KABUL - Eighty-six contracts for small and medium size mines in various provinces have been signed with the private sector this year, while four major mining contracts will be finalized soon, the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum said on Tuesday.  
Mines Ministry spokesman Mohaiuddin Noori told a press conference here that the 86 contracts had been signed with different private sector companies during the past four months to develop the riches in accordance with the relevant law.
Under the contracts, deposits of gas, salt, coal, marble, talc, chromites, plaster, precious and semi-precious stones would be developed in 34 provinces of Afghanistan.    
Noori said the deals had been signed considering the principles of transparency, control and profitability for the private sector and the government.
He said execution of the contracts would provide more than 2,000 job opportunities directly and 10,000 indirectly to residents of various areas of the country.
President Ashraf Ghani always stressed transparency that must be observed especially in the financial field, Noori said, but did not mention the value of government’s potential income from the contracts.   
He said the four major contracts about copper deposits in Sar-i-Pul’s Balkhab, Herat’s Shidai and gold mines in Badakhshan and Ghazni’s Zarkashan had been completed and sent to the High Economic Council for approval. Some other mines’ contracts were also open to bidding, the official said.

The joint security commission had prevented illegal extractions at 120 mines and 64 lorries full of lapis lazuli stone seized since the start of the current year.(Pajhwok)