Afghanistan has emerged as a new frontier in the rush to find mineral resources, but British mining companies continue to avoid the country.

Mohammad Ibrahim Adel, the Afghan Mining Minister, said last week that the country was sitting on enormous mineral wealth, including copper, iron, gold, coal and oil deposits. The Government hopes to entice foreign companies into the region and believes that mining will provide a way out of poverty for its people.

Despite the British involvement in removing the Taleban from power and the continuing mission to quell insurgencies within Afghanistan, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Anglo American and Xstrata have no plans to invest there.

Kazakhmys, which is listed in London but based in Kazakhstan, has looked at investing in Afghan assets but does not have operations there. The Western miners believe that there is too great a risk to their people and equipment to make an investment in Afghanistan worthwhile at present.

The Chinese, who have no such concerns, agreed a $3billion (£1.5billion) investment in the Aynak copper field, 40km (25miles) south of Kabul, in December. The China Metallurgical Group (CMG) beat bids by Phelps Dodge, of the United States, Hunter Dickson, of Canada, and Kazakhmys to take control of the deposit. CMG has committed to employing thousands of Afghans to build a power station, roads and a railway line at the mine site.

Aynak is thought to hold one of the world's largest untapped copper deposits, with about 13 million tonnes of reserves. The Afghan Government is expected to receive $400million a year in production royalties.

Mr Adel said that geological surveys of 10 per cent of the country had revealed huge deposits of copper, iron, zinc, lead, gold, silver, gems, salt, marble and coal. He intends to hire private security companies to enable foreign investors to set up. He said: “In five years' time Afghanistan will not need the world's aid money. In ten years, Afghanistan will be the richest country in the region.”

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