KABUL, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) — The Afghanistan Ministry of Mines and Petroleum has reported increase in its annual revenue, saying its revenue from 271 million afghani (some 3.9 million U.S. dollars) in 2016 jumped to 7 billion afghani (some 102.2 million U.S. dollars) in 2017, said a statement of the ministry released here on Sunday.
Acting Mines and Petroleum Minister Nargis Nehan has said that the ministry had collected its revenues from contracts with companies, enterprises and exploitation of small natural reservoirs.
“Revenues collected from enterprises in 2017 was over 4.5 billion afghani, from big contracts over 2.2 billion afghani and from small mines extractions 461 afghani,” the statement quoted the acting minister as saying.
It is mainly due to extensive mining and over-production of spodumene, (kunzite Laghman, Kunue and Noristan triplet provinces.
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Irregular and primitive mining would eventually deprive one of the most mineralogically-richest region in the world, from precious and semi-precious industrialm and commercial gems and minerals. It also could easily lead to environmental disasters of all kinds.
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Expanding mining activities, (in Lapis and other newly-found gems and minerals), are also rapidly increasing in various parts of province.
As an ancient beautiful stone, it has been extensively sought after, (all along through out the ancient and earlier modern history)- the popularity of Lapis lazuli has recently grown to its highest in the US and, in fact, all over the world.
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Overproduction has dropped the price to more than ten times since ten years- it currently comes mainly from one particular mine which produce all grades…