Munich, May 19, 2010 -- A delegation of the Afghan Ministry of Mines headed by H.E. Wahidullah Shahrani,
Minister of Mines, Afghanistan and Prof. Dr. A. Rahman Ashraf, Senior Advisor to the President for Mines and Energy have been invited by GAF to visit BAUMA trade show and perform a study trip to several mining operations in the vicinity of Munich. The program started with a visit to GAF headquarters in Munich.

Afghanistan has rich natural resources many of them still untapped. The development of this potential will be an important step towards the eradication of poverty and bringing peace and prosperity to Afghanistan. The proper management and regulation of the mining sector is essential for effective extraction of the largely unexploited minerals and hydrocarbons.

The Ministry of Mines (MoM) in Afghanistan is moving from being a producer of minerals and other commodities to a policy-maker, promoter and regulator. This is supported by a technical consultancy provided by GAF AG and being part of the World Bank funded “Sustainable Development of Natural Resources Project” (SDNRP). The consultancy specifically aims to establish and operate a Title Registry and Cadastre Department and to set-up a Mining and Hydrocarbons Inspectorate.

As part of the institutional capacity building and human resources development a study-trip was organised to Germany. It included meetings at GAF and with Bavarian Government, visits to BAUMA tradeshow and its mining section, as well as trips to a number of mining operations in the larger vicinity of Munich, which included underground and open pit mining, mineral processing.

The study trip succeeded in exposing members of the Ministry of Mines to current trends in world mining and in demonstrating state-of-the art mining operations and equipment. Also the environmental, health & safety aspects of mining have been covered. An exchange of experience and establishment of contacts between Afghanistan and Germany has been started.

About GAF AG – Germany
GAF AG, an e-GEOS, Telespazio company, is globally active and has an international reputation as a competent provider of project design, management and implementation services in the fields of geo-information, satellite remote sensing and spatial IT consultancy to private and public clients. Within the past 24 years, GAF has been active in more than 100 countries throughout Europe, Africa, South-America and Asia. More on GAF: www.gaf.de

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