Vast mineral resources in Afghanistan have recently been discovered by American geologists.
Nigeria has oil, Angola has diamonds but neither has a stable political system or a booming economy spreading wealth to all its citizens. GDP fell by 1.3% per capita on average in OPEC countries from the late sixties to the late nineties. On the other hand, Norwegians are quite happily enjoying their oil revenue.
There are economic reasons for a resource curse. The price of the resource can fluctuate on world markets and so can the income of the producer. The income generated by the resource can push up the price of non-tradables and distort domestic allocation of inputs. But I would guess all of these pale into insignificance with the political implications of a resource curse.
If the force of law is weak, there is an overwhelming temptation to steal resources. Rents are dissipated by fighting or defensive expenditures. Leaders are short-termists and over-extract resources fearing they will be out of power soon.
The rule of law must precede development. A windfall can provoke contests not prevent them.
Cheap Talk 
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July 1, 2010 at 7:21 am
iddbirmingham
Most scholars now warn against making the case that natural resources increase the likelihood of conflict per se, focussing instead on a range of variables and contextual conditions that determine whether or not the resource curse occurs. Some of the linkages between resource management and conflict can be glimpsed by looking at cases where conflict has been averted. Botswana’s success in managing diamond wealth can partly be explained by good macro-economic policy decisions, but it is important to recognise that these decisions were underpinned by a stable political settlement, unusually favourable world market conditions and effective private property institutions. Zambia, in contrast, managed a sharp influx of wealth quite badly yet did not succumb to violent conflict, largely as a result of its resilient central state. Resource management strategies alone do not explain the onset or recurrence of violent conflict. In each case, conflict is driven by a complex array of institutional, historical and political factors.