§ Mr. Skeetasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the size of the areas of Antarctica claimed by sovereign States, the minerals so far discovered in each segment and the list of interested parties who have not made specific claims in the area.
§ Mr. OnslowAreas of Antarctica claimed by sovereign states are British Antarctic Territory 700,000 square miles. Antarctica Argentina 550,000 square miles, Antarctica Chilena 500,000 square miles, Australian Antarctic Territory 2,400,000 square miles, New Zealand Antarctic Territory 175,000 square miles, Norwegian Antarctic Territory 1,200,000 square miles—southern limit undefined—French Antarctic Territory 150,000 square miles.
Minerals so far discovered in each territory are: British Antarctic Territory, Antarctica Argentina and Antarctica Chilena: silver, cadmium, chromium, copper, iron, molybdenum, nickel, lead, platinum, titanium, vanadium, zinc, coal.
Australian territory: copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum, uranium.
New Zealand territory: copper, cobalt, chromium, niobium, sulphur, tin, tantalum, thorium, uranium, coal.
Norwegian territory: copper, iron, lead.
French territory: silver and gold.
The majority of the mineral occurrences in all territories are small showings or traces. With the possible exception of iron in Prince Charles Mountain, Australian Antarctic Territory and coal in the Transantarctic Mountain, there are at present no known economically exploitable mineral deposits in Antarctica.
Interested parties who have not made specific claims in Antarctica are: Belgium, Japan, South Africa, USSR, United States of America, Brazil, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Federal Republic of Germany, German Democratic Republic, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Uruguay, Peru, Papua New Guinea.