back to article Grab a pick: Space mining's the next generation gold rush

Space may be the final frontier, but it’s also site of the next landrush for the more buccaneering end of humanity, as new technology and new money change the dynamics of space exploration. Whether the prospect of Bezos and Musk reaching out beyond the planet thrills or appals you, it’s unquestionable that space is becoming a …

  1. Voland's right hand Silver badge

    Looking at my library shelf

    Right... H.. H... H... here it is... Heinlein

    Time to re-read some old classics on what exactly does that end up with. Though we can probably start at A with Azimov's "The Martian Way".

  2. oiseau
    FAIL

    Wreaking havok ... Again.

    " ... space is becoming a place for business and profit, not just governments and science."

    And we know where all of *that* will take humanity, don't we?

    I shudder at the sheer thought of it all.

  3. Red Bren

    Returning to Yorkshire?

    Sorry, my mistake. Of course it's in London.

    "This talk will be a must for anyone whose ambitions stretch no further than the circle line."

    FTFY

  4. localzuk Silver badge

    How long...

    How long before we have ships competing for resources on an asteroid, and start taking pot shots at each other? After all, who's gonna stop them? Space police?

    1. allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

      Re: How long...

      Space police? Nah, Space Patrol! Using Overkill!

      Joking aside, Luxembourg is setting itself up as a big player in space mining:

      Space resources / Luxembourg

      Luxembourg to Invest $227 Million in Asteroid Mining - Fortune

      Deep Space Industries: Asteroid Mining

      Coming up next: banks in spaaace!

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Space mining is the logical next step in exploration and colonization, with huge potential benefits back on earth as well. Vast mineral resources, zero pollution, 100% automated.

    Can we handle it, though? Seems more likely the benefits will accrue to the titans of industry while the rest of us 'enjoy' the epic Malthusian disruption of a surge in population growth that outstrips the gains from space mining... while large-scale space colonization, terraforming, and FTL travel remain firmly in the realm of sci-fi.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Why should we have a surge in population growth?

      History has shown that the richer you get, the fewer children you have. Many of the richest countries in the world aren't reproducing enough to replace their population, and it only grows due to immigration. Unless almost all the benefits go to people who were already billionaires, the rest of the planet will get richer and population growth will slow, not speed up.

      1. Red Bren

        Re: Why should we have a surge in population growth?

        "Unless almost all the benefits go to people who were already billionaires"

        So you've seen how capitalism works?

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Why should we have a surge in population growth?

          Even if almost all the benefits go to billionaires initially, unless they hoard it and give it all to their children, instead of spreading the wealth by either starting other companies (like Musk) or giving it all away (like Gates, Buffett et al plan to) the wealth concentration is a short term concern.

          Even if they wasted it on all hookers and blow it isn't really wasted, as there will be a lot of rich drug dealers and hookers after the billionaire dies penniless of a heart attack.

          1. Red Bren

            Re: Why should we have a surge in population growth?

            "unless they hoard it and give it all to their children, instead of spreading the wealth by either starting other companies (like Musk) or giving it all away (like Gates, Buffett et al plan to) the wealth concentration is a short term concern."

            But hoarding is normally what they do, usually in tax havens so as to avoid paying their fair share and leaving the rest of us to pick up the bill.

            Alternatively, they use their wealth to outbid others for finite resources such as housing, not because they need it themselves, but so they can profit from leasing it back to the people who do need it but were just outbid.

            People like Musk and Gates are newsworthy because their actions are so rare, but their philanthropy should be viewed in context - this is money they can do without.

            Wealth is not like a liquid that trickles down, its more like a gas that rises out of the reach of the very poorest. But at least if you let them have a bit more wealth first, they can improve their quality of life before the money ends up in the tax havens of the rich.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    grab a pick? not if you want to get rich

    Notoriously the people who got reliably rich in the Californian gold rush weren't the prospectors but the merchants selling them the necessary equipment and supplies. So don't grab a rocket, *sell* a rocket!

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: grab a pick? not if you want to get rich

      Well despite what Heinlein wrote, we won't have individual prospectors working a claim out on some asteroid. The people who own the rockets will also own the mostly/fully automated equipment that mines the asteroid.

      That is, if mining asteroids can be done economically at all, something I've yet to be convinced of.

      1. Finder Keeper

        Re: grab a pick? not if you want to get rich

        > ... if mining asteroids can be done economically at all

        I don't think the bulk of the minerals will be shipped to the earth. Sure, if there are rare materials like platinum maybe, but I think the killer app for asteroid mining will be as supply stations for space missions. Comets with their ice would be more useful as fuel, but rocky asteroids could also be used as dead mass for magnetic/ionic propulsion, gravity assist sacrificial mass etc.

        1. Denarius
          Unhappy

          Re: grab a pick? not if you want to get rich

          exactly. what is economic reason for space industry ? Fueling research probes? Not enough launched.

          Any minerals? Scientific American had an article a decade ago on this. Unless fusion power begins to work economically only thing possibly worth mining would be He3 on Moon.

          Far more cost effective is to mine even trace amounts of valuable minerals on Earth due to costs of reliably getting out of and back into gravity well. IMHO, until a working SkyHook is running the cost of getting into orbit makes anything other than small scale robot exploration not worth it. As for humans in deep space, no hope yet. Except during solar minimums the radiation is too severe for long flights.

          In short, Musk and his competitors are focussing on the only money making space industry, launching satellites. That this will make doing real science research cheaper is a nice side benefit only. And no, I am disappointed by this too. When I saw Armstrong stepping off Lunar Lander pad I expected to see humans on Mars within my lifetime. Now I doubt my grandchildren will see that. Then again, maybe Niven had it right with "I'm in a Hole". Balls of dust suck. Poking around the relics of minor bodies cores like Psyche may have some payoff, even if it is studying metallic cores directly.

          1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge
            Alien

            Re: grab a pick? not if you want to get rich

            "In short, Musk and his competitors are focussing on the only money making space industry, launching satellites. That this will make doing real science research cheaper is a nice side benefit only."

            Isn't Musks long term plan to live on Mars?

      2. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

        Re: grab a pick? not if you want to get rich

        "The people who own the rockets will also own the mostly/fully automated equipment that mines the asteroid."

        The current commercial model is that the "stuff" owned by one company is boosted into orbit by another company. Building and launching rockets is a very different industry from building and deploying satellites and probes. To keep the whole process in-house would need one or more of the megacorps who own disparate industries to take note and join in. For example, Samsung or Hitachi who do everything from consumer electronics to heavy duty industrial plant

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    > only thing possibly worth mining would be He3 on Moon.

    The goal, as I see it, is to build interplanetary infrastructure. Mining asteroids for basic materials is still cheaper than launching them from Earth. Once the infrastructure is built, why not export materials back to Earth? Wouldn't it make sense to do as much mining and refining as possible in space where solar power is plentiful, *especially* if fusion power remains elusive?

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