Tourists visit Band-e-Amir National Park in Bamiyan province, Afghanistan, July 11, 2022. Once a popular destination for tourists, Afghanistan's central Bamiyan province has been gradually recovering from the war aftermath to attract sightseers, but the scarcity of accommodations has become a new problem.(Photo: Xinhua)

Talks are underway on the resumption of the Aynak Copper Mine in Afghanistan, the world's second-largest copper ore body, which had been put on hold due to multiple factors, including regional instability and the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an employee of the Chinese firm contracted to develop the mine on Sunday.

An employee of Chinese mining giant Metallurgical Group Corp (MCC), the company in charge of the Aynak copper project, told the Global Times that the talks with the corresponding Afghan authorities are underway regarding the project.

"We have around a dozen Chinese staff returning to Afghanistan to continue the ordinary dialogue with the local government while maintaining the camp at the mine," the employee said.

Chinese and Afghan officials have also been mentioning the restart of the project during recent meetings. A meeting between Wang Yu, Chinese ambassador to Afghanistan, and Sheikh Shahabuddin Delawar, Afghan minister of mine and petroleum, also covered the resumption of the mining project, according to the official website of the Afghan Ministry of Mines and Petroleum on Wednesday.  

During an interview with China Global Television Network on Thursday, the Afghan minister of mine and petroleum also said that the country's interim government is working to rapidly resume two projects with China, including the Mes Aynak copper mining project.

MCC won exploration rights for the copper mine project in Mes Aynak in 2007, making it one of the most high-profile Chinese investment projects in Afghanistan. The mine, which is believed to be the world's second-largest, has an estimated deposit of 5.5 million metric tons of high-quality copper ore, media reported.

But the project was put on hold due to regional instability and other issues.

The MCC employee told the Global Times that they have noted the news about Wednesday's meeting and are keeping a close eye on the situation.

Over a dozen of the company's Chinese employees have now returned to the country that the political situation in Afghanistan is relatively stable and the epidemic situation has eased, the employee said.

"Their [the Chinese staff's] job is to maintain communication with the Afghan government, and other work such as maintaining mining camps," the person said.

Due to several remaining factors, including regional long-term stability, COVID-19, and the transfer of antiquities from Aynak mine, there have been no substantive updates on the developments in the project, according to the employee.

"If the project is to be restarted, things like supplementary exploration and planning must first be carried out again, and there has not been any progress in these two steps at the moment," the employee said.

However, there has been a positive trend regarding the project and it will just be a matter of time should the corresponding factors be met, experts said.

The two sides have had close exchanges and interactions, with the Chinese side offering strong economic assistance that prompted Afghanistan's economic development, which has created good conditions for the resumption of copper mines, Qian Feng, director of the research department at the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University, told the Global Times on Sunday.

"As to when the mine operation can be resumed, it depends on the talks over this project, which after all, has been suspended for many years due to various factors," Qian said, noting that the signs for the project are positive.

"If the corresponding issues, including safety guarantees for the mining operation and the transfer of antiquities in the region, can be properly conducted, I believe the resumption will just be a matter of time," the expert said.