The Ministry of Mines of the Taliban has announced that it has given permission to extract the Panjshir emerald mine to about 550 companies.
Homayoun Afghan, the spokesman of the Ministry of Mines of the Taliban, said that 1,600 emerald mines have been registered in Panjshir province so far.
He added that before the rule of the Taliban, emerald mining in this area was done illegally, but now the mining process is done regularly and legally.
In the continuation of his statement, Mr. Afghan emphasized that all the mines have been identified and established and the products are offered in the form of an auction.
He announced that emeralds equivalent to 30 million dollars have been sold in 14 auctions so far.
The Taliban has claimed that it will hand over mining to the private sector, but critics say there is a lack of transparency in this process.
