OUR COUNTRY HAS control over 42 percent of the Antarctic landmass - the largest slice of any nation and, up until now, no Australian politician has had to give any thought to the idea of exploring and drilling for mineral resources or hydrocarbons in the waters around the Antarctic or on the landmass itself. But will that always be the case? With ever increasing pressure to find new reserves of minerals and hydrocarbons in the 21st Century, perhaps it is time to think again about Australia continuing to lead the global ban on exploiting the resources of the Antarctic. The Australian Antarctic Division - the Commonwealth government body which supervises our scientific research on the continent - says that, as it currently stands, there is little mineralisation on the Antarctic continent. However, oil and gas deposits might be a different story.
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