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. 

When the sandstone is transformed into quartzite, the quartz grains that were already there are crystallized again along with the cementitious material that was previously present in the sandstone, and the new quartz crystals are fused together. Most or all of the old sandstone texture and sedimentary structure will be completely removed by metamorphism and replaced by a new structure.

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.