Ariana: [Taliban] Afghan Ministry of Mines and Petroleum said this week that 250 domestic and foreign firms have submitted their bids for the iron mine in Herat and lead mine in Ghor province. Esmatullah Burhan, a spokesman for the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, said that it is evaluating the bids and will soon announce the winners. The iron ore in Herat’s Ghoryan district is estimated to hold 18 million tons of iron. The lead mine in Ghor is also considered to be one of the largest lead mines in the region. “The [Taliban] government will collect a good amount of revenue from it. Hundreds of thousands of jobs will be generated directly or indirectly,” said Burhan. Click here to read more (external link).