Recursos minerales y energéticos y su industria

Abstract

The resources of the Arctic are very varied, including both large deposits of exploited oilfields and possible reserves of deposits not yet discovered. On the other hand, mining also has and has had a fundamental role in the history of many of the Arctic countries, as in the case of the gold rush in Alaska or the large deposits in Siberia and Canada. The discovery of new deposits in areas such as Greenland or the deep sea surely could influence the geopolitical future of these countries. This chapter will emphasize both the richness of present resources and the potentiality of the reserves for the future. The Arctic has now become a strategic area for resource exploration. This is partly due to climatic changes that are causing a decrease in the ice cover, allowing access to hitherto unexplored areas such as the ocean floor. To this it must be added the decrease in new discoveries of land resources and the gradual decline in the quality of the deposits under exploitation. All this together with the increase in the demand for resources in a society in continuous growth, makes it necessary to find a balance in the geopolitical, social, and environmental framework.