The Plunder of Afghanistan: Resource Extraction Under the Taliban

Last Updated: February 19, 2026

In late December 2024, The New York Times featured an article by Azam Ahmed that attributed the collapse of the Afghan government primarily to the corruption of anti-Taliban militias. However, this narrative largely ignored the extensive history of human rights violations, regional terrorism, and systemic graft practiced by the Taliban and its international backers, including elements of the Pakistani intelligence apparatus. To understand the current crisis, one must look specifically at the period following the Taliban's return to power.

Economic Survival and Corruption Through Resource Extraction

While reports suggest that the United States has halted direct financial support to the Taliban, this has not destabilized the regime as some expected. The Taliban are fully aware that they sit atop a vast "treasure chest" of natural wealth.

(Afghanistan's rocky landscape contains underground minerals estimated to be worth a trillion dollars.)

In a global economy driven by high-tech manufacturing, including smartphones, semiconductors, and the massive infrastructure required for Artificial Intelligence (AI), Afghanistan’s reserves of rare earth elements and raw materials have become essential global commodities.

Recent reports prove that the Taliban regime is already successfully liquidating these assets. On a single Sunday, February 8, 2026 (19 Delu 1404), the Taliban generated over 14 million Afghanis from auctions in just three provinces:

• Nuristan: Earned 11 million Afghanis from the sale of 11,687 kg of precious stones, including kunzite and tourmaline.

• Kunar: Auctioned 474 kg of tourmaline for 22.3 million Afghanis, with over 2 million deposited directly into the Taliban treasury.

• Panjshir: Sold 7,513 carats of emeralds for approximately 6.7 million Afghanis.

These daily windfalls illustrate how the Taliban is securing its budget independently. This transition from foreign aid to "unaccounted income" from mines allows the administration to sustain itself while half of the country's population remains dependent on humanitarian assistance to survive.

Global Interest and the "Mining Gamble"

International reporting confirms that the Taliban are banking on the mining sector to stay afloat:

• France 24 notes that Afghanistan's deposits of emeralds, lithium, and copper are valued at nearly $1 trillion. While the World Bank reports a slight uptick in industrial growth due to these activities, critics point out that the Taliban leadership lacks the technical and economic expertise to manage these assets effectively. Consequently, major sites like the Mes Aynak copper mine are being operated by Chinese state-owned firms under favorable terms.

• The Washington Post highlights the regime’s strategic push to construct a highway through the Wakhan Corridor. By attempting to link the Afghan heartland directly to Chinese markets, the Taliban hope to transform the country into a regional trade hub, even if the resulting contracts favor foreign interests over the local population.

Systematic Discrimination in Infrastructure through Exploitation of Gemstones and Major Resource Sectors

Reports from Shafaqna Afghanistan reveal a troubling pattern of ethnic and religious bias in how mining revenue is used. The Ministry of Mines has reportedly traded the rights to lead and zinc deposits in the Shia-majority Bamyan province in exchange for infrastructure development, such as roads and hospitals, located exclusively in the Taliban's Pashtun strongholds of Kandahar and Uruzgan. This "discriminatory" policy effectively strips one of the country's most impoverished regions of its wealth to benefit the regime's political base.

(Taliban minister Badri in Bamyan.)

The exploitation of high-value gemstones and energy resources has become the primary financial lifeline for the regime, providing immediate liquidity. Recent reports from Shafaqna Afghanistan highlight the staggering scale of this "auction-style" economy: on a single day, February 8, 2026 (19 Delu 1404), the Taliban generated over 14 million Afghanis from selling precious stones across three key provinces.

• The Gemstone Auction: This daily windfall included the sale of 11,687 kg of kunzite and tourmaline in Nuristan for 11 million Afghanis, and 474 kg of tourmaline in Kunar. In the Panjshir Valley, once the heart of anti-Taliban resistance, 7,513 carats of emeralds were auctioned. Critics argue these sales are often conducted far below global market value to ensure quick cash flow for the Taliban treasury.

(Rough emerald crystals from Panjshir Valley Afghanistan (2016))

• Gold and Heavy Metals: Beyond gemstones, mining for precious metals is now "rampant" in Badakhshan and Takhar, involving Chinese companies in the extraction of gold reserves estimated at 2,700 kg (worth approximately $170 million). This "indiscriminate" extraction has led to severe environmental destruction; in the Panj River, gold drilling has reportedly diverted the river's course toward Tajikistan.

• Coal and Energy Poverty: The coal sector remains a cornerstone of the regime’s revenue. Customs revenue from coal exports to Pakistan has skyrocketed from 1.8 billion Afghanis (pre-takeover) to over 12 billion Afghanis today.

• Balkhab: To secure these assets, the Taliban has utilized military force. Following a violent military crackdown against the local Shiite population in Balkhab in 2022, the regime secured control over massive coal and copper deposits. Today, while millions of Afghans face extreme energy shortages during harsh winters, the regime prioritizes exporting these resources to regional partners like Uzbekistan to maintain their own trade balances.

(Coal trucks from Balkhab, Afghanistan, on 21 June 2022)

Conclusion: A Trillion-Dollar Wealth Under Hungry Feet

As the United States remains paralyzed by shifting policies and the unresolved issue of billions in abandoned military hardware, regional powers are moving in to fill the vacuum. By failing to establish a clear, long-term strategy toward the Taliban, the U.S. appears to be yielding its global influence to neighboring countries that are "creating facts on the ground."

However, this geopolitical shift comes at a devastating price for the Afghan people. While the Taliban secures its budget through what opponents call the "plunder" of national resources, over 21 million people—half the country's population—remain dependent on humanitarian aid. The lack of transparency in how this mining revenue is spent is matched only by the environmental destruction it leaves behind.

In the northeastern Panj River, for example, gold drilling has reportedly forced the river to change its course toward Tajikistan, causing severe ecological damage. Those who dare to protest this indiscriminate extraction face lethal consequences; in Takhar province, the Taliban recently suppressed demonstrations against mining operations, resulting in the deaths of three protesters. Ultimately, Afghanistan’s natural wealth has become a source of repression and instability rather than a path to progress.

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