Ariana: Local officials in Panjshir have announced the discovery of over 1,600 emerald mines in the province, with extraction currently underway at 600 sites. Over the past year, the extraction of emeralds from 600 mines in Panjshir has yielded 100,000 carats, valued at approximately $6.9 million. Click here to read more (external link).
Afghanistan International: Over the past two years, the Taliban has repeatedly auctioned Panjshir emeralds. Due to the economic crisis, the group has focused on extracting Afghanistan’s mines, a practice that Taliban opponents consider illegal due to the Taliban’s lack of legitimacy. Click here to read more (external link).
Ariana: Mohammad Qasim Amiri, the head of the Mines and Petroleum Department in Panjshir said the deposits were found in Parian district. Amiri stated that approximately 1,250 emerald deposits have now been identified in the province. Since the Islamic Emirate [Taliban] took control of the country, local authorities in Panjshir have overseen the extraction and
AFP: In Afghanistan’s Panjshir Province, former police officers and soldiers scrape together a living by digging emeralds out of the frigid Hindu Kush Mountains. Click here to read more and view photos (external link).
Fox News: It has been dubbed Afghanistan’s Green Zone: A pocket of paradise amid the bloody, conflict-ravaged country — both a hidden gem and full of gems. Specifically, they are world-class emeralds seemingly just waiting to be mined. Located some 80 miles along a snaking road northeast of Kabul via Bagram, the Panjshir Valley boasts stark