From Land Mines to Copper Mines     Nor should we expect changes
overnight. Large mining projects can take years -- sometimes
more than a decade -- to develop even under peaceful conditions.
True, mineral companies today are so eager to develop new finds
that they are willing to work under astonishingly difficult
conditions. In the last few years, companies from around the
world have been bidding for the right to exploit some of
Afghanistan's more modest deposits. But many of the newly
reported finds appear to be in zones that are dominated by the
Taliban and have little infrastructure. Afghanistan has a long
way to go before it can take advantage of its geological wealth.
Yet when it does, the government will reap a considerable
revenue windfall. In Afghanistan -- and virtually all other
countries in the world, except the United States -- everything
beneath the soil is the legal property of the central
government. Companies must buy their mining rights from the
government, and the signing bonuses, royalties