The psalmist speaks of a thirst that is satisfied by the Lord as by “the riches of a banquet.” War-torn Afghanistan, one of the poorest nations on earth, is sitting on untold mineral riches that could eventually transform the country into one of the most important mining centers in the world, U.S. officials report.

An internal Pentagon memo states that Afghanistan could become the “Saudi Arabia of lithium,” a key raw material in the manufacture of batteries for laptops and BlackBerrys. The nation’s mineral deposits also include huge veins of iron, copper, cobalt, and gold.

The value of the newly discovered reserves dwarfs the size of Afghanistan’s existing economy, based largely on opium production and narcotics trafficking as well as aid from the United States and other industrialized countries.

The discoveries, however, will almost certainly have a double-edged impact. Observers point out that instead of bringing peace, the mineral wealth could lead the Taliban to battle even more fiercely to regain control of the country.

The corruption that is already rampant in the government could also be amplified by the new wealth, particularly if a handful of well-connected leaders gain control of the resources. Just last year Afghanistan’s minister of mines was accused by American officials of accepting a $30 million bribe to award China the rights to develop its copper mine. The minister has since been replaced.

With virtually no mining industry or infrastructure in place today, it will take decades for Afghanistan to exploit its mineral wealth fully. “This is a country that has no mining culture,” said Jack Medlin, a geologist in the United States Geological Survey’s international affairs program. “They’ve had some small artisanal mines, but now there could be some very, very large mines that will require more than just a gold pan.”

Commentators questioned the timing of the disclosure of mineral wealth, coming at a time when the war in Afghanistan is not going well. The nation’s mining potential has been well known for many years, but despite centuries of attention Afghanistan’s natural resources have proved difficult to extract. Companies looking to exploit Afghanistan’s natural resources today would face major security and logistical challenges, skeptics say.

Source: Articles by James Risen for the New York Times, Jason Linkins for the Huffington Post, Gregg Carlstrom for Aljazeera.net, Justin Rohrlich for MinyanvilleMedia.org, and NPR.org