Kabul: Afghanistan has
become the first country in the world to have its surface minerals mapped from
the air using broad scale hyper-spectral data.
The U.S.
Geographical Survey (USGS) has mapped some 70 percent of the country using an
advanced technique known as “hyperspectral imaging,” which involves using a
camera to capture sunlight reflected from the ground.
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| Mineral mapped image of Afghanistan. Photo: USGS |
Specific colors on
the mineral map reflect different natural minerals as well as man-made
minerals, vegetation, and snow.
USGS spokesman Alex
Demas maintains that the map will make it easier to identify and estimate
mineral deposits for international mining companies looking to invest in
Afghanistan, which is known to have vast reserves of oil, gas, copper, cobalt,
gold, and lithium.
“This imagery
allows us to identify with very good accuracy where certain types of materials
are," he says. "And this is very useful, especially for the mining
industry. In fact, the USGS and the Afghan Geological Survey have already
identified, using this information, 24 areas of high-profile mining interests.”
International
mining companies have made huge investments in Afghan mining in recent years.
The USGS gathered
the data over the space of 43 days from aircrafts travelling at a height of
15,000 meters.
The project was
funded by the U.S. Department of Defense’s Task Force for Business and
Stability Operations as well as by the Afghan government.
In developing the maps, more than
800 million pixels of data were generated. Over the course of 43 days and 28
flights, USGS flew nearly 23,000 miles (37,000 kilometers), collecting data
that covered approximately 170,000 square miles (440,000 square
kilometers).
The hyperspectral data collected
in Afghanistan have already allowed USGS and the Afghan Geological Survey to
identify several areas with a high potential for mineral formations.
These data are being used by the Afghan Government to develop information
packages to support mineral development in the country.