ABSTRACT
The challenge to the continued survival of the Antarctic Treaty System is the entire question of exploiting Antarctica's presumed mineral wealth. If the Consultative Powers can establish a regime governing the extraction of minerals from the Antarctic, the continued functioning of the System seems assured. Failure, on the other hand, would appear to guarantee its collapse on various fronts. The UN, having resolved the issue of minerals on the seabed with the Law of the Sea Treaty, will be put forward as a rival to the System. If the Consultative Powers have failed with their mineral problem, the UN, already successful with its similar problem, will be pushed by some of its member states toward a more active role in Antarctica. Almost from the beginning of human activity in Antarctica, there has been speculation on the potential mineral resources of the region. To some, the idea of exploiting Antarctic mineral wealth is unacceptable.
