Topic– Distribution of key natural resources across the world (including South Asia and the Indian sub-continent); factors responsible for the location of primary, secondary, and tertiary sector industries in various parts of the world (including India)
2) Afghanistan’s resources could make it the richest mining region on earth. Discuss.(250 words)
Directive word
Discuss- this is an all-encompassing directive which mandates us to write in detail about the key demand of the question. we also have to discuss about the related and important aspects of the question in order to bring out a complete picture of the issue in hand.
Key demand of the question.
The question wants us to write in detail about the mineral resources of Afghanistan. We have to discuss about the potential mineral resources and the quantum anticipated to be economically viable in the near future.
Structure of the answer
Introduction– write a few introductory lines about Afghanistan. E.g mention the insurgency and foreign involvement in Afghanistan including that of India.
Body-
Discuss in detail about the mineral wealth of Afghanistan. E.g
- Afghanistan, often dismissed in the West as an impoverished and failed state, is sitting on $1 trillion of untapped minerals.
- It is estimated that forty million years ago the tectonic plates of India-Europe, Asia and Africa collided in a massive upheaval. This upheaval created the region of towering mountains that now includes Afghanistan.
- This diverse geological foundation has resulted in a significant mineral heritage.
- The sheer size of the deposits – including copper, gold, iron and cobalt as well as vast amounts of lithium, a key component in electronics holds out the possibility that Afghanistan, ravaged by decades of conflict, might become one of the most important and lucrative centres of mining in the world.
- Afghanistan could become the “Saudi Arabia of lithium”, with one location in Ghazni province showing the potential to compete with Bolivia, which, until now, held half the known world reserves.
- Considerably more work needs to be carried out before it can be properly called an economic deposit that can be extracted at a profit.
- Much more ground exploration, including drilling, needs to be carried out to prove that these are viable deposits which can be worked etc.
Conclusion- based on your discussion, form a fair and a balanced conclusion on the given issue.
