits identified here, and for other deposits in the AOI, 

are provided in chapters 19A, 19B, and 19C. The listing of example deposits 
Chapter 16A. Introduction to Industrial Minerals 1235

below is nonexclusive of other significant deposits and prospects that may be in 

the AOI. 

Limestone (cement Pul-e Khumri-limestone, Baghlan Province (35°58'24"N, 68"40'56"E). Upper 

grade) Cretaceous-Paleocene 300- to 500-m-thick limestone occurs over an area of 

several thousand square kilometers. The rock is light colored, thick bedded, and 

fine crystalline. A large limestone deposit has been mined to supply raw material 

for a cement plant located close to Pul-e Khumri This deposit consists of Danian 

(Paleocene) limestone beds that are 300 to 400 m thick and exposed over an area 

of several thousand square kilometers. The limestone is pure, containing 52 to 

53 wt. % lime, 0.8 to 1.3 wt. % magnesium oxide, and 1.3 wt. % insoluble 

residue. 

Dolomite Dudkash-dolomite, Baghlan Province (36°00'47"N, 68°47'20"E). A 3.9-m-thick 

dolomite bed occurs in Lower Cretaceous siltstone, limestone, and gypsum 

units. In composition, the rock is almost chemically pure dolomite.

Celestite Tangi Murch, Baghlan Province (36°16'13"N, 69°12'24"E). The Bukhara and 

the Suzak carbonate rock formations of Paleogene age crop out in the area. The 

deposit is characterized by smaller dimensions of the workable bed, and the 

celestine content is approximately equal to that of the Kortaw deposit. The host 

rock is bituminous limestone. The ore beds consist of fine- to coarse-crystalline 

celestite-bearing rock. Four ore beds have been located; their thicknesses range 

from 0.4 to 1.67 m and they have a maximum length of 170 m. The celestite 

content is from 29 to 77 vol. % and the specific gravity is from 3.00 to 

3.94 grams per cubic centimeter (g/cm3). The speculative reserve of the celestite 

ore is 85,600 metric tons (t) with an average celestite content of 53.96 vol. % 

3 and a specific gravity of 3.43 g/cm .

Gypsum Dudkash-Gypsum, Baghlan Province (36°00'55"N, 68°47'30"E). The name of 

the Dudkash Industrial Minerals AOI is taken from the name of this mine. The 

occurrence comprises massive 1.5-m-thick to as much as 6-m-thick gypsum 

beds, which occasionally extend for 12 km in Upper Jurassic clay, siltstone, 

sandstone, and dolomite. The gypsum has been mined.

Brick clay Kawkpar-clay, Baghlan Province (35°56'55"N, 68°52'36"E). Clay beds that are 

between 2 and 17 m thick have been found between Neogene sandstone and 

conglomerate beds. The clay is lumpy and slightly gypsiferous.

Coal Karkar and Dudkash (36°02'07"N, 68°46'16"E). Four mines (Karkar, Dudkash, 

Ahandara, and Khurdara) and a cement works at Pul-e Khumri were privatized 

during 2006 and 2007. All movable and fixed assets were transferred to the 

private Afghan Investment Company (AIC) in April 2007 (Erreck, 2011). The 

mines are now operated by an AIC subsidiary, Afghan Coal LLC, with the 

intention to provide fuel for a proposed 25-megawatt thermal powerplant as well 

as to provide fuel in limited quantities for the AIC Ghori-I cement plant in 

Pul-e Khumri. 

16A.2.5 Guide to Chapter 20A—Summary of the Ghunday-Achin Magnesite-Talc Area of Interest

2 Area 4,922 km .

Provinces, districts The Ghunday-Achin magnesite-talc AOI lies along the border with Pakistan 

approximately 16 km south of Jalalabad in Nangarhar and Paktiya Provinces. 

The Achin and the Sherzad districts are located in southern Nangarhar Province. 

The Ghunday mine is located in the Sherzad district. 

Deposit type(s) Magnesite and talc

Geology The magnesite and talc deposits are hosted within the east-west trending 
1236 Summaries of Important Areas for Mineral Investment and Production Opportunities of Nonfuel Minerals in Afghanistan

Spinghar Zone, which consists mainly of Early Proterozoic metamorphic rocks

(Abdullah and Chmyriov, 2008). The area in the northern part of the GhundayAchin magnesite-talc AOI is covered mainly by Pliocene and Quaternary

conglomerate and sandstone (Doebrich and Wahl, 2006). Rocks of the Spinghar

Zone may extend under the Pliocene and Quaternary cover.

