The original locality for lapis lazuli is the Sar-e-Sang deposit in Afghanistan's remote Badakhshan district. In the Achaemenid period, azure was called "Kabutkeh". In the Sassanid period, azure was consumed a lot. The roof of Ctesiphon, as well as various sculptures, is made of azure; it is possible that they used azurite instead of azure in making these works. 

Copper is a relatively red metal that has a very high electrical and thermal conductivity (among pure metals, only silver has a higher electrical conductivity at room temperature than copper) because copper artifacts discovered date back to 8700 years ago. Copper is probably the oldest metal used by humans. In addition to being present in various minerals, copper is also found in metallic form.

In 2010, US Pentagon officials, along with US geologists, uncovered approximately $ 1 trillion in untapped mineral reserves in Afghanistan. A Pentagon note says Afghanistan could become Saudi Arabia's lithium. Some believe that intact minerals are worth up to $ 3 trillion.