Mining Asteroids - What is it going to do to the gold market.

[DieselScout]

According to the KISS study, the cost for a future mission to identify and return a 500 ton asteroid to low earth orbit is ~$2.6 billion USD, ignoring the costs to develop the infrastructure necessary to process the materials in the asteroid ("Asteroid usage", 2012).

yep any thing is feasable if you leave out all the costs


the true advantage would be to, not bring it back to earth but to use the metals to expand our reach into space. develop the infrastructure in space and use it there, "leapfrogging " our way to the reaches of our solar system. which is about as far as we can feasably go (at least for the next few hundred years)

personally I would like to see more research into the Higgs Boson particle, that which gives mass to everything in theory.If that mystery can be cracked, cheap space travel, artificial gravity, and shielding to withstand interstellar speeds can be achieved.


then this arguement would be moot

This is also a very interesting concept, there use to be a push to setup a refueling base on Mars, but it would initially require a one way trip which I think people shy away from. A few true pioneers were willing last I heard anyone speak on it, but I don't think its getting any funding.

 

[andreys21]

LOL.

Current return since metals bull market began in 2001:

Gold: + 525%
Silver: + 603%
CEF: + 575%
HUI: + 847%

Maybe your calculator doesn't work too well down in the bunker?

Do you have the data prior to 2001? This is a gold bubble that's going to burst soon. Gold, on average, since it has become a commodity on the stock market, has performed about 4% per year and that's a fact. The price is up because everyone is buying it up like sheep because Alex Jones and others are running around and screaming that the sky is falling. Good luck eating gold when the bubblegum hits the fan.

 

[EZLivin]

[/U]

Do you have the data prior to 2001? .

Of course