Examples of potentially important magnesite and talc deposits in the AOI—with

brief descriptions—are included below. Additional details and data on grade, 

reserve tonnage, and operational information for the deposits identified here, and

for other deposits in the AOI, are provided in chapters 20A, 20B, and 20C. The

description below is nonexclusive of other significant deposits and prospects

that may be in the AOI.

Known deposits

Ghunday (Mamahel), Nangarhar Province (34°21'00"N, 70°43'12"E). This 

deposit consists of the northern and southern talc-bearing zones located within 

Proterozoic dolomitic marble. The dolomitic marble is intruded by numerous

sill-like and dike-like andesite and diabase bodies, which are metamorphosed to 

amphibolites. Each talc zone consists of a series of elongated lenticular talc

bodies, clusters of nests, and veinlets.

Talc

Achin, Nangarhar Province (34°7'12"N, 70°42'00"E). This deposit consists of a

2-km-long talc-bearing zone in Proterozoic dolomitic marble. The talc zone

consists of a series of closely spaced en-echelon talc veins, pods, or deformed

sheet-like bodies that are oriented subparallel to the layering in the marble.

Achin, Nangarhar Province (34°7'12"N, 70°42'00"E). This deposit consists of

two magnesite orebodies that average 33 to 70 m in thickness and 328 to 765 m 

in length. These orebodies are lens shaped and consist of magnesite with talc,

dolomite, calcite, and quartz inclusions (United Nations Economic and Social

Commission for Asia and the Pacific, 1995; Adullah and Chmyriov, 2008). 

Large bodies of magnesite are present at Achin but not at Ghunday.

Magnesite

16A.2.6 Guide to Chapter 21A—Summary of the Khanneshin Carbonatite Area of Interest

Area 5,628 km2

.

Provinces, districts The Khanneshin carbonatite AOI is located in the Rig District of Helmand

Province. It is located relatively close to the Helmand River and 168 km

southwest of Lashkar Gah.

Deposit type(s) Two types of rare earth elements (REE) mineralization were observed.

REE mineralization consists of semiconcordant, symmetrically banded veins

enriched in khanneshite, barite, strontianite, and secondary REE minerals

(synchysite and parisite). The dark central zone, which consists primarily of

ankeritic dolomite, barite, apatite, and strontianite, also has trace amounts of

khanneshite.

Type 1

REE mineralization occurs in discordant dikes and tabular sheets up to tens of

meters thick and hundreds of meters long, which are filled with primary igneous

minerals that crystallized directly from magma or another fluid. These REEenriched igneous rocks are of two types: those enriched in fluorine and those

enriched in phosphorus.

Type 2

The Khanneshin carbonatite is a deeply dissected igneous complex of MiocenePliocene age that rises about 700 m above the flat-lying Neogene sediments of

the Registan Desert, Helmand Province. The complex consists almost

exclusively of carbonate-rich intrusive and extrusive igneous rocks that are

crudely circular in outline. The complex is divisible into a central intrusive vent

(or massif) that is approximately 4 km in diameter, a thin (less than 1-km wide)

Geology
Chapter 16A. Introduction to Industrial Minerals 1237

marginal zone of outwardly dipping (5 to 30 degrees) Neogene sedimentary 

strata, and a peripheral apron of volcanic and volcaniclastic strata that extends

another 3 to 5 km away from the central intrusive massif. 

Examples of potentially important REE deposits in the AOI—with brief 

descriptions—are included below. Additional details and data on grade, reserve 

tonnage, and operational information for the deposits identified here, and for 

other deposits in the AOI, are provided in chapters 21A, 21B, and 21C. The 

description below is nonexclusive of other significant deposits and prospects 

that may be in the AOI. 

Known deposits

Khanneshin, Helmand Province (34°26'49"N, 63°38'44"E). Type 1 mineralized 

rocks—Symmetrically banded veins and seams are defined by a 

yellow-weathering zone symmetrically disposed about a dark central zone. In 

some veins, the REE carbonate minerals form dense crystal aggregates, 

presumably crystallizing from immiscible droplets, which compose up to 

30 vol % of the vein. Type 1 mineralized rocks average 19.9 wt. % barium, 

3.61 wt. % strontium, and 2.78 wt. % ∑ LREE (lanthanum, cerium, 

praseodymium, neodymium). The values of ∑ LREE for eight average wholerock analyses range between 2 and 6 wt. %.

