Canada to map resources in Arctic for development

TORONTO

Tuesday, 26 August 2008 20:41:57

By ROB GILLIES - Associated Press Writer

Canada plans to map energy and mineral resources in its Arctic region in a bid to encourage development and assert its sovereignty in the far north, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Tuesday.

Harper said field workers and specialized aircraft will use state-of-the-art science and technology to search for mineral and energy potential. The information gathered will be used to create geological models and subterranean maps to will help companies find resources.

Arctic sovereignty has moved to the forefront among northern countries as global warming melts Arctic ice and opens new shipping routes and access to untapped, potentially rich resources.

Natural gas has already been discovered in the Beaufort Sea, oil has been found in eastern areas of the Arctic Ocean and diamond mining is flourishing in Nunavut territory.

The Geological Survey of Canada is working to map the Arctic and its potential resource riches by 2013 after signing a United Nations treaty meant to determine international boundaries in the far north.

Speaking before leaving on a three-day trip to the region, Harper said melting ice and growing global interest in Arctic resources presents both an opportunity and challenge for Canada, which has been exerting its claims to the north in recent years.

Harper said it is estimated a quarter of the world's undiscovered oil and gas lies under the Arctic. There are other riches as well.

"What we've found so far is merely the tip of the iceberg," Harper said. "Managed properly, Canada's share of this incredible endowment will fuel the prosperity of our country for generations. And geo-mapping will pave the way for the resource development of the future."

Canada, the U.S., Russia and Denmark are competing in front of a United Nations commission to extend their undersea boundaries into areas usually blocked by Arctic ice.

Moscow dramatically staked its claim to the region by dropping a flag on the ocean floor at the North Pole.

But since then all four countries involved have agreed to cool the Arctic rhetoric and allow scientists to finish their surveys.

Canada has vowed to increase its icebreaker fleet and build two new military facilities in the Arctic. It is also searching for two fabled British explorer ships that disappeared in the Arctic more than 160 years ago.

The rapid melting of ice has raised speculation that the Northwest Passage linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans could one day become a regular shipping lane. Canada says it owns the passage. The United States says it is international territory.