§ Mr. MallonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what measures he will take to prevent any mineral mining in Antarctica.
§ Mr. Garel-JonesThe United Kingdom will take no unilateral action concerning mineral activities in Antarctica. We believe that decisions on such activities must be agreed by consensus amongst the Antarctic treaty consultative parties before they are implemented. A consensus on mineral activity has yet to be achieved. However, at the XIth special consultative meeting in Chile in November, the Antarctic treaty parties renewed their agreement to a voluntary restraint on mineral activity in the absence of any formal agreement. The United Kingdom will abide by this voluntary restraint.