Hedge Fund Manager: A Gold Mine in Afghanistan? That's 10 years in the future

[sabra]

http://www.cnbc.com/id/37688389

Investors shouldn't get too excited about the trove of mineral treasures found in Afghanistan. Experts say it could take at least a decade before the discovery yields anything in the marketplace.

Though the future potential is extreme, the immediate impact of the mother lode in iron, copper, gold, cobalt, niobium and lithium likely will be nil.

...

"This is huge news. It's the kind of thing that can have an impact on psychology today and may have an impact on psychology tomorrow," says Dennis Gartman, who manages a hedge fund and edits the daily Gartman Letter. "But it's a mining project. That's 10 years in the future."

...

Such a level surely would be enough to impact world markets and set off geopolitical battles over who will get to mine the rich deposits. But the extent to which it actually impacts prices and the broader Afghanistan economy isn't even close to being determined.

"The United States and China will find themselves butting heads their often," Gartman says. "They're both going to try to influence any government that exists there."