Afghanistan has emerged as a possible major source of lithium. Batteries that will make future electric cars practical will be made from lithium, a rare-earth metal mined from salt flats and clay. Skyrocketing demand for use in cars, phones and computers could make lithium a lot more valuable than oil within the 21st century. Much like the majority of the world’s oil, vast deposits of lithium are found in remote, backward countries hostile to the United States. Countries with confirmed mother lodes of lithium like Argentina, Boliva and now Afghanistan are being referred to as the “Saudi Arabias” of Lithium.
The discovery of rich Afghan lithium deposits was announced by American officials Monday. The New York Times reports that lithium and major deposits of iron, copper, cobalt and gold worth about $1 trillion exist in Afghanistan. could either hurt or help U.S. objectives for the war in Afghanistan. Afghanistan’s newly found mineral riches could introduce peace to a country where war has defined life for generations. Or the known presence of lithium and other precious metals could increase Taliban resolve to control the country and intensify the Afghanistan war. Lithium adds another lucrative target for Afghan corruption regardless.
Lithium and also the outcome of the Afghanistan war
Afghanistan lithium and other strategic minerals could bring the international focus of mining to this failed nation. But an economy focused on growing opium for narcotics trafficking is devoid of the mining infrastructure necessary to convert Afganistan’s minerals into wealth. Despite the irreplaceable blood and treasure America has poured into Afghanistan, China may be better positioned to exploit and control Afghanistan lithium. Blogger Aziz Poonawalla points out that China will compete aggressively with the U.S. for strategic control of Afghanistan’s minerals. Other analysts predict the corrupted Hamid Karzai will hop in bed with China and attempt to oust U.S. forces.
Bolivian lithium – a lesson for Afghanistan
Lithium in Afghanistan is large news because now the incredibly backward country could become the leading supplier of the rare-earth metal used in the lithium ion batteries that power hundreds of millions of intelligent phones and laptops. Lithium’s incredibly light weight and strong energy potential are considered by automakers to be the solution that makes a future of electric cars possible. The New Yorker reports that half the known lithium resources in the world could be waiting under a huge expanse of salt flats in Bolivia. Whether or not Boliva ever benefits from its lithium stash is not clear, according to experts. Boliva’s socialist government is hostile to the U.S., and its infrastructure is little a lot more developed than Afghanistan’s. Boliva needs to set up a twentieth-century economy before it can ever hope to enrich itself with lithium as a twenty-first century fuel.
Or become the venue of the next 21st century war.
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