AGMC Set to Become Largest Mining Co in Afghanistan Says Chairman

By Alex MacDonald LONDON--Afghan Gold and Minerals Company Ltd. is set to become Afghanistan's largest mining company after securing seven exploration licenses following the government's latest tender to develop copper and gold projects in the war-torn country. Last week, Afghanistan's ministry of mines announced that AGMC was the preferred bidder for two out of four gold and copper projects that were tendered. Afghanistan has been seeking to turn a page in recent years and create sustainable economic growth by developing its vast mineral wealth, which includes oil, copper, gold and iron ore, a key product used in steelmaking. AGMC won the tender to develop the Balkhab copper project in north central Afghanistan, while its joint venture, the Turkish-Afghan Mining Company, won the tender to develop the Badakhshan gold project in the mountainous terrain in northern Afghanistan. AGMC is already developing a gold project in the Baghlan province of Afghanistan that is close to production. The results of last week's tender "would probably make us the largest [mining group in Afghanistan] holding seven licenses in three locations," said Sadat Naderi, AGMC's chairman in an interview with Dow Jones Newswires. Afghan Gold and Minerals Company was established about three years ago by a consortium involving 19 investors, said Mr. Naderi, an Afghanistan entrepreneur who received the U.S. government's "Peace through Commerce" award this year and who has businesses ranging from insurance to supermarkets. AGMC is 51%-owned by Mr. Naderi through Afghan Krystal and 49%-owned by Afghan Gold Holdings, a company created by Guernsey-registered investment company CENTAR which includes several prominent businessmen including former JP Morgan & Chase Co. (JPM) mining investment banker Ian Hannam, former CEO of mining titan BHP Billiton Ltd (BHP) Chip Goodyear and Poland's richest man according to Forbes, Jan Kulczyk. AGMC already provides a series of mining services on the ground, including a drilling company and a laboratory services company in Afghanistan, Mr. Naderi said, and expects to start production at the roughly $1 billion Balkhab copper project as early as 2014. The Badakshan copper project, which is being developed through the Turkish-Afghan Mining Company, or TAMC, could begin production in 2013, he added. TAMC is 51%-owned by Eti Gumus, a Turkey-based gold silver and copper mining company with 10,000 employees, including 204 geologists and 241 mining engineers, and AGMC with a 49% stake in TAMC. The Afghanistan government also awarded the development of the Shaida copper project to Afghan Minerals Group, which is 67%-owned by the Supreme Group BV, a major provider of logistics and supply chain management with $6 billion in sales in 2011 and the remainder owned by local Afghanistan businessmen.

Just an article of interest - New thread started as didn't want to clutter an existing one.