The status of artisanal coal mining in Afghanistan: Using remote sensing to assess remaining artisanally mineable Jurassic coal resources

Abstract

Coal mining is critical to the functioning of the current Afghan economy providing jobs, tax revenue, and foreign exchange. Taxes on coal may constitute the Taliban Government’s single largest source of operating income. Prior to the start of mining, Afghanistan had between 215 M and 430 M tonnes of hypothetical category Jurassic coal resources at depths accessible to artisanal miners. Since 1940, between 51 M and 89 M tonnes of coal have been extracted. Technologically primitive mining practices result in suboptimal coal extraction from disorganized room and pillar mines leaving significant amounts of coal unmineable. Frequent tunnel collapse, gas and coal dust explosions, and uncontrolled widespread mine fires have destroyed or made inaccessible significant additional volumes of remaining artisanally mineable resources. The haphazard unmapped development of the existing Jurassic coal makes it impossible to redevelop these fields using more efficient mining technologies. If new mines are to be developed, they will have to tap subsurface coals not accessible to artisanal miners. 66 % of the area mapped as Lower to Middle Jurassic rock does not host outcropping coal beds. This area, as well as some of the areas beneath thin veneers of lowest Cretaceous sediment are potential exploration targets. Jurassic coals are very gassy. Developing coalbed methane prospects is a more effective and less environmentally destructive means to access the energy contained in the Jurassic coals.