Did a bit of research this morning which you may find interesting.
Iraq has proven oil reserves of 143.1 billion barrels, the world's 2nd
largest. Other mineral resources that exist in significant quantities in
the region include coal, copper, gold, iron, limestone (which is used
to produce cement), marble, and zinc.
Afghanistan has 2.9
billion barrels of crude oil, 15.7 trillion cubic feet of natural gas,
and 562 million bbl of natural gas liquids. Other reports show that the
country has huge amounts of lithium, copper, gold, coal, iron ore and
other minerals. This includes 1,000,000 metric tons of rare earth
elements, as well as a huge iron ore deposit in central Afghanistan.
Government officials estimate that 30% of the country's untapped mineral
deposits are worth between $900 bn and $3 trillion.
Libya
holds the largest proven oil reserves in Africa and natural gas reserves
which when discovered led to the transformation of Libya's economy from
a poor country to (then) Africa's richest. Libya has reserves of
Uranium and a number of other mineral deposits, which include clay,
gypsum, iron, lead, salt, sodium carbonate, and stone
Algeria.
Its crude oil production stands at around 1.1 million barrels/day.
Algeria has the 10th-largest reserves of natural gas in the world, some
160 trillion cubic feet. Algeria has rich deposits of minerals, such as
high-grade iron ore, phosphate, mercury, Gold, Lead, Silver, and Zinc
as well as Helium (vital for the health industry and getting rarer) and
Liquefied Natural Gas.
Mali has Gold. At the end of the 20th
century Mali had the third highest gold production in Africa. Gold
mining in Mali has increased dramatically, while there remain
considerable proven reserves of other minerals (deposits of copper and
diamonds) not currently exploited. Other mining operations include
kaolin, salt, phosphate, and limestone. The government is trying to
generate interest in the potential of extracting petroleum from the
Taoudeni basin.
What is the motivation for this war on terror?
