The harsh economics of the Arctic

From The Economist

Governments and investors are increasingly excited about the Arctic. Its seas and tundra contain oil, gas and a host of minerals critical for green energy and modern armies. It holds the biggest known deposits of titanium (in Siberia), plus huge reserves of palladium (Norilsk, Russia) and iron ore (Nunavut, Canada). Until now these metals have largely remained in the ground, not because people did not know they were there, but because it was too costly to extract them.

But climate change and retreating ice are making it “much easier” to mine in the far north, says Mads Fredericksen of the Arctic Economic Council, a lobby. The Arctic is now 0.75°C warmer than it was a decade ago. Between 2013 and 2019, summer ice receded by 17% and shipping increased by 75%. By 2035 there may be no ice cover left in the Arctic Ocean in the summer.