HERAT CITY (Pajhwok): A visiting Chinese delegation has started studying marble stone deposits in western Herat province before shipping the stone for processing to China, officials said on Wednesday.
Local officials said the visit of the Chinese delegation to Herat could prove effective in terms of economic development, increased extraction of marble and its export to European countries.
Jilani Farhad, the governor’s spokesman, said the Chinese was in Herat to study marble stone deposits. He said first export shipment of the marble would be sent to China and then to European countries.
The Chinese delegation arrives in Herat five days after President Ashraf Ghani visited the province and said marbles worth $5 million would be exported to China in near future.
Meanwhile, Habibullah Timori, Herat public works director, said four types of high-quality marbles – finely crystalline marble ranging in colour from pure white to a subtle light green white, Carrara, and Granite Marbles — had been identified in Chasht-i-Sharif district of the province.
He said Herat marbles were considered finest in the world and the stone had many times secured first position among 52 countries of the world.
Marble mines are situated 125 kilometers east of Herat city, stretching over from Oba district till Chasht-i-Sharif district.
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