Farah’s Department of Mines and Petroleum announced on 27 September that extraction had begun at a marble mine valued at about AFN 207 million in Garmab village. Department director Abdul Sattar Muslim said the site covers 20 hectares and extraction is expected to continue for five years.

The department’s plan calls for 50,000 tonnes in the first phase, 80,000 tonnes in the second, and 100,000 tonnes in later years. The operator said it expects to extract 500 to 1,000 tonnes of white marble daily in the first phase and employ 35 people; these are stated plans and estimates, not completed production totals.