16 - Mineral resources: commercial prospects for Antarctic minerals

Summary

The subject I have been asked to discuss is commercial prospects for Antarctic minerals and a succinct summary of what follows could well be ‘virtually nil’.

Another contributor, Arthur Watts, has made the point, which I repeat, that minerals occur in widely scattered outcrops in Antarctica. It is important to set this fact in the context that first, more than 95% of the continent is ice and secondly, that there is a world of difference between an occurrence and a deposit. Mapping the occurrences may indicate the existence of a deposit of sufficient size to warrant detailed investigation (for example, by drilling), with a view to possible commercial exploitation.

Let us look at what minerals are known to exist in Antarctica. In summary, from what is presently known of the exposed area in Antarctica, only coal and iron in the Prince Charles Mountains, and coal in the Transantarctic Mountains might be mined if they were located on an inhabited continent. There are a lot of other known or suspected minerals. You have heard mention, for example, of the mineral potential of the Jurassic Dufek intrusion which is a layered deposit with a structure and composition which some geologists believe to be analogous to the South African Bushveld complex. In the absence of any detailed information, it is legitimate to work on the hypothesis that such complexes could, given the circumstances of their geological origin and physical properties, contain cobalt, chromium, nickel, uranium, copper and magnetite. Without a full-scale exploration programme we are left with a pattern of association (or assumption!) based upon the geological setting. This leaves the basic questions unanswered.