Afghan Ministry of Mines says its income through the Ainak copper mine will increase to $163m this year as soon as the Metallurgical Corporation of China (MCC) pays $107m it owes to the Afghan government.
The Ministry of Mines said that the Chinese company has to pay the amount in about two months time by the end of the Afghan calendar year.
The Chinese company (MCC) has to pay another $560m to the Afghan government by 2014 before starting extraction of copper from the Ainak mine in Logar province.
The government has so far received $133m out of the $808m of advance payment, the Ministry said.
"We got 80 million dollars in 2008 and received an amount of $53m later, which means the Chinese company will have to pay 107 million more by the end of the year," Minister of Mines Waheedullah Sharhrani said.
Mr Shahrani said the preliminary steps of work at the Ainak copper mine have been successful and the Chinese company is satisfied with the cooperation provided by the Afghan government.
Based on the contract signed between the Afghan Ministry of Mines and the Chinese MCC company, the company has to pay $808m in advance in three installments.
Ainak copper mine is considered the biggest mines project in Afghanistan that has attracted a lot of foreign investment.
The Ministry of Mines had earlier said that around 2,900 samples have been taken from the Ainak mine and sent to Chinese laboratories.
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tolonews
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