
In November 2007, a 30-year lease was granted for the copper mine to the China Metallurgical Group (MCC) for US$3 billion, making it the biggest foreign investment and private business venture in Afghanistan’s history. Allegations have persisted that the then-minister of mines obstructed the contracting process and accepted a large bribe to eliminate the other companies involved in the bid. The Afghan Mining Ministry estimates that the mine holds some six million tons of copper (5.52 million

Mes Aynak mine is said to be the second largest copper ore body in the world, with the deposit estimated to contain 5.5 million metric tons of high-grade copper ore. The contract awarded to MJAM ...

Mes Aynak is a site 40 km southeast of Kabul, located in a barren region of Logar Province. The site contains the world’s second largest copper deposit which looms

Mes Aynak, Seated Buddha. Photo Brent Huffman, "Saving Mes Aynak." Archeologists have uncovered countless priceless artefacts at an ancient Buddhist settlement south of Kabul: an ancient copper mine, a series of monasteries, and homes or workshops.

Apr 23, 2020 Field archaeology is dangerous. In Afghanistan, it can be incredibly dangerous. A Taliban attack on April 21, 2020 at the checkpoint at the Mes Aynak archaeological site and copper mine killed eight Afghan security personnel. Around the country Taliban attacks on Afghan forces and civilians have stepped up in an attempt to push back against the government's calls for a ceasefire. Meanwhile ...


Mes Aynak is home to an ancient Buddhist city and the largest undeveloped copper deposit in the world. Of historical, cultural and spiritual importance to Afghans and Buddhists alike, the copper deposit beneath the 20 ruin sites is now under threat of mining.

Mes Aynak (Pashto/Persian: مس عينک, meaning "little source of copper"), also called Mis Ainak or Mis-e-Ainak, is a site 40 km (25 mi) southeast of Kabul, Afghanistan, located in a barren region of Logar Province.Mes Aynak contains Afghanistan's largest copper deposit, as well as the remains of an ancient settlement with over 400 Buddha statues, stupas and a 40 ha (100 acres) monastery ...

Everything was set to be destroyed by this copper mine—the proposed dynamiting echoing the Taliban’s 2001 destruction of the giant Buddhas at Bamiyan. Then there is the environmental devastation from open-pit copper mining. As a result of copper extraction, Mes Aynak would become a toxic crater.

Mes Aynak (“little copper well” in Dari) refers to an archaeological site interpreted to comprise an ancient Buddhist monastic complex, city, devotional temples, ancient copper mining galleries, and hundreds of exceptional sculptures.

Mar 20, 2014 As MCC seeks to shelve much of the Mes Aynak deal, it also threatens a US$10.8 billion deal with an India-backed consortium to mine iron ore in the central highlands of Bamiyan province.

Jan 15, 2018 The Mes Aynak ore deposit is estimated to hold reserves worth $88B: the mining lease is China’s largest investment in Afghanistan, and Afghanistan’s largest foreign investment in the country’s history. The Mes Aynak ore is supposed to be high grade, at 2.3% copper, at a time when the average purity of copper ore being mined is less than 1%.

The word Mes A ynak literally means “little source of copper”, mes is ‘copper’, while aynak is a diminutive form of ayn, which means ‘source’ History:

The name of this place is understated: Mes Aynak, “little copper well.” There is nothing little about Mes Aynak. There is nothing little about Mes Aynak. In 2007 the Beijing-based China Metallurgical Group Corporation (MCC), leading a state-backed consortium, won rights to extract the copper

Saving Mes Aynak follows Afghan archaeologist Qadir Temori as he races against time to save a 5,000-year-old archaeological site in Afghanistan from imminent demolition. A Chinese state-owned mining company is closing in on the ancient site, eager to harvest $100 billion dollars worth of copper buried directly beneath the archaeological ruins.

Sep 22, 2012 Many mining experts have told me the toxic pollution from the mine will likely turn Mes Aynak into a site so toxic that in the future people will be advised against even setting foot on the ground.

Mes Aynak’s landscape is completely deforested today, and it’s possible that ancient copper smelting played a role in the area’s denuding—which in turn may have ended copper production.

