Afghanistan (2005-2007)

These works were carried out as part of the project "Development aid to Afghanistan for restoring the functioning of geological institutions focusing on the utilisation of mineral resources". The aim of the project was to assist in the reconstruction of geological institutions in Afghanistan, with the training of Afghan experts, the transference of modern know-how and the expert evaluation of selected mineral deposits. G E T s.r.o. was the principal project solver and also closely involved in the project were the Faculty of Science of Charles University in Prague and the Czech Geological Survey. On the Afghan side, the work on the project was coordinated by the Afghanistan Geological Survey, the Kabul Polytechnic and the University of Kabul.

The entire project was divided into five phases:

• a methodological section;
• the solving of specific projects;
• an educational section;
• geological research;
• the provision of equipment.

The individual activities carried out during the methodological section of the project were focused on the preparation of modern manuals for the designing, implementation and interpretation of the results of geological works; mining and geological documentation, mine surveying works, the methodology of the EIA studies and programmes for reducing the impact of mining and of the processing of mineral resources. All these procedures were applied in practice to examples in the field – i.e. deposits of gypsum (Suah Ab in Herat), of marble (Cheste Sharif in Herat), of limestone for cement use (Jabal Serag in Parvan) and of coal (Calaw in Kabul).

Concrete projects of geological works in the course of which employees of the Afghan Geological Survey were trained were carried out directly in the field in locations selected by the Afghan Ministry of Mines and Industry.

This include the following deposits:

• gypsum – Syah Aab (Herat) - Chvadja Djir;
• marble – Cheshte Sharif (Herat);
• marble – Gazak (Kabul);
• cement raw materials for the Jabal Serag cement plant (Parvan);
• coal – Calaw (Kabul).

A tangible example of our work is the verification of the Cheshte Sharif marble deposit located cca. 160 km east of Herat. White and grey marble of a very high quality was identified at this site. In the context of the geological work the size of the deposit was verified and mapped and a calculation of the reserves was carried out. A block of marble there can reach a volume as large as 70 m3 and its quality is very high. The marble is suitable for both indoor and outdoor use. Apart from the use of the marble as a decorative stone it was verified that it is also suitable for the production of lime and, to a limited extent, also of micronised limestone. In total 24 million m3 of prognostic reserves of raw materials were quantified at the site.

A body of gypsum 4,900 m long and 150 m wide was identified at the Syah Aab deposit located cca. 42 km northeast of the city of Herat. A total quantity of cca. 36 million m3 of gypsum of varying quality was estimated to be there.

Prospecting was additionally commenced in the vicinity of the Jabal Seraj Cement Plant (cca. 70 km north of Kabul) in order to provide a source of raw material for the construction of a new plant for the production of cement. Investigated in that area were the following sites: Qalae Shatutak, Dehe Bala, Qalatak, Kaftarchana and Panjshir Valley. At some locations the prognostic reserves of raw material for producing cement were calculated. The methodology of the environmental impact assessment (EIA), including SWOT analysis and a screening study, was prepared for the purpose of extracting the raw materials for cement at the Jabal Seraj site.

The mine surveying works, the technological surveying of coal and the assessment of the suitability of materials for energetic use in Kabul and its wider surroundings were carried out at the Calaw coal seam approximately 30 km southeast of the capital Kabul.

The educational section of the project included the organising of several specialised courses, seminars and field excursions in Afghanistan, in which, in addition to the Czech experts, the staff of the Kabul Polytechnic University and the Kabul University also participated. The main topics of the learning block were petrology, tectonics, microscopy and geographic information systems. Several manuals and posters for educational purposes were printed in Persian and in Pashto. Microscopes, computers, printers, digital cameras, GPS surveying instruments and other laboratory equipment were donated to both of the above universities.

As part of this programme Afghan experts visited the Czech Republic several times, where they were trained in Prague for 4-5 weeks at a specialised workplace of the Faculty of Science of Charles University in Prague.

Significant results were achieved in the course of a petrological and structural survey of selected rocks of the Kabul block carried out by Czech specialists. Structural and petrographic profiles were implemented in different parts of the Kabul block. In total 80 petrographic and geochemical samples were collected that were then evaluated in the Czech Republic and the results were discussed in specialised publications. The new data concerning the age of the tectonic development of metamorphosis of this block are very important for understanding the geological evolution and the metallogenesis of this section of the Alpine-Himalayan zone.

The entire project was concluded in October 2007 with the organising of an international conference entitled "Geology and mineral deposits of Afghanistan - First meeting on rehabilitation of geological research in Afghanistan".

 

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