An Afghan miner pours water over a sieve to separate dirt and stones from gold nuggets at Gulak-Dara valley in Shiwa, northeastern Badakhshan province, on July 28, 2026. [AFP]
In Afghanistan's northeastern Badakhshan province, dozens of excavators operate day and night to extract gold from the mountains where villagers and their livestock once roamed.
Thousands of miners are deployed across the Shiwa area, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) northeast of the provincial capital Faizabad, extracting gold for investors nationwide.
Some residents in the area have profited from the gold rush, only to regret it later, such as farmer Muhammad Amin.
"Before, the river was deep, the water was clean," said the 74-year-old from Pul-e-Ziri Ban valley.
Since mining got underway, "the water of the river is not drinkable; you can't even wash your body with that water", he told AFP.
With tears in his eyes, Amin said the grass along the riverbank "has all gone" and farming is no longer possible due to "the wind and dust".