Mineral resources and future of the Arctic

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.30686/1609-9192-2020-1-87-96
V.B. Kondratiev
Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, The Russian Federation
Russian Mining Industry №1 / 2020 pp. 87-96

Читать на русскоя языкеAbstract: As the Arctic region becomes increasingly accessible due to melting sea ice and technological advancements, arctic countries and multinational corporations view exploration of its hydrocarbon resources as attractive commercial opportunities and long term investments that would significantly enlarge their reserves. Beyond existing and prospective petroleum resources, deposits in the Arctic of other mineral resources are substantial by any standards. The paper presents such characteristics of the Arctic regions as the area of Arctic areals, population density, total and per capita mining production, the volume of metal ore mining in the Arctic zone by such countries as Greenland, Finland, Sweden, Canada, Norway, USA, and Russia. It is noted that the number of mining licences in Greenland has doubled since 2002. Developing this wealth could bring significant economic benefits to the region but create infrastructure challenges and environmental problems.

Keywords: mineral wealth, economic development, mining in Arctic, infrastructure problem, environment protection

For citation: Kondratiev V. B. Mineral resources and future of the Arctic. Gornaya promyshlennost = Russian Mining Industry. 2020;(1):87–96. (In Russ.) DOI: 10.30686/1609-9192-2020-1-87-96.

Article info

Received: 27.01.2020

Revised: 03.02.2020

Accepted: 10.02.2020

Information about the author

Vladimir B. Kondratiev – Doctor of Science (Economics), Professor, Head of Center for Industrial and Investment Research, Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, The Russian Federation; e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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