He says the ancient site will be destroyed by plans to mine the area . A Chinese company has permission to create a massive open - pit style gold mine . But a very similar 2,600-year-old Buddhist site in Logar province , Afghanistan is n't so lucky . Huffman : Mes Aynak is missing link showing China 's historic role in Asia . He says destroying Me Aynak is equivalent to wiping # ##ca off the map .
He says the ancient site will be destroyed by plans to mine the area . A Chinese company has permission to create a massive open - pit style gold mine . Huffman : Mes Aynak is missing link showing China 's historic role in Asia . He says destroying Me Aynak is equivalent to wiping # ##ca off the map .