To say today that we have a really good picture of the overall potential of the north would be premature. As I was saying earlier, something like 60% of the territories in the north don't have the level of detail in terms of geoscience as we do in the south. Now we're doing something about it. We will be investing $100 million over the next decade or so to try to bring it up to the same level.
As I said, that's going to provide the private sector with the kind of information it needs to look at to see where the prospects are. You can already see where there are some prospects. We have a vibrant diamond industry.
Through Baffinland and L'Anse aux Meadows, we're seeing the exploitation of Mary River, a huge iron ore deposit. We are looking at investment somewhere in the $4 billion to $6 billion range on a project that will last 100 years. It's going to look at the kinds of investments in ports and infrastructure and vessels and so on.
My feeling is that this is the future for Canada. It is an area where we're going to put a lot more emphasis to learn about the geological potential. And then with the kind of investment in infrastructure and other things, how do we turn that geological potential into economic potential? I think we're just at the beginning of knowledge in this area.
But as you can see, and as I was saying earlier, 14 out of the 48 projects under way are in the north. I think it shows the kind of interest in the north and the desire to do some more detailed work in the north and to explore and exploit the potential there.