So there are asteroids out there containing billions of dollars worth of gold, diamonds or whatever - all we have to do is go out there and mine them! Simples.
But bear in mind that each cubic kilometre of sea water contains a ton of gold! And the sea is a lot nearer than outer space - to get into outer space in an organised manner will cost you billions. Then you have to get the loot home. But you can get to Blackpool for about twenty quid from where I live and then you have immediate access to one billion tons of gold! Yes, really, I am not making this up. There really is one billion tons of gold dissolved in sea water. Actually, it is more than that - 1.4 billion tons to be precise.
And I have a cunnynge planne - I have a special seaweed that extracts the gold. Hey presto - immense riches! Seriously? Yes but No. Like all "get rich quick" plans there is a snag - the amounts extracted by the seaweed are minute and it is not economic - a pity.
Back to outer space. If we found an asteroid made of pure diamonds would that make economic sense? Well, bear in mind that this discovery would drastically hit the price of diamonds and the price of diamonds is artificial anyway - it is propped up and manipulated by various big players. And people are already making artificial gem diamonds in factories ... and the output will grow and the costs decrease.
So maybe we will mine asteroids one day but don't hold your breath
Bob Cory
Modified on 27/10/2019 at 14:15:49 by ℗ Bob Cory