The United States has discovered nearly $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan, far beyond any previously known reserves and enough to fundamentally alter the Afghan economy and perhaps the Afghan war itself, according to senior American government officials.

Not to mention one of this huge deposits is of the critical tech industry metal Lithium. I agree this is good news for Afghanistan, if it eventually translates in the wealth and progress of its citizens. But there’s also another question:

At the same time, American officials fear resource-hungry China will try to dominate the development of Afghanistan’s mineral wealth, which could upset the United States, given its heavy investment in the region.

Uh, oh. Guess who’s not leaving the country anytime soon.