Officials at the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum said that the protection of mines, and transparency in the extraction policies and in the transfer of small mines, are priorities of the ministry.

Shahabuddin Delawar, acting head of the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, says the current extraction process at Logar's Mes Aynak copper mines is not satisfactory, but Chinese companies can keep continue work based on the contracts signed with the previous government.

“We tell the Chinese companies to come, and whatever kind of treaty they have signed with the previous government, we will proceed with the same treaty with them,” said Delawar.

The acting minister added that the officials of the previous government who had signed most of the mining contracts were motivated by self-interest.

“All the agreements that were been signed in the past were made in Dubai and were based on personal interests,” he said.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s Chamber of Industries and Mines says that mining exports have increased this year.

“We export daily around ten tons of coal, we export thousands of tons of Talc,” said Shirbaz Kaminzadah, head of Afghanistan’s Chamber of Industries and Mines.