For a long time, the Arctic was just a frozen hellscape, home only to penguins, seals, polar bears, and the most adventurous scientists and explorers.
But that's no longer the case.
The world is getting warmer and the ongoing transformation is apparent.
The Greenland ice sheet is shrinking. There's been a rapid decline in floating sea ice. Permafrost is thawing. And plants and shrubs are taking over areas of tundra.
Other, less-natural things are appearing, too - military bases and large ships. And most all of them are Russian.
You see, with $300 billion in potential projects either completed, in motion, or proposed, Russia is the runaway leader in Arctic infrastructure development.
"They've got all their chess pieces on the board right now, and right now we've got a pawn and maybe a rook," says Paul Zukunft, the commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard. "If you look at this Arctic game of chess, they've got us at checkmate right at the very beginning."
Russia has reopened abandoned Soviet-era military installations and begun building new ones. It's added seaports and airfields. And its ships dominate the waters.
The country has 40 ice breakers opening up new shipping lanes. The United States has just two.
Fully two-thirds of the ships passing through the Northern Sea Route fly the Russian flag. Virtually all of them are transporting resources. And that's the key.
A military advantage in the region is one thing, but it's the Arctic's vast riches that are the ultimate prize.
The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that 30% of the world's untapped gas reserves (108 trillion cubic feet), 13% of its oil reserves (about 90 billion barrels), and $1 trillion in minerals rest in the Arctic region.
That's what Russia's after.
It's a race for the Arctic's resources, and Russia is winning.
The country's state-controlled oil company, Rosneft, is already drilling the northernmost rig in the Russian Arctic shelf, while Gazprom Neft pumps Arctic oil from the Pechora Sea.
They're not alone, of course. There are other players there.
After all, seven other countries in addition to Russia have stakes in the Arctic region. Those are Canada, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Sweden, and the U.S.
And like Russia, they've tapped into some valuable real estate.
For example, one region in north British Columbia, east of Alaska, is now known as the "Golden Triangle."
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It contains an estimated 130 million ounces of gold, 20 million tons of copper, and 800 million ounces of silver.
All told, that's a $2 TRILLION windfall.
In Alaska, there's another site called the Pebble deposit. It holds 107 million ounces of gold.
Combine these two areas, and you have more gold than has EVER been mined in all of human history.
This is why Russia sent two mini-submarines to plant a flag on the seabed directly beneath the North Pole.
But here's the good news: You don't have to let Russia walk away with your share of the Arctic's riches.
That's because our own Nick Hodge has found a small mining company that owns not just one but 12(!) of the Arctic's richest sites. Two of them are located directly inside the "Golden Triangle."
It's a huge find and the potential returns are more than promising.
So check out Nick's latest report by clicking here and he'll give you all the details.
Why should Russia get to have all the fun?
Fight on,
Jason Simpkins
Jason Simpkins is Assistant Managing Editor of the Outsider Club and Investment Director of The Wealth Warrior, a financial advisory focused on security companies and defense contractors. For more on Jason, check out his editor's page.