The biggest iron ore deposit in Asia is likely to be claimed by an Indian or Chinese firm after the two nations dominated the tender shortlist for Afghanistan's huge Hajigak reserve. Five Indian firms, a state-owned Chinese company and a joint Pakistani and Saudi venture now have three months to bid for the mining rights.
Analysts said China and India were keen to secure mineral supplies for their rapidly growing economies.
Thirty years of invasion, civil war and insurgency have meant the ore has never been mined despite being comprehensively mapped in the 1960s.
Exploiting the vast deposit 80 miles west of Kabul is a cornerstone of plans to build up the Afghan economy and in turn defeat the stubborn Taliban-led insurgency.
A British Geological Survey report on the Hajigak deposit said it was an "exceptionally favourable target for economic development".
Bidders will be expected to help construct an Afghan steel industry from the deposit, which is close to a large supply of coking coal at nearby Shabashak.
Muhammad Ibrahim Adel, Afghanistan's minister for mines, said bids should include offers to build infrastructure including a steel plant, a rail link and a replacement for an ageing fertilizer factory.
He told The Daily Telegraph: "This deposit is the mother of the steel industry in Afghanistan and it will give us a very good opportunity to develop the economy and create jobs for people and transfer technology. "I hope that the mining industry will develop the infrastructure of Afghanistan more than 50pc."
Developing Hajigak in the mountainous Bamiyan province could create 10,000 jobs in mining and another 10,000 in the steel industry he said.
Source: Daily Telegraph
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