美国的一份主流报纸报道，美国地质学家在阿富汗发现了尚未开采过的价值近万亿美元的矿藏。
《纽约时报》星期一报道说，美国官员相信，储量巨大的铁、铜、钴、黄金、锂及铌有可能“从根本上改变”阿富汗的经济，甚至扭转阿富汗战争。
美国官员对纽约时报说，阿富汗可能最终变成“世界上最重要的矿产中心”之一。
《纽约时报》援引五角大楼一份备忘录说，阿富汗可能成为“锂矿的沙特阿拉伯”。锂是生产笔记本电脑及移动电话所用电池的关键原料。
铌是制造超导钢制品的一种软金属。
美国中央司令部司令戴维.彼得雷乌斯将军对《纽约时报》说，“这里蕴藏着惊人的潜能”。
A leading U.S. newspaper reports U.S. geologists have discovered nearly one trillion dollars’ worth of untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan.
A report published in The New York Times Monday says U.S. officials believe the vast veins of iron, copper, cobalt, gold, lithium, and niobium could “fundamentally alter” the Afghan economy and perhaps the Afghan war.
U.S. officials told the newspaper Afghanistan could eventually be transformed into one of the “most important mining centers in the world.”
The New York Times quoted a Pentagon memo that said Afghanistan could become the “Saudi Arabia of lithium,” a key raw material in the manufacture of batteries for cell phones and laptops.
Niobium is a soft metal used in producing superconducting steel.
U.S. General David Petraeus, commander of the U.S. Central Command, told The Times “there is stunning potential here.”