Antarctica hides huge caches of gold, silver, copper and iron. As the ice melts, countries may race to harvest them.

‘Frozen Assets’

There’s also *at least* 138 volcanoes in Antarctica ([source](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/12/scientists-discover-91-volcanos-antarctica)) and there’s reason to believe the ice sheet is suppressing their activity ([source 1](https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/antarctica/antarctica-ice-melt-could-cause-100-hidden-volcanoes-to-erupt), [source 2](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/melting-glaciers-will-likely-lead-to-more-volcanic-eruptions-study-suggests-now-all-eyes-are-on-antarctica-180986945/), [source 3](https://phys.org/news/2025-01-antarctic-ice-sheets-larger-volcanic.html)).