Iraqs mineral wealth

[Goodlife]

Exert from Iraq mining conference last year in London http://www.iraqmining.com/

Between the 7th and 8th of September 2011 attendees were given a revealing insight into the massive potential of Iraq's mineral and materials industries and the billions of dollars of potential wealth which could be generated, not only for Iraq but the world at large. (Not including oil)

Referring to The Klondike gold-rush bonanza 200 years ago, one key-note speaker at Iraq Mining 2011 said: "I call this Iraq's Minerals Rush!"

The sheer size of Iraq's mining and mineral resources are breathtaking.

The conference was told natural deposits are some of the biggest in the world, including an estimated 600 million tonnes of native sulphur in the Mosul region, 10 billion tonnes of phosphates and 75 million tonnes of quartz sand under the Western Desert, 8 billion tonnes of limestone in Al Anbar and Suleimani, 50 million tonnes of salt in Al Anbar and Al Basrah. All these figures are thought to be conservative.

There's gold under the Western Desert and in Kurdistan where there are also is millions of tonnes of zinc, copper and marble. Iraqi geology is also favourable to the discovery of platinum.

The Conference heard the world's major mining and minerals companies are being offered deals worth billions of dollars, not only to extract but also convert Iraq's underground resources into key products for domestic and export markets.

[Laid Back]

Oil + minerals + Natural Gas

GO RV

[Luigi1]

Under British control in the early 1900s UK geologists located vast amounts of untapped silver, platinum, paladium, lithium, potash & other rare minerals deposits in addition to gold & copper.

Iraq also has vast amounts of unserveyed untapped natural gas fields ripe for exploration not even counting the known oil deposits.

The main choking point or bottle neck are the development of the fields & mines as well as building the infrastucture to get these resources to the global market place.

Iraq will have to build many times more off shore floating oil & gas terminals & dredge additional deep water ports to handle the mineral barges, freighter & container ships.

Iraq is indeed a very very wealthy nation with great future potentials just waiting for global developers to come in & facilitate the GOI.

On another note kinda off subject, Afghanistan & Iran has the rare minerals as well & could become the next Iraq if they put the economy before politics. All future eyes are on Iraq, then Iran & Afghanistan. The Middle & Near East have the potential to become the next global dominated economic zone. Iraq squandered for decade that potential as Iran & Afghanistan are now doing.

[mr john]

Nice post Goodlife. Not new to me but its good to remind the masses it can happen. Plus 1 to you.

[Inbedded HorseHead]

Goodlife, you should have posted this one that you posted on a different board:

Spotlight on Iraq gold as fog of war lifts

By : JOSÉ L. CARMONA

josec@caribbeanbusinesspr.com; cbprdigital@gmail.com

The recent discovery in Baghdad of what may be one of the world’s largest gold deposits could make Iraq a bigger producer of precious metal than oil, and help it pay its outstanding debt to Western countries stemming from the two Gulf Wars.

What’s more, the gold vein found in an eastern Baghdad neighborhood is expected to increase the area’s real estate prices with the influx of hundreds, if not thousands, of gold seekers, according to a report by another site.com.

As Iraq — with one of the world’s largest untapped oil deposits—continues to increase its oil production output for export, the discovery of large quantities of gold changes the economic landscape for the Middle Eastern country, noted James Méndez, president of Méndez Internet Management Services, an authorized money service business and Iraqi currency broker based in Puerto Rico.

“This means that in addition to large quantities of oil, Iraq will have one of the world’s largest gold deposits, which ensures the country will have plenty of money to pay its debts and to cover the cost of the upcoming revaluation of its currency, which should happen soon,” Méndez told CARRIBEAN BUISNESS online.

Mining operations continue in the upscale Aldajh area after the discovery of the existence of large quantities of gold in the soil, another site.com reported Wednesday.

For more than two years, exploration and drilling have been going on under the streets in the region, extending from Fudhaliyah to Obeidi, where low-lying water channels are used for the diversion of rainwater during flood seasons.

The drilling operations extend for several meters deep into the earth, except for longitudinal drilling spanning more than ten kilometers (6.2 miles), the online report said.

So far the mining has raised thousands of tons of earth, which has been set aside in order to extract the gold particles, the report said.

http://caribbeanbusi...d=68200&ct_id=1

Read more:

Edited August 19, 2012 by Inbedded HorseHead

[rockfl9]

Imagine the delema! Drilling for oil and only find gold.....Darn , gotta start over ....S*** happens. LOL.

[SocalDinar]

Thanks Good life.

Here is an article from March. I have not heard any current news regarding these other resources.

Kurdistan Needs to Search for Other Minerals, Experts Say

03/06/2012 22:23:00By NAWZAD MAHMOUD

SULAIMANI, Kurdistan Region -- The story of Kurdistan’s economic success, which has attracted dozens of companies large and small, has not yet gone beyond drilling for oil. But experts say Kurdistan possesses significant amounts of other valuable minerals.

Yusef Osman, a geology professor at Sulaimani University, wonders why the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has only looked for oil. He believes the discovery of other precious minerals would be a strong support to Kurdistan’s economy.

As an example, Osman points to nearly 120 million tons of iron in the Penjwen area on the border with Iran. He says that, at current market rates, Penjwen possesses around $5 billion worth of iron.

Osman has a 1987 map that shows gold in the Khourmal area, in eastern Sulaimani. He said there is gold in several areas of Iraqi Kurdistan, including the Qandil Mountains.

Ahmed Akreyi, head of the geology department at Erbil’s Salahaddin University, says according to geological maps of the country by former governments, there is gold and granite stone in the Shiler area of Penjwen.

