“as the climate continues to warm over the next decades, tens of thousands of square miles of Antarctica will lose their protective covering of ice, exposing valuable deposits of copper, iron, gold, silver, platinum and cobalt”
“An international treaty bans mining in Antarctica; however, nations can propose changes beginning in 2048”
“Two regions of Antarctica hold the most promising mineral deposits: the 810-mile-long Antarctic Peninsula, which sticks up from the continent like a thumb toward the southern tip of South America; and the 2,000-mile-long Transantarctic Mountains that separate East and West Antarctica”
“The peninsula is claimed by Chile, Argentina and the United Kingdom, and the mountain range is claimed by Australia and New Zealand. All territorial claims on Antarctica were suspended by the 1959 Antarctic Treaty and are not recognized by other nations”
“Under a moderate ice-melting scenario, about 14,000 square miles of Antarctica would be exposed by the year 2300, a figure that increases to about 46,600 square miles under a high ice-melting scenario”
“Average global temperatures are predicted to rise by 2.6 degrees Celsius, or 4.7 degrees Fahrenheit, above preindustrial levels by 2100, according to Climate Action Tracker, a research group”