In other continents, the same structure and similar age relationships are known. Most of the world's mineral resources come from these cratonic units and thus it is reasonable to expect that the Antarctic shield has the same mineral resource potential as other parts of the globe. However there are some features of Antarctica that reduce dramatically the chance of mineral availability. Secondly, many types of minerals which are important elsewhere on Earth cannot be expected in Antarctica. A common way of commencing mineral exploration elsewhere is to pan for gold or heavy metals or minerals in rivers.
More detailed exploration includes river water sampling to locate likely ore bodies.
Antarctica does not have many rivers and those that do exist are very small, seasonal and drain very small areas. Thus heavy mineral 'placer' deposits are very unlikely. Similarly, because of the different oceanographic conditions and lack of beaches, heavy mineral beach sands, so important in Australia, will not be available. Another related occurrence missing from Antarctica is supergene enrichment to produce a porous iron-rich surface material known as gossan. The gossan is often a valuable guide to an ore body at depth and covers a larger area than the ore body.