Polar Lands is undoubtedly the boreal forests. ‘The Soviet 
Union leads the world in forest resources and Canada is 
third. There is great potential for the development of 
hydroelectric power which will be important in the exploi- 
tation of these and other natural resources. 
NONRENEWABLE RESOURCES 
Even though only a modest beginning has been made in 
the detailed geological mapping of the North Polar Lands, 
they have long been important sources of a number of min- 
erals. Gold was the first to be exploited on a large scale 
and still remains by a large margin the most valuable min- 
eral in production. The Soviet Union is crowding South 
Africa for first place and Canada is third in the world pro- 
duction of gold. 
Important as gold is, it may eventually have to take sec- 
ond place to uranium ores. ‘Two of the three largest known 
deposits of fissionable ores in the whole world are in sub- 
Arctic Canada. 
Iron has been mined for a long time in the sub-Arctic 
lands of Eurasia, and as the richer deposits in the lower 
latitudes of North America are exploited, the pressure for 
the development of more remote deposits increases. One 
of the most spectacular iron ore deposits in the world is the 
Burnt Creek area seven hundred miles northwest of the 
city of Quebec. Exploitation began in 1954 with 417 mil- 
lion tons of proven ore, averaging 49 per cent to 61 per cent 
iron on a dry basis, with strong probabilities of greater re- 
sources. Little wonder this deposit is called the Mesabi of 
Canada. 
In 1956, International Nickel Company of Canada, Ltd., 
5 
