Adding vast mineral wealth to Afghanistan is not going to help the situation any. Vast resource wealth in poorly run countries is a recipe for a corruption and violence.

Heck, when you compare similar places like Nigeria, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Saudi Arabia, it looks like a smart corrupt dictatorship might be the best option.

On the plus side for Afghanistan, most of the wealth doesn't seem to be in materials that can be easily extracted and sold on the black market. Heavy metal mining usually means large, well organized mines, so they can be more easily controlled and guarded by the central power of the country.

Jay