The natural resources of the Arctic are the

mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2 ...

and animal

natural resource Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest and cultural value. ...

s which provide or have potential to provide utility or economic benefit to humans. The

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenland), Finland, Iceland, N ...

contains significant amounts of minerals,

boreal forest Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruc ...

s, marine life, and fresh water.

Hydrocarbons

The

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

estimates that 22 percent of the world's oil and natural gas could be located beneath the Arctic. Russia's undiscovered petroleum is estimated between 67 billion tons of oil equivalent (BTOE) according to the United States Geological Survey and 142 BTOE according to the

Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; russian: Росси́йская акаде́мия нау́к (РАН) ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across ...

(in 2011, the world consumed 13 BTOE of energy, 31% from oil and 21% from natural gas). Russia's vast energy resources account for 52% of the Arctic totals and Norway's for 12%. Norway, which has been extracting petroleum in the North Sea since the 1970s, in the 2010s expected new discoveries in the Barents Sea. As of 2013 Russia was exporting 88% of crude oil via pipelines, with a large majority of the natural gas also transported in that manner. 76% percent of natural gas and 79% of oil were exported to Europe, with the second largest customer for oil being China and for natural gas being Japan. Russia continued to expand both its pipeline networks and its seaborne capacity, with absolute maritime transportation of petroleum growing but remaining a small portion of the overall exports.

Mining

The Arctic holds large quantities of minerals, including

phosphate In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthophosphoric acid . The phosphate or orthophosphate ion is derived from phosph ...

bauxite Bauxite is a sedimentary rock with a relatively high aluminium content. It is the world's main source of aluminium and gallium. Bauxite consists mostly of the aluminium minerals gibbsite (Al(OH)3), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)) and diaspore (α-AlO ...

, iron ore,

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

nickel Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow ...

, and diamond. These are of pervasive use in industrialized economies. Russia produces an average of 11 M tons of phosphates, 8% of the global output. Phosphates are used as fertilizers in agriculture, with other uses including water treatment, flame-retardant materials, and corrosion protection. In 2010, Russia also extracted and processed bauxite into 3.85 M tons of aluminum, constituting 9.3% of the global production and making it the second-largest producer in the world after China. It also mined 100 M tons of iron ore, 6.25% of the global production. The largest Russian mining company Nornickel leads the world's production of nickel and palladium as a by-product. Nickel is an important metal used in the production of steel and other industrial, commercial, and consumer goods. The company has its own fleet of vessels to ship out the minerals and also owns port terminals. Worldwide production of nickel was of 1.5 M tons in 2011, out of which 297,000 tons was mined by Nornickel, holding 5.8 M more in proven reserves (2010 figures). Palladium is mostly used in engines as a catalyst converting 90% of highly harmful exhaust gasses into less harmful ones. The company is also a major producer of copper (mining 389,000 tons out of 8.7 M tons worldwide), platinum, rhodium, and cobalt. In anticipation of a growth in demand for government icebreaker services, Nornickel started in 2006 to order the construction of its own fleet of five icebreaking cargo vessels, in operation as of 2014. These vessels are capable of breaking through 1.5 m (5 ft) of ice at a rate of 1–2 knots, without the support of an icebreaker, while transporting 14,500 tons of cargo. Large Arctic mines include

Red Dog mine The Red Dog mine is a large zinc and lead mine in a remote region of Alaska, about north of Kotzebue, which is owned and operated by the Canadian mining company Teck Resources. It is located within the boundaries of the Red Dog Mine census-des ...

(zinc) in Alaska,

Diavik Diamond Mine The Diavik Diamond Mine is a diamond mine in the North Slave Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada, about northeast of Yellowknife. Description Diavik Diamond Mine is an industrial complex set in a remote, subarctic landscape. It consis ...

in Northwest Territories, Canada, and

Sveagruva Sveagruva (), or simply Svea, was a mining settlement in the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, lying at the head of Van Mijenfjord. It was the third largest settlement in the archipelago (after Longyearbyen and Barentsburg). Around 300 workers ...

in Svalbard. Large mines under development are Baffinland Iron Mine in Nunavut, and Isua Iron Mine in

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland i ...

Gold mining in Alaska Gold mining in Alaska, a state of the United States, has been a major industry and impetus for exploration and settlement since a few years after the United States acquired the territory in 1867 from the Russian Empire. Russian explorers discovere ...

is widespread. Fort Knox Gold Mine is the largest producer of gold in the history of Alaska.

Fisheries

The range of some sub-Arctic fish stocks is likely to extend into Arctic areas due to climate change, and decreasing ice-cover will likely lead to more fishing activity. In the area of the Arctic north of the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

, extensive commercial fisheries and international managerial mechanisms already exist. North of the Bering Strait, there are currently no significant commercial fisheries and no international management mechanisms.

Fresh water

holds about 10% of the world's fresh water reserves.

Hydro power

The often mountainous areas and the low population density means that the villages in the Arctic often are self suppliant on electricity through

hydro power Hydropower (from el, ὕδωρ, "water"), also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by converting the gravitational potential or kinetic energy of a w ...

. Some places still use oil for electricity generation and heating.

References