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Canada Plans To Map Arctic Energy Sources

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The Associated Press

Published: August 27, 2008

TORONTO - 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 that field workers and specialized aircraft will be using 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 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 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 to determine international boundaries in the far north.

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.

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