Afghanistan's buried minerals a source of wealth and strife

Hajigak, a patchwork of boulder-strewn ridges and wildflower meadows in central Afghanistan's Bamiyan province, sits atop an estimated 1.8 billion tonnes of iron-ore

Hajigak (Afghanistan) (AFP) - A group of potato farmers sat cross-legged in a velvet-carpeted madrassa, pensively mulling assembling an armed militia to guard Afghanistan's largest iron-ore reserve buried in jagged Hindu Kush ridges flanking their village.

Afghanistan's vast untapped natural resources, valued at more than $1 trillion, are seen as the war-battered country's ticket to a self-reliant future, a possible trump card that could jumpstart the lagging economy as foreign aid ebbs.