Desarrollo de la Antártica

Takcsi Nagata / THE ADVANCEMI'.l>/T 01' SCIENTlI'IC RESEARCH '" in Table 12, ",fuere the similar estimatiO'ns are given for Andean, Ellsworth and RO'ss orO'gen zones alsO'. TABLE 12 EXPECTED NUMBER OF MINERAL DEPOSITS IN EXPOSED AREAS (E. A.) OF ANTARCTICA Andean Oro- Ellsworth .lJro- Ross Orogen Antarctic gen (4.0)" gen (1.0)'· (6.0) " Shield (0.2)" Deposits Exposed Total area Total E.A. Total E.A. Total Ferrous metals 60 2.4 90 1.0 9.5 0.6 138.4 Bases metals 180 7.2 55 0.7 9.5 0.6 68.9 Precious metals 80 3.2 10 0.1 6.0 0.3 66.1 Others 60 2.4 15 0.2 8.0 0.5 73.2 " The numeral in parenthesis represents the percentage of exposed area. (after Wright and Williams, 1974) E.A. 0.29 0.15 0.14 0.15 Results given in Table 12 may indicate that the probability to find metallic O're depO'sits in exposed areas in Antarctica is nút too much promising except Antarctic :Peninsula which was subjected tú An– dean Orúgen. If sO'me mining techniques are invented in the future to explO'it the úre depúsits under the ice sheet, then the AntarctÍc couId becO'me a subecO'nO'míc regíon fO'r mineral resO'urces. Actually, garnet magnetite veins were found in Mt. tHedden and Mt. Humboldt in Queen Maud Land, and irO'n depO'sits are expO'sed in úutcrO'P5 O'n the cO'ast O'f Enderby Land. ,At present, hO'wever, Wright and William stated that the few IO'calities where valuable minerals have been identified in Antarctica must be classified as "Mineral úCcu– rrences", nO't mineral districts yet. On: tJhe other Ihand, the coa:l resO'urces in the Beacon group along Transantartic mO'untains have been sufficiently measured in places to permit estimation of vO'lumes. It 1S said that quality and 10'– cation O'f the cO'al resources may 'be considered eoollomically usable even at presento AnO'ther example O'f mineral O'ccurrence in Antarc– tica is the appearance úf gas in RO'ss Sea. The geO'logiCáI structure of Ross Sea, Weddell Sea and Bellingshausen Sea are favourable for fue presence oí oil and gas. Mangan,ese nodules in the Antarctic Ocean also cO'uld be considered as a potentiality of Antarctic mine– ral resources. It may be summarized about Antarctic mineral re– sources at present that only an O'utlíne of Antarctic geologic history has been approximately revealed to date but no local geology ha3 12 3