OSLO - A kind of rock that often contains diamonds has been found
in Antarctica for the first time, hinting at mineral riches in the
vast, icy continent where mining is banned.
No diamonds were found, but researchers said they were confident
the gems were there.
"It would be very surprising if there weren't diamonds in these
kimberlites," Greg Yaxley of the Australian National University in
Canberra, who led the research, said in a telephone interview.
Writing in the journal Nature Communications, an Australian-led
team reported finding the kimberlite deposits around Mount
Meredith, in the Prince Charles Mountains in East Antarctica.
Kimberlite is a rare rock where diamonds are often found; it is
named after the South African town of Kimberley, the site of a late
19th-century diamond rush.
That does not mean Antarctica will soon see its own diamond rush.
Antarctica is not only forbiddingly cold and remote but also
protected by a treaty that preserves the continent for scientific
research and wildlife, from penguins to seals. The 1991
environmental accord banned mining for at least 50 years.
"I don't think it's terribly practical that anyone could actually
explore successfully and, personally, I hope that mining does not
take place," Yaxley said.
Others geologists doubted the find held much commercial value. Less
than 10 percent of the deposits of similar kimberlite are
economically viable, said Teal Riley of the British Antarctic
Survey. "It's a big leap from here to mining," he told Reuters.
EXTENDED BAN
The Antarctic Treaty is binding only on its 50 signatories, but it
has the backing of major powers, including the United States and
China. Many expect the ban on mining to be extended in 2041.
"There is likely to be little opposition to an extension of this
prohibition, despite the potential discovery of a new type of
Antarctic ‘ice'," Nature Communications said in a statement.
But another expert said the future was not so clear. Gold,
platinum, copper, iron and coal have also been found in Antarctica.
And diamonds are already mined today in some of the world's colder
reaches of northern Canada and Siberia.
"We do not know what the Treaty parties' views will be on mining
after 2041 or what technologies might exist that could make
extraction of Antarctic minerals economically viable," said Kevin
Hughes, of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research.
Riley said there was a fine line between geological mapping and
prospecting with an eye to mining. Russia, Ukraine and China, among
other countries, have been more active in surveying Antarctica in
recent years.
And demand for diamonds is likely to outpace supply in coming
years. Few new mines are being discovered to provide the newly
wealthy in countries such as China with Western-style jewelry. The
last major find was Rio Tinto's Murowa mine in Zimbabwe in
1997.
Diamonds are formed under immense heat and pressure around 100
miles down, in the molten rock of Earth's mantle. Millions of years
later, they are brought to the surface in powerful eruptions and
preserved in the distinctive igneous rock formations called
kimberlites.
The kimberlite deposit is also confirmation of how continents
drift. The region of East Antarctica was once part of a continent
known as Gondwanaland, connected to what is now Africa and India,
which also have kimberlite.