AFGHANISTAN is becoming a classic case of the resource curse. Riven with factional fighting and reliant on a conflict economy, the theories of the resource curse are highly applicable to Afghanistan, presenting a gloomy prognosis of its economic and political future.

Despite the much-touted claims of $1 trillion in untapped mineral potential, Afghanistan has failed to realise that potential due to internecine conflict amongst various factions. On the one hand, there is a major division between the northern factions and the Interim Afghan Government, better known as the Afghan Taliban. On the other, there is an intense rivalry within the IAG between the Kandahari faction led by Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada and the Haqqani faction based in Kabul. There are rich mineral deposits in the north and east of Afghanistan where Tajiks, Uzbeks and Hazaras mostly live. These groups resent any extraction of natural resources on their lands through IAG-sponsored projects.

The case of the Aynak copper mine offers interesting insights into the non-viability of the project. Problems include increased cost due to underground versus open-pit mining, lack of water for on-site smelting, high logistics cost for transportation of minerals away........

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