According to New York Times, Pentagon has given a statement that Afghanistan can become “the Saudi Arabia of Lithium”. According to the newspaper, Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of the United States Central Command is of the view that there is great potential in Afghanistan. He told that there are a lot of barriers and constraints but, still, there are a lot of prospects.
Even if we exclude exaggeration from the statement, still there is a valid cause to believe in the existence of this golden opportunity. Why this optimism is not groundless is because: Smartphones and other mobile computing devices have become a global need of the day and, for that technology, lithium is the most vital ingredient in the battery technology.
No doubt, innovation and inventions fluctuate and may dump certain technology but, for the moment, lithium batteries are the most successful. As far as the chemistry of lithium is concerned, lithium, discovered in 1817, is an alkali metal and in the same family to which sodium belongs. It is a flexible and soft metal under standard conditions. Lithium has many uses in the modern world. It is also used as a mood stabilizer drug. It was used in aircraft engines as greases in WWII because it could withstand high temperatures.