Afghanistan has become the first country in the world to have its surface minerals mapped from the air. About 70 percent of the area of country has been mapped using an advanced remote sensing technique known as hyperspectral imaging. The project was led by the U.S. Geological Survey in close collaboration with NASA, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Mines and Afghanistan’s Geological Survey organization.

The survey revealed a substantial variety of rare-earth mineral deposits, in addition to more information about iron, copper, and gold deposits in the country. Releasing the findings of the imaging survey of Afghanistan in Washington recently Afghan Ambassador to the US, Eklil Ahmad Hakimi hailed the use of hyperspectral imaging technology for providing more in-depth, credible information to further build Afghanistan’s growing minerals market. 

AIR Kabul correspondent reports, the U.S. Geographical Survey has mapped nearly 70 percent of the Afghanistan using hyper-spectral imaging technology. In this technique airborne hyperspectral sensors collect light reflected from the earth. Different materials reflect different lights and the minerals can be easily identified due to their unique light spectra. 

This helps in identifying the composition of materials at the surface, such as minerals, vegetation, mountains and man-made structures. In addition this technology allows large geographic areas to be mapped quickly and accurately. It can also be used in forcasting natural hazards, agricultural conditions and infrastructure development. 

The hyper-spectral images of Afghanistan clearly show the enormous size and variety of its mineral resources which can make the country a world leader in the minerals sector.