Rare earth 

elements

Type 2 mineralized rocks—Both types of REE-enriched rocks are comparable in 

grade to the world-class Bayan Obo (China) and Mountain Pass, California,

(USA) deposits, which are also greatly enriched in the LREE. The USGS field 

team estimates that at least 1 million metric tons (Mt) of LREE may be present 

in the Khanneshin carbonatite AOI. This comports well with the probabilistic 

estimate of 1.4 Mt of undiscovered REE resources in all of south Afghanistan 

(Peters and others, 2007). In addition to the LREE, the Khanneshin carbonatite 

is greatly enriched in barium (> 10 wt. %), strontium (> 6 wt. %, phosphorus

(~ 2 wt. %), and uranium (> 0.05 wt. %). 

16A.2.7 Guide to Chapter 22A—Summary of the Kunduz Celestite Area of Interest

Area 2,266 km2

.

The Kunduz celestite AOI is located mainly in the Kunduz Province of northern 

Afghanistan. The southwestern part of the AOI, which makes up about one-third 

of the total area, lies in Baghlan Province.

Provinces, districts

Deposit type(s) Celestite (SrSO4).

Paleogene rocks conformably overlie Cretaceous rocks in northern Afghanistan. 

Structural movements of the Afghan-Tajik Basin during the basinal stage of 

development (Jurassic through Paleogene) are characteristic of block-type 

platform tectonics (Klett and others, 2006). In northern Afghanistan, Paleogene 

sediments are classified as part of the Bukhara series and the slightly younger 

Suzak Formation (Debon and others, 1987; Klett and others, 2006). These 

sediments were deposited in marine to lagoon environments and are as much as 

650 m thick in the southeasternmost part of the Afghan-Tajik Basin. It is not 

clear from the available literature which member(s) of the Bukhara series hosts 

the celestite deposits of northern Afghanistan, although the gypsum-bearing 

Akdzhar and Aruktau members are the most likely candidates.

Geology

An example of a potentially important celestite deposit in the AOI—with a brief 

description—is included below. Additional details and data on grade, reserve 

tonnage, and operational information for the deposit identified here, and for other 

deposits in the AOI, are provided in chapters 22A, 22B, and 22C. The description

below is nonexclusive of other significant deposits and prospects that may be in 

Known deposits
1238 Summaries of Important Areas for Mineral Investment and Production Opportunities of Nonfuel Minerals in Afghanistan

the AOI. 

Celestite Kortau deposit [Chahar Dara], Kunduz Province (36°42'00"N, 68°35'00"E). 

Celestite is found in folded sediments of the Paleogene Bukhara series sediments, 

specifically in a horizon of gypsum and light gray bituminous limestone (Lim and 

Hyupperen, 1976). 

16A.2.8 Guide to Chapter 23A—Summary of the North Herat Barium-Limestone Area of Interest

Area 2 9,684 km .

Provinces, districts Herat Province and the following districts: Gulran, Kusuk, Khosan, Zind Jau, 

Injil, Herat, Karukh, Kushi Kuhna, Obe, and Pashtun Zarghun. 

Known deposits Examples of potentially important bedded barite, vein barite, brick clay, 

limestone (cement grade), marble, and iron skarn deposits in the AOI—with brief 

descriptions—are included below. Additional details and data on the grade, 

reserve tonnage, and operational information for the deposits identified here, and 

for other deposits in the AOI, are provided in chapters 23A, 23B, and 23C. The 

description below is nonexclusive of other significant deposits and prospects that 

may be in the AOI. 

Bedded barite, Barite occurrences near the city of Herat are hosted in terrigenous Paleogene 

Gardani-Burida sedimentary rocks; the prospect contains five milky-white to pink, coarse to fineprospect grained, lenticular barite-bearing bodies that are 5 to 20 m long and 0.2 to 0.6 m 

thick (Abdullah and others, 1977). 

Vein barite The Gulron-barite occurrence lies along a fault zone that is 30 to 700 m long and 

0.15 to 0.7 m thick and cuts Eocene sedimentary rocks. The occurrence contains 

8 barite veins with transparent Iceland spar crystals that are 10 by 20 cm in size, 

15 barite calcite veins, and 2 calcite veins. The barite veins assay 80 to 

95.5 wt. % barite and the barite-calcite veins grade 12 to 26 wt. % barite.

