Antarctic mining

Press, 29 July 1976, Page 16

Antarctic mining

Scientific and diplomatic representatives of 12 countries, including the United States and the Soviet Union, have concluded a two-week meeting in Paris on the possible future exploitation of the considerable mineral resources Antarctica is likely to contain, the “New York Times” reports. Antarctica is known to possess large deposits of coal, and other minerals, such as iron, copper, manganese and chromite may also be present in quantity. However, the coal is of low quality and according to Dr David Elliott of the Institute of Polar Studies of the Ohio State University, it is questionable whether any mineral deposit now known there would justify exploitation at current prices, even if located in a temperate zone.

The research ship Glomar Challenger has found evidence suggesting oil and gas beneath the Ross Sea. But since the ship was not equipped to cap blow-outs, it could not drill extensively, so the actual extent of any oil or gas is only conjectural. The issues discussed in Paris, ecological, legal and political, were described as so sensitive the countries decided against issuing any statement. But the meeting was preparatory to a higherlevel consultative meeting of the treaty nations. At the last consultative meeting, in Oslo in 1975, the governments agreed to study the questions of minerals in the Antarctic in the light of rising oil prices and new technologies for extraction in cold climates.