Mineral extraction in the Arctic, or other frozen regions, presents tremendous technical challenges to natural resource industries. There is good potential for finding economically attractive mineral deposits within the largely unexplored arctic-shield-type geology. Shields, also known as cratons, are large exposed areas of the oldest rocks on Earth and occur on all continents. Because of their age and the changes due to faulting, volcanism, metamorphism, and erosion, which have taken place through hundreds of millions of years, shields are favorable areas for mineral deposits. Similarly, offshore sedimentary basins offer the prospect of significant petroleum reserves. The challenges to the resource industry are sociological, environmental, economic, and technical.