JPMorgan Sends Mining Team To Afghanistan

New York Times:

WASHINGTON -- Mining companies around the world are eager to exploit Afghanistan's newly discovered mineral wealth, but executives of Western firms caution that war, corruption and lack of roads and other infrastructure are likely to delay exploration for years.

A few high-risk investors are sufficiently intrigued by the country's potential to take an early look. JP Morgan, for instance, has just sent a team of mining experts to Afghanistan to examine possible projects to develop.

Read the whole story: New York Times

Comments

[mjc]

10:02 AM on 06/28/2010

Very few comments on China's interest in those deposits and their willingness to work with the Afghans and vice-versa. The Chinese seem to view these resources as a long term investment, whether or not there is corruption in Afghanistan and whether or not there is a possibility of finding deposits only to have the land taken back by the Afghans. If they put their money into the machines, the railroad to take the deposits out, that will be good enough for them. Think there is a very different in the US and other western nations about that.

[bhopal-carbide]

05:01 PM on 06/22/2010

One can only hope the Taliban will do us the honor...

[ReesieKitty]

03:47 PM on 06/21/2010

Is anyone honestly surprised by this??

[JTHC75]

03:06 PM on 06/21/2010

Hilarious that people are pointing fingers at the GOP over this. Who runs the gov't? Who runs JP Morgan?

[Sarah Honea]

12:24 PM on 06/21/2010

To the Plants in the comment section---Go back to the RNC in shame.

I will give a third grade explanation to why this is completely Immoral:

When someone says they are going to stop a bad person from causing pain to innocent people at home and abroad--That is a worthy cause.

When someone says they are changing their cause to get things of value from people we are fighting against, and those we swore to protect. The cause is no longer worthy-but ignoble and amoral.

The Russia knew about the wealth-That is why they wagged the dog-and that is why we played along with the Mujaheddin and Bin Laden whom we have trained in CIA tactics in the 1980's.

During the Bush I- Bush II administrations we were working hand in hand with the Taliban.

Only recently with Bush II did we retaliate in the same way we retaliated against Saddam-also a person we embraced and gave Biological weapons two with both arms.

This is about resouces and money-There was never a true imperative of justice whatsoever. The America Before WWII and After are two markedly different countries. Because the War profiteers left Europe and set up shop in the Federal Reserve. Which might I add is private for profit bank with the sole power of printing as much or as little of our countries currency.

If you think JP does not have a generous seat at hat the Federal Reserve Think again.

[Bcasey11]

12:08 PM on 06/21/2010

what can you expect from the NYT who told us saddam had nukes under his bed

[dantanna]

12:00 PM on 06/21/2010

who is paying for the security of these people sent by JP?

[Bcasey11]

12:07 PM on 06/21/2010

blackwater I bet, any little kids get near them, they'll blast them away

[DebtNavigation]

11:14 AM on 06/21/2010

Can we just paint the Afghans blue and call the place Pandora?

Listen, children, to a story
That was written long ago,
'Bout a kingdom on a mountain
And the valley-folk below.

On the mountain was a treasure
Buried deep beneath the stone,
And the valley-people swore
They'd have it for their very own.

So the people of the valley
Sent a message up the hill,
Asking for the buried treasure,
Tons of gold for which they'd kill.

Came an answer from the kingdom,
"With our brothers we will share
All the secrets of our mountain,
All the riches buried there."

Now the valley cried with anger,
"Mount your horses! Draw your sword!"
And they killed the mountain-people,
So they won their just reward.

Now they stood beside the treasure,
On the mountain, dark and red.
Turned the stone and looked beneath it...
"Peace on Earth" was all it said.

Go ahead and hate your neighbor,
Go ahead and cheat a friend.
Do it in the name of Heaven,
You can justify it in the end.
There won't be any trumpets blowing
Come the judgment day,
On the bloody morning after....
One tin soldier rides away.

[tuam49]

10:41 AM on 06/21/2010

An awful lot needs to be done before any extraction is done.
the political situation has to be stabilized.
there is no infrastructure to move the extracted material.
two problems that come first

[Core-Sample]

10:35 AM on 06/21/2010

Destroy, Profit! Destroy, Profit! Destroy, Profit!

[Bcasey11]

12:08 PM on 06/21/2010

the washington pro-war party is having a ball

[scorpioleidy]

10:20 AM on 06/21/2010

What the ... ??? So ... it's legal for companies outside of Afghanistan to go over & l00t that country now?

[scorpioleidy]

10:19 AM on 06/21/2010

So ... it's legal for companies outside of Afghanistan to go over & l00t the country now? WTF!

[RickshawJohnson]

10:24 AM on 06/21/2010

Hello goofball, this is reality.

JPM is not going over there to loot their mines. They are sending experts over there to verify the legitimacy of those mines, so that when a mining company that is seeking funding for projects related to these reserves, JPM will have an accurate idea of expectations for these projects. It is called due dilligence, you might want to practice some yourself.

[tuam49]

10:41 AM on 06/21/2010

a true statement by rw

[newtom]

03:07 PM on 06/21/2010

exactly

[guveqzero]

08:50 AM on 06/21/2010

Econ 101, don't give your industries away. And, you can't just make an economy out of buyers. Instead, let's get JPMorgan to invest the money in US factories instead of Afghanistan minerals. Not enough potential return? Then, take away the US backstop of this corporation and kick them out from the Federal Reserve.

[newtom]

03:07 PM on 06/21/2010

They can afford both.

[forestnfama]

06:47 AM on 06/21/2010

As always in wars the spoils go to the victors. GW bought this war lock stock and barrel...... Does anyone believe that we went over there just to save the women. Unfortunately, the lives of American soldiers have paid for this right to continue to get bogged down in a neo cons nightmare.
Oh my God, So much wealth so close but so far away........like a junkie without a needle..........Lord Cheney.........What hath thou done...........

[bob1567]

08:49 AM on 06/21/2010

Obama a neocon now?

Who knew.

[tuam49]

10:42 AM on 06/21/2010

you still do not

[quietdynamics]

03:29 AM on 06/21/2010

JP Morgan embarking on yet another high risk gamble....a little slow on the uptake. China
Metallurgical Group has a $2.9B agreement since Dec. 2007 to extract copper.

The largest growth industry in employment is the US is the military with 2011 DOD goal of 1,406,000 active military strength (then add in commissioned, civilian, manufacturers, infrastructure support,reserves, etc) during an undeclared war.

More than $940B+ spent in Afghanistan......$1 trillion would cover that.

[NevaforLeadership]

07:09 AM on 06/21/2010

Here's how it works:

JP Morgan is not in the mining business. It is in the financing business. It is not funded by taxpayers (bailout funds have been repaid with dividends).

Many companies like JP Morgan will raise the money for the various companies that will develop various mineral deposits in Afghanistan. The Afghan government has invited approximately 200 investors to take a look at various potential projects -- not just the copper project to be developed by China Metallurgical Group. The latter company has public subsidiaries, so it may even be planning for a public subsidiary to be involved. That would mean raising money in a public offering.

No JP Morgan and the like; no development of the vast deposits; no development and no additional jobs and improved lives for Afghanis, let alone jobs for Americans, if a client of JP Morgan were to win any bids.

[tuam49]

10:43 AM on 06/21/2010

yes nevator, all true