国际英语新闻：U.S. finds vast deposits of minerals in Afghanistan: report

WASHINGTON, June 14 (Xinhua) -- The United States has discovered vast deposits of untapped minerals in Afghanistan, enough to fundamentally alter the Afghan war-torn economy, the New York Times reported on Monday.

The previously unknown deposits -- including iron, copper, cobalt, gold and critical industrial metals like lithium -- was discovered by a small team of Pentagon officials and American geologists, and are estimated to be worth nearly one trillion dollars, the paper quoted senior U.S. officials as saying.

An internal Pentagon memo states that Afghanistan could become the "Saudi Arabia of lithium," a key raw material in the manufacture of batteries for laptops and cell phones.

"There is stunning potential here," Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of the United States Central Command, said in an recent interview with the paper. "There are a lot of ifs, of course, but I think potentially it is hugely significant."

While the mineral discoveries could be a good news for Afghanistan with the prospect to eventually transform the country into one of the most important mining centers in the world, American officials recognize that it will almost certainly have a double-edged impact.

Instead of bringing peace, the newfound mineral wealth could lead the Taliban to battle even more fiercely to regain control of the country, said the report.