Mining

02:50

Is the US forcing Zambia to trade minerals for lives?

Zambia must decide by April 30 if it will provide American businesses with preferential access to its minerals.

DR Congo to establish US-backed paramilitary guard for mines

US hopes to secure access to critical minerals as DRC struggles with rebel groups for control of areas with reserves.

Afghan villagers turn to gold panning to sustain livelihoods

Afghan men draw water from Kunar River to sift through excavated mountainside stones in search of gold nuggets near mud-brick houses at the Kharwalu area of Naray district, Kunar province. [Wakil Kohsar/AFP]

Afghan men carry sacks of excavated mountainside stones before emptying them onto a sieve in search of gold nuggets. [Wakil Kohsar/AFP]

Men pour water over a sieve as they sift through mountainside stones. [Wakil Kohsar/AFP]

Men dig a mountainside and sieve stones in search of gold nuggets along the Kunar riverbed. [Wakil Kohsar/AFP]

A man digs a mountainside along the Kunar riverbed before sieving stones in search of gold nuggets in the Song area of Ghaziabad district, Kunar province. [Wakil Kohsar/AFP]

Najibullah Hanif, the province's information chief, says locals learned panning techniques from miners arriving from gold-rich provinces. [Wakil Kohsar/AFP]

"Some started to dig with machines, an excavator; some locals came and asked the Islamic Emirate (of Afghanistan) to stop them because it destroys the river and the mountains," said Hanif. [Wakil Kohsar/AFP]

Hanif estimates that thousands in Kunar now pan for gold using traditional methods sanctioned by authorities. [Wakil Kohsar/AFP]

Afghanistan's mineral wealth has increasingly attracted both domestic and international investors, with Taliban authorities actively promoting mining operations throughout the country. [Wakil Kohsar/AFP]