Afghanistan’s Ministry of Mines and Petroleum has signed a contract for over $20 million with companies from Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan to mine gold at the Qala-e-Zal deposit in Qala-e-Zal district of Kunduz Province, RIA Novosti reported.
«The five-year contract was signed by the Minister of Mines and Petroleum, Hedayatullah Badri, in the presence of the Ambassadors of Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan, with Reef Group (LLC) and Subhan Momand Co,» the ministry said in a statement.
According to the ministry’s press service, the deposit covers an area of 5.97 square kilometers, and the companies are investing $20.24 million in the project.
In addition to paying a 30 percent royalty, the companies will contribute $200,000 to social development and provide direct and indirect jobs for 100 people.
Badri noted that the signing of the agreement is a positive step toward strengthening economic relations between the three countries and assured that Afghanistan will provide them with additional preferences.
- Reef Group (LLC) is an international mining company with office registered in Bishkek. It provides engineering, geological, drilling, mining, blasting, and raw material transportation services for the mining industry in Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan.
- No publicly available data is available for the second company.
