The mineral wealth of Afghanistan is at present almost entirely undeveloped, the late Amir, Abdur Rahman, being possessed by an instinctive animus against company promoters and concession hunters. Habib Ullah, too, has not yet made any sign of permitting the evident resources of the country to be exploited. The localities, in which deposits are known to exist, are shown in the accompanying table:

Mineral.Locality.
GoldLaghman and adjoining districts.
SilverPanjshir Valley.
Iron oreBajaur; Permuli district and Hindu Kush.
Copper oreVarious districts.
LeadUpper Bangash, Shinwari country, Kakar country, and in neighbourhood of Herat.
Lead with antimonyAt Argandab; in the Wardak hills; Ghorband valley; Afridi country.
AntimonyShah-Maksud.
Silicate of zincZhob valley.
SulphurHerat; Hazara country; Pirkisri.
Sal-ammoniacPirkisri.
GypsumPlain of Kandahar.
CoalZurmat; near Ghazni; Afghan Turkestan.
NitreSouth-western Afghanistan.

Among the industries of Afghanistan, exclusive of the agricultural activities of a large section of the people, the production of silks, the manufacture of felts, postins and rosaries, the cultivation of turmeric and ginger, and horse-breeding occupy important positions.

Silk is produced in considerable quantity at Kandahar, which is also the centre of other arts and crafts that afford occupation and support to numerous families. The quality of silk Kandahar is capable of much improvement. The cocoons are small, of unequal size and of different colours—yellow, white and grey. The majority of the worms are reared in neighbouring villages, but principally in those along the Argand-ab, where also the mulberry-trees are most abundant. The value of the mulberry-trees around Kandahar is estimated at several lakhs. The whole of the silk produced in the district pays a tax to the Government and its sale without permission is prohibited.

The manufacture of sheepskin coats is an important industry which once made Kandahar province its centre. Of late years the trade has so greatly increased, owing to the demands for this article from India, that other districts have devoted themselves to it with equal success. The leather is prepared and made up in Kandahar, Ghazni and Kabul on an extended scale, thus giving occupation to many hundreds of families. The method of manufacture is not without interest. The dried, unshorn sheepskin is immersed in running water until it is soft and pliant, while at the same time the wool is thoroughly washed with soap. After this the fleece is combed and the skin stretched on a board, when the inside surface is smeared with a thin paste, composed of equal parts of fine wheaten and rice flour, to which is added a small proportion of finely-powdered salt. This dressing is renewed daily for five or six days, throughout which time the pelt is exposed to the sun. Before the conclusion of this process the skin is again cleansed, washed and dried, after which all superfluous growths are removed. The surface is then treated with a tanning mixture made of dried pomegranate rinds, powdered alum, red ochre and sweet oil. After some days, when the requisite suppleness has been gained, this preparation is scraped off.

In the western districts a mixture of alum and white clay is used in preference to the pomegranate rinds. In such cases the skins, when cured, are white and somewhat coarser to the touch than those prepared with pomegranate rinds. In the Kabul process the pomegranate rind is used most freely; as the Kabul skins are prepared with the greatest care, they are esteemed more than those of Ghazni and Kandahar. Before the tanning is completed the skins are handed over to tailors, who reduce them to strips of 2 feet long by 4 or 5 inches wide, from which they make three varieties of coats. One class comprises small coats with short sleeves and requires only two or three skins; another description reaches to the knees and is furnished with full sleeves fitting close to the arm. This takes five or six pelts. A third pattern forms a large loose cloak of capacious dimensions extending from head to heel and furnished with long sleeves, very wide above the elbow and very narrow below it; it also projects several inches beyond the tips of the fingers. These require ten or twelve skins. Usually the edges and sleeves of the coats are embroidered with yellow silk. The completed articles cost from one to fifty rupees, according to size and finish. They are well adapted to the climate of the country; except in exposure to rain, when they are reversed, the woolly side is worn next the body. The full-length coat is a very cumbrous dress and is usually only worn in the house; it serves alike for bed, bedding, or as a cloak. The nature of the material favours the harbouring of insects, and few people are met whose coats do not serve as a breeding-ground for an immense colony of vermin.

An industry of equal importance with the postin trade is the manufacture of felts, which similarly centres in Kandahar. From there these goods are distributed throughout the country, besides being exported to India, Persia and the Trans-Oxus region.

Rosaries are also extensively manufactured at Kandahar from soft crystallised silicate of magnesia. This is quarried from a hill at Shah Maksud, about 30 miles north-west of the city, where soapstone and antimony are also obtained in considerable abundance. The stone varies in colour from a light yellow to a bluish white and is generally opaque. The most popular kind is straw coloured and semi-transparent. A few specimens are of a mottled greenish colour, brown or nearly black; they are used for the same purposes as the lighter varieties. Rosaries and charms of various sorts are made for exportation to Mecca. They range in price from a couple of annas to a hundred rupees. The refuse from the work is reduced to powder and utilised by native physicians as a remedy for heart-burn.

The land measure used by the Afghans is—

4spans= 1 guz (Maimana).
4spans= 1 pace.
60paces= 1 tunnab.
1tunnab square= 1 jereeb.
16girahs (cloth)= 1 guz = 5 spans.
1girah= 4 nookteh.