May 31, 2013 Mes Aynak, a magnificent Buddhist city, is the most important archaeological discovery in a generation. But it is sitting on a vast copper deposit and is about to be destroyed. William Dalrymple ...

Feb 01, 2017 According to the film "Saving Mes Aynak," Metallurgical Group Corp. (MCC) and Jiangxi Copper are in the initial stages of building an open-pit copper mine

May 17, 2020 PUL-I-ALAM (Pajhwok): At least seven security guards of Mes Aynak copper mine have been killed and five others wounded in a Taliban attack in central Logar province, an official said Sunday.. Police chief Brig. Gen. Raham Khuda Mulkhis told Pajhwok Afghan News that the militants stormed a Mes Aynak security check-post in Mohammad Agha district late on Saturday night.

Mes Aynak’s landscape is completely deforested today, and it’s possible that ancient copper smelting played a role in the area’s denuding—which in turn may have ended copper production.

May 17, 2020 PUL-I-ALAM (Pajhwok): At least seven security guards of Mes Aynak copper mine have been killed and five others wounded in a Taliban attack in central Logar province, an official said Sunday.. Police chief Brig. Gen. Raham Khuda Mulkhis told Pajhwok Afghan News that the militants stormed a Mes Aynak security check-post in Mohammad Agha district late on Saturday night.

May 31, 2013 Mes Aynak, a magnificent Buddhist city, is the most important archaeological discovery in a generation. But it is sitting on a vast copper deposit and is about to be destroyed. William Dalrymple ...

Apr 16, 2018 About ten years ago, Chinese firms signed contracts to mine one of the world’s largest untouched copper deposits here, in a sparsely populated part of Logar province that feels remote despite being only 40 kilometres south-east of Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul.. Mes Aynak, meaning small copper

The Global Witness' report "Copper Bottomed? Bolstering the Aynak contract" released this week examined the economic, security, and ecological issues related to Mes Aynak and concluded the mine is not contracted at its real value. "Our report is the first

An excavated Buddhist stupa, or shrine, at Mes Aynak (Image: Jerome Starkey) “In general, during that time exploitation of the mine will not be possible without damaging the archaeological site,” Noori stated. This is easy to imagine as many remains sit right atop the mountain that was described as containing the main copper

The name of this place is understated: Mes Aynak, “little copper well.” There is nothing little about Mes Aynak. There is nothing little about Mes Aynak. In 2007 the Beijing-based China Metallurgical Group Corporation (MCC), leading a state-backed consortium, won rights to extract the copper

The word Mes A ynak literally means “little source of copper”, mes is ‘copper’, while aynak is a diminutive form of ayn, which means ‘source’ History:

May 23, 2013 The ruins of Mes Aynak straddle a copper deposit so rich that many of the rocks are brilliant green with oxidised ore from a seam of metal first exploited 5,000 years ago.

Sep 22, 2012 Many mining experts have told me the toxic pollution from the mine will likely turn Mes Aynak into a site so toxic that in the future people will be advised against even setting foot on the ground.

The April 2008 contract 1 between the Afghan government and the MCC-Jianxi Copper Consortium (also known as MCC-JCL Aynak Minerals Company 2) for the construction of the copper mine at Mes Aynak has been leaked, 3 enabling us to see what it really says about the proposed railway project.. Mes Aynak (meaning “little copper well” or similar) is in Logar province, around 35 km south of Kabul.

Apr 09, 2014 Mes Aynak Holds Centuries Old Buddhist Monk Relics - Duration: ... 6:45. Finding Something Unexpected in an Abandoned Copper Mine - Duration: 14:48. Exploring Abandoned Mines and Unusual Places ...

The April 2008 contract 1 between the Afghan government and the MCC-Jianxi Copper Consortium (also known as MCC-JCL Aynak Minerals Company 2) for the construction of the copper mine at Mes Aynak has been leaked, 3 enabling us to see what it really says about the proposed railway project.. Mes Aynak (meaning “little copper well” or similar) is in Logar province, around 35 km south of Kabul.

Jul 11, 2015 But it’s not Taliban fighters camped in nearby mountains who are threatening to destroy some 400 Buddhist treasures and a monastery complex dating back several thousand years that lie at the site of Mes Aynak. Instead it is a gigantic mining operation. A Chinese firm with a contract to dig up valuable copper