Briefing Afghan officials on Arizona mining

Nyal Niemuth, Chief of the AZGS Economic Geology Section [at right in light colored shirt.  Credit, BLM] recently briefed a delegation of cabinet-level government officials from Afghanistan on mining in Arizona.

The delegation was in Phoenix for a 23-day, four city tour of the US mining industry and government agencies.

Matt Shumaker, the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM's) Chief Mineral Examiner hosted the group at the BLM National Training Center in Phoenix, Arizona.

According to the BLM Daily agency newsletter, the group also visited the Arizona State Mine Inspector Office and the USGS headquarters in Reston, Virginia; the Department of Interior headquarters in Washington, DC; the Colorado School of Mines in Denver; and mining sites around Tucson and Denver.

The delegation members included  Mohammad Hakim Amini, Director General of the Afghan Geological Survey, Said Mirzad, U.S. International Programs, Assadullah Zamir, Chief of Staff, Afghan Ministry of Mines, Mohammad Rahim Samim, Technical Mining Advisor for the Inter-Ministrial Commission, and Ali Yawar Qasimi, PIU Program Officer, Afghan Geological
Survey.

BLM says the "USGS organized the Afghan officials' visit to the United States with assistance from the DOI International Technical Assistance Program, and the Department of Defense with funding from USAID."