Metallic Mineral Resources of Antarctica--Development Far in Future: ABSTRACT

Abstract

Metal deposits and occurrences have been found in rocks of most ages in many parts of Antarctica, and Gondwana reconstructions suggest that many others probably exist. However, relatively few deposits are known because ice covers about 96% of the continent and because detailed geologic mapping is sparse. In the Precambrian shield of East Antarctica, iron deposits are present as jaspilite strata and as magnetite in veins, pods, and disseminated in schist. The largest deposits are in the Prince Charles Mountains, where banded iron formation is as thick as 400 m and extends for 120 km. The presence of morainal jaspilite over large parts of East Antarctica suggests a much wider distribution. In the Transantarctic Mountains, the stratiform Dufek gabbroic intrusion (Jurassic) m y contain valuable metals, but the base of this intrusion--where metals are probably concentrated--is not exposed. In the Andean province (mostly of Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic age) of the Antarctic Peninsula, there are disseminated and vein-type pyrite deposits on King George Island; magnetite-bearing lava flows on Brabant Island; hydrothermal copper-lead vein deposits on Livingston Island; and probably porphyry-type copper-molybdenum deposits on Anvers Island, Adelaide Island, Brabant Island, the Melchior Islands, in eastern Ellsworth Land (newly discovered), and on the Lassiter Coast. All these deposits, however, are of lower grade than the well-known deposits of the central Andes of South America, which formed under different Cenozoic tectonic conditions. No known deposit in Antarct ca is currently economic. The continent's severe climatic and logistic constraints make significant exploitation unlikely for many years. End_of_Article - Last_Page 518------------