Afghanistan

In 2024, Afghanistan was the world’s 11th-ranked producer of talc, accounting for 2.6% of global production. Other mineral commodities produced in the country included cement, chromite, fluorspar, precious and semiprecious gemstones, gypsum, salt, sand and gravel, steel, and crushed and unspecified stone. Production of mineral commodities represented only a minor part of the economy of Afghanistan. Afghanistan exported talc to Turkey and Uzbekistan. The legislative framework for the mineral sector in Afghanistan is provided by the Minerals Law of 2019 and the Mining Regulations of 2019. 

The Ministry of Mining and Petroleum (MoMP) oversees the mineral sector and assigns new mining licenses and contracts. Mineral resources in the country were fully owned by the Government. The exploration, production, processing, and trade of most mineral commodities required licenses and were operated by domestic private companies, and major exploration projects were conducted by Chinese companies. Talc production is predominantly concentrated in Nangarhar Province.