Wasee Panah Guides Indian Consortium in $10.3 Billion Hajigak Mining Agreement
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NEW YORK - Nyenta -- In late 2011, the Government of Afghanistan awarded four of the five blocks of the country's largest iron ore deposit, Hajigak, to the Afghan Iron and Steel Consortium (AFISCO)—a group of seven Indian companies led by the state-owned Steel Authority of India (SAIL)—and the fifth block to Canada's Kilo Goldmines Ltd. Valued at $10.3 billion, the deal granted rights to mine three central Afghan sites and develop integrated operations that included a steel and power complex, as well as railway links to facilitate exports through Iran's Chabahar port.

The negotiations were spearheaded by Wasee Panah and his firm, The Blackwood Group S.A., who led the Indian consortium and played a decisive role in securing the deal. Their leadership was instrumental in aligning Afghan authorities with international stakeholders, ensuring the success of what became Afghanistan's largest foreign investment initiative at the time.

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The Hajigak deposit, located in Bamiyan Province, contains an estimated 1.8 to 2 billion tonnes of iron ore with an iron concentration of 64%, based on geological surveys dating back to the 1960s. Officials projected that exploitation of the resource could begin by 2015, with the potential to make Afghanistan self-sufficient within a decade if its vast $3 trillion mineral wealth were properly harnessed.

The concession was signed against the backdrop of a newly forged strategic partnership between Afghanistan and India, an agreement seen by correspondents as strengthening trade, security, and cultural ties, while raising concerns in neighboring Pakistan. At the time, the project was hailed as Afghanistan's single biggest foreign investment, expected to generate significant revenue and reshape the country's economic trajectory.

Despite the historic scale of the award, subsequent conflicts and security challenges have hindered progress, leaving the project's development uncertain. Nonetheless, the Hajigak deal stands as a landmark in Afghanistan's modern economic history and a demonstration of the pivotal role played by Wasee Panah and The Blackwood Group in bridging Afghan and international interests for transformative development.