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The world's richest people are now pouring massive sums of money into the search for critical resources off Greenland's Western coast. To begin their 'treasure hunt,' the executives have used transmitters and aircraft.

Greenland's ice sheets have begun to melt at alarming rates as the world's temperature rises. Ironically, the phenomenon has given an opportunity for companies and mining firms to look into possible resources trapped beneath the Greenland sheets. According to them, the area could contain key minerals that could power nations' green energy transition.

Billionaires such as Bill Gates, Michael Bloomberg, Jeff Bezos, and others presume that minerals underneath Greenland's Nuussuaq Peninsula and Disko Island can power "hundreds of millions of electric vehicles."

"We are looking for a deposit that will be the first- or second-largest most significant nickel and cobalt deposit in the world," explained the CEO of Kobold Metals, Kurt House.

The areas where the ice sheets are melting may be ground zero for the effects of climate change, but they may also be ground zero for valuable metals. According to experts, if investors' gut instinct is correct, outsourced materials could potentially solve nations' power crises.

Many of the billionaires interested in the project have joined forces with Kobold Metals, a mineral exploration firm based in California. Bloomberg, Bezos, and Gates chose not to respond to this. Bluejay Mining is also a part of the group, assisting Kobold Metals in looking for the precious materials necessary to create effective electric vehicles and batteries that may store renewable energy.

Along with Kobold Metals and Bluejay Mining, there are thirty professionals working together to find the resources. These include geophysicists, geologists, cooks, mechanics, and pilots.

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The current and future plans

The team assigned to the area is now collecting soil samples and using transmitter-equipped drones and helicopters to measure the electromagnetic field of the subsurface. This would also aid them in developing a structured layout of what lies beneath the surface. The artificial intelligence technologies would build a model for the team to determine where to begin drilling next summer.

"It is a concern to witness the consequences and impacts of the climate changes in Greenland. But, generally speaking, climate changes overall have made exploration and mining in Greenland easier and more accessible," Bo Møller Stensgaard, CEO of Bluejay Mining, said.

According to Stensgaard, the longer ice-free periods enable their teams to complete shipments containing heavy equipment for use as well as transfer the materials they hope to find in the location.

"As these trends continue well into the future, there is no question more land will become accessible, and some of this land may carry the potential for mineral development," said Mike Sfraga, chair of the United States Arctic Research Commission.

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Greenland government OKs project

"The government of Greenland supports the responsible, sustainable, and economically viable development of their natural resources to include mining of a broad range of minerals," added Sfraga.

According to the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, Greenland could become a honeypot for a variety of resources such as gold, copper, coal, zinc, and other rare elements. Greenland's administration, according to the agency, "recognizes the country's potential to diversify the national economy through mineral extraction."

Meanwhile, the Greenland government has completed its assessments and has determined that the crew camping near the area is not a problem.

On the other hand, experts are concerned about the rising sea levels spurred by the melting of the sheets.

"The big concern for Arctic sea ice is that it's been disappearing over the last several decades it's predicted to potentially disappear in 20 to 30 years. In the fall, what used to be Artic ice cover year-round is now just going to be seasonal ice cover," told NASA scientist Nathan Kurtz to reporters.

Source: CNN