“I don’t understand why they don’t even bring a company to look for gold,” said Akreyi. He added that some British and U.S. companies had promised to assist gold mining, but “the government did not cooperate or facilitate their work.”

Professor Kamal Haji Karim from Sulaimani University rejects the idea that there are large quantities of gold in Kurdistan.

“I don’t think there is so much gold that it could become an economic resource,” he says.

University professors in Kurdistan say that teams of Polish and Czech experts surveyed Kurdistan’s resources under the former regime of Saddam Hussein but the results were never published.

Osman believes one reason that has deterred the government from commissioning companies to search for minerals in Kurdistan is concern over the high cost of exploration. But he encourages the authorities to start the search.

But Mohammad Hasib, director of the geological survey and mineral inspection office in Sulaimani, says his institution does not even possess a simple tool such as a microscope.

He criticizes the KRG Ministry of Natural Resources for not providing the equipment and tools his office needs.

Hasib also says that the areas in Penjwen thought to be rich with minerals are dotted with landmines, making any exploration effort difficult and dangerous. He says it is also next to impossible to carry out any explorations in the Qandil Mountains as guerillas from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) are based there. The area is occasionally the site of heavy Turkish and Iranian bombardments.

“How can we do an inspection? We need a budget, equipment and labs,” Hasib says.

In the wake of the fall of Saddam’s regime in 2003, Hasib visited the Iraqi minister of industry to provide him with maps of the geological surveys of Kurdistan. Although Minister Mohammad Tofiq Rahim, a Kurd, offered to help, other authorities in Baghdad did not cooperate, says Hasib.

He also points to the discovery of a diverse array of marble and granite stones in the Qaradagh, Qaladize, Hiran, Penjwen, Bazyan and Mawat areas of Kurdistan

http://www.rudaw.net/english/kurds/4805.html

[sandstorm]

Unfortunately, just having the resources doesnt equate to a higher valued currency. iraqs needs to mine and pull these minerals out of the ground and export or import, selling these goods to increase gdp. Food for thought...a country would never value there currency on untapped resources, because everytime they drilled they would have less and tbeir currencies value would be on a continued decline. It would be impossible to accurately set a currencies value on reserves. Overvaluations and new finds would create too much instability, being that the main function of any central bank is price stability. but finding thes minerals and increasing gdp would be very benefifial.

[BBALL99]

Unfortunately, just having the resources doesnt equate to a higher valued currency. iraqs needs to mine and pull these minerals out of the ground and export or import, selling these goods to increase gdp. Food for thought...a country would never value there currency on untapped resources, because everytime they drilled they would have less and tbeir currencies value would be on a continued decline. It would be impossible to accurately set a currencies value on reserves. Overvaluations and new finds would create too much instability, being that the main function of any central bank is price stability. but finding thes minerals and increasing gdp would be very benefifial.

The world is getting ready to get back to asset based currencies

and Iraq's currency WILL BE set to the value of their reserves and

this is a fact not opinion. Sorry you were misinformed!

[doctor robbins]

Anybody who has been around for awhile knows how opinions and rumors are presented as facts. It is not a fact that the world is going to asset backed currencies. It's only a fact that it's being discussed. Beyond that it's all speculation.

[MrFnHappy]

Unfortunately, just having the resources doesnt equate to a higher valued currency. iraqs needs to mine and pull these minerals out of the ground and export or import, selling these goods to increase gdp. Food for thought...a country would never value there currency on untapped resources, because everytime they drilled they would have less and tbeir currencies value would be on a continued decline. It would be impossible to accurately set a currencies value on reserves. Overvaluations and new finds would create too much instability, being that the main function of any central bank is price stability. but finding thes minerals and increasing gdp would be very benefifial.

Spot on.

[BBALL99]

Anybody who has been around for awhile knows how opinions and rumors are presented as facts. It is not a fact that the world is going to asset backed currencies. It's only a fact that it's being discussed. Beyond that it's all speculation.

It's only speculation on the ones that don't know.

Just as the Iraq Dinar will shortly return to it's previous value

of above $3 so will the return of asset back currencies.

[one2one]

with their mineral wealth and oil-gas :

i could easily see an RV of $ 3.50---similar to Kuwait :

but will cash out now for 10 cents to 1 dollar

[rockfl9]

Iraq needs to do what the other arab oil producers have done. That is plan to invest a defined portion of income for the time when the oil income begins todecline..Managed..Income producing properties around the planet...But they are starting late and going SLOW.. The Saudis also learned that to get things done right you find the best talent for the job and put them in charge ... Unfortunately the Iraqi want to do it all by themselves , and that is where they are today,.

Edited August 19, 2012 by rockfl9

[Goodlife]

The point of the post is that Iraq has the resources to give it a broad and stable economic base and not just be a one trick pony with oil and gas like some other opec countries.

Iraq also has a fertile agricultural delta to feed its country.

Iraq has the potential to be the economic hub of the middle east and a major exporter to the world. This is early days. A perfect time to invest.

Asset backed economics is completely logical and will better withstand the imminent financial depression fueled by short sighted hollow financial instruments.

[Dalite]

The point of the post is that Iraq has the resources to give it a broad and stable economic base and not just be a one trick pony with oil and gas like some other opec countries.

Iraq also has a fertile agricultural delta to feed its country.

Iraq has the potential to be the economic hub of the middle east and a major exporter to the world. This is early days. A perfect time to invest.

Asset backed economics is completely logical and will better withstand the imminent financial depression fueled by short sighted hollow financial instruments.

Iraq has the Potential for a lot of things, but hasn't been able to convert it to a usable form for the last 2012 years.

Maybe this will be their year...