Limestone (cement 

grade)

Benosh Darrah-limestone, Herat Province (34°34'30"N, 62°46'20"E). Lower 

2 Triassic limestone that is 464 m thick and outcrops in an area of 3 km . 

Clay (brick) Maluma-clay, Herat Province (34°29'N, 62"44'E). The area is underlain by 

Quaternary clays that vary in lime content and that are rich in silty and sandy 

material.

Iron scarn Tagab-iron, Herat Province (34°36'11"N, 62o57'12"E). Lenses and irregular 

bodies of magnetite ore in epidote-garnet skarns that are 1 to 3 m thick; the 

skarns are formed in Upper Permian rocks at their contact with a small 

granodiorite massif of Late Triassic age. Magnetite is partially replaced by 

martite.

16A.2.9 Guide to Chapter 24A—Summary of the Nuristan Pegmatite Area of Interest

2 Area 3,490 km .

Provinces, districts The Nuristan rare-metal pegmatite AOI includes parts of the Nuristan, Kunar, 

Badakhshan, and Laghman Provinces. The main districts are Matal, Kamdesh, 

Kuran Wa Munjan, Wama, Waygal, Pech, Chapa Dara, and Nuristan. The 

Nuristan rare-metal pegmatite AOI lies in the Hindu Kush Mountains in 

northeastern Afghanistan approximately 135 km northeast of Kabul. 

Deposit type(s) Rare-metal pegmatites.

Geology The Nuristan rare-metal pegmatite AOI and surrounding areas are characterized

by northeast-trending structures and similar trending belts of rocks. The belts are 

composed of Early Proterozoic, Carboniferous to Early Permian, and Late 

Triassic rocks that are bounded by northeast-trending faults. Oligocene-age 

granite intrusions are also elongate along the same structural trends. Because the 
Chapter 16A. Introduction to Industrial Minerals 1239

rare-metal pegmatites in the AOI are genetically and spatially related to the 

Oligocene-age granitic intrusions, this chapter describes the Oligocene-age 

granitic intrusions in some detail.

Known deposits Examples of a potentially important rare-metal pegmatite deposits in the AOI—

with brief descriptions—are included below. Additional details and data on the 

grade, reserve tonnage, and operational information for the deposit identified 

here, and for other deposits in the AOI, are provided in chapters 24A, 24B, and 

24C. Chapter 24A includes an indepth discussion of Oligocene and older 

intrusions; pegmatite metallogeny; the economic geology of pegmatite provinces, 

belts, fields, groups; gemstone-bearing pegmatites; six specific deposits located 

in Kunar Province; and known prospects in the AOI. The description below is 

nonexclusive of other significant deposits and prospects that may be in the AOI. 

Pegmatite (gem) Nilaw pegmatite field, Nuristan Province (35°12'7"N, 70°20'9"E). Gently dipping 

pegmatite sills, which are characteristic of the Nilaw, Kulam, and Darrahe Pech

fields and some other fields, are developed mainly in gabbroic and diorite bodies 

of the Nilaw Complex (figs. 24A–5, 24A–6, 24A–8, 24A–9). Some gently 

dipping and cross-cutting sills occur in Proterozoic gneiss in the Paran pegmatite 

field also. Steeply dipping pegmatite veins in the Paran pegmatite field occur in 

schists and form linearly elongated zones that are conformable with the 

schistosity and fold patterns of the enclosing rocks (figs. 24A–9). Small 

intraformational lenticular bodies are associated with the contact zones of the 

Alingar granite. Observations suggest that the steeply dipping veins contain most 

of the important lithium deposits and occurrences. The gently sloping to flat lying 

pegmatites contain important concentrations of beryllium, tantalum, precious 

stones, piezo-quartz, and tourmaline. Those pegmatites that are closely associated 

with the granites are considered to be noneconomic (Abdullah and Chmyriov, 

2008).

16A.2.10 Guide to Chapter 25A—Summary of the South Helmand Travertine Area of Interest

Area 2 6,628 km .

Provinces, districts South Helmand Province; the three districts, from west to east, are Dishu, 

Gamser, and Reg.

Deposit type(s) Travertine/onyx, porphyry copper, porphyry copper gold and skarn copper (gold) 

deposits.

Geology The South Helmand (Chaigai Hills) AOI encompasses an east-northeast-trending 

belt of Oligocene(?) intrusive bodies (Peters and others, 2007) that consist of 

granite, granite porphyry, granodiorite, quartz syenite, and granosyenite. These 

rocks have not been dated in Afghanistan, but, based on information about the 

ages of the porphyry copper deposits in nearby Pakistan, they are probably 

between about 22 and 12 million years. These rocks intrude felsic and mafic 

volcanic rocks, flint, fine- and coarse-grained continental sedimentary rocks, 

marl, and limestone. The tract extends from the border with Pakistan north to 

where the rocks are estimated to be covered by more than 1 km of Quaternary 

and Early Pliocene sedimentary and volcanic rocks. Where they are exposed, 

some of the plutonic and volcanic rocks exhibit areas of phyllic alteration 

mapped from Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection

Radiometer (ASTER) imagery (Mars and Rowan, 2007). 

Known deposits There are five reported travertine deposits in the AOI. An example of a 

potentially important travertine deposit in the AOI—with a brief description—is 

included below. Additional details and data on the grade, reserve tonnage, and 
1240 Summaries of Important Areas for Mineral Investment and Production Opportunities of Nonfuel Minerals in Afghanistan

operational information for the deposit identified here, and for other deposits in 

the AOI, are provided in chapters 25A, 25B, and 25C. The description below is 

nonexclusive of other significant deposits and prospects that may be in the AOI. 

Arbu deposit, Helmand Province (29°49'N, 68°58'E). The deposit contains 

numerous tabular and predominantly high-grade aragonite veins ranging from

100 to 250 m long and 0.5 to 4.0 m thick that occur in a Lower Quaternary 

andesite-dacite vent surrounding Lower Quaternary clastic rocks. Speculative 

reserves are 170,000 t of aragonite. The deposit was being exploited in the 1970s 

(Slavin and others, 1972; Eriomenko and others, 1975).

Travertine

16A.2.11 Guide to Chapter 26A—Summary of the Takhar Evaporite Area of Interest

Area 1,148 km2

.

Provinces, districts Takhar Province and the following districts: Kalatgan, Talugan, Banqi, Farkhar, 

Chal and Ishtamish.

The main commodities of interest within the Takhar AOI are evaporite-related 

commodities, such as salt, gypsum, celestite, and clay. There are also known coal 

and dimension stone occurrences and the possibility for deposits of mercury, sand 

and gravel, limestone, sulfur, and other commodities. 

Deposit type(s)

The exposed geology of the Takhar AOI consists largely of Cretaceous to recent 

sediments. The lithologies of the Mesozoic and Early Cenozoic units consist of a 

mix of marine to lagonal to continental sediments with contained evaporates,

such as anhydrite and gypsum. The evaporite deposits within the Takhar AOI are 

part of the Afghan-Tajik Basin fill, which in part is composed of the eastern 

portions of the Central Asia Jurassic Salt Basin. Additionally, the Cretaceous 

evaporites found farther north and northwest in the basin have relatively thin 

halite and a higher proportion of gypsum.

Geology

Examples of potentially important halite deposits in the AOI—with brief 

descriptions—are included below. Additional details and data on grade, reserve 

tonnage, and operational information for the deposits identified here, and for 

other deposits in the AOI, are provided in chapters 26A, 26B, and 26C. The 

listing of example deposits below is nonexclusive of other significant deposits 

and prospects that may be in the AOI. 

Known deposits

On the north side of the salt core, the surrounding rocks are overturned by 

45 degrees, but then straighten to a steep dip. The rock salt is reported to be 

finely crystalline, light gray to red-brown, and to have a highly variable texture. 

Impurities include anhydrite, clay, and dolomite. The salt has a low bromine 

content that may indicate that it has been recrystallized (Kulke, 1972). 

Halite (rock salt)

Taqca Khana, Takhar Province; Sary-Kan, Takhar Province (36.580N, 69.654E).

Bedded gypsum is known to occur in sedimentary formations of Jurassic and 

Cretaceous age within the Takhar AOI. These formations are permissive for the 

occurrence of the bedded gypsum deposit type (Raup, 1991). There is also 

gypsum associated with the salt domes in the area that are believed to be Jurassic. 

Gypsum is also a significant component of several Paleogene and Neogene units 

in northern Afghanistan.

Gypsum

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