Northern Coal Enterprise:

The coal at Karkar was discovered by a shepherd in 1938. Karkar is at a 12km distance from the city of Pulkhumri. The Ministry of Minerals initially started the extraction using basic digging equipment and animal transport. However, due to the high national demand for coal, the government imported extraction equipment to increase production capacity from 5000 tonnes daily to 100,000 per day. The decades to come would bring the discovery of the Hawza and Baghlan coal reserves that would produce 20,000 and 25,000 tonnes a day, respectively. The mines were operated and managed by an independent unit appointed by the Ministry of Minerals until the year 1971 wherein the mines were put under the authority of the Directorate of Northern Coal Enterprise. The initial budget for the enterprise was 192 million Afghani.

The period from 1979 to the year 2001 was a difficult one for the coal industry. The wars had most of the equipment destroyed or taken and the operational capacity diminished. The Karkar mines were the only ones operational during the mentioned period. Through reformations and exemplary leadership, the government of Afghanistan has enabled Norther Coal to discover further coal reserves and construct mines accordingly. The past fives years have seen the enterprise produce close to 2 billion tonnes of coal every year. NDC plans on expanding operations and importing extraction and processing equipment so that the national produce can reach export quality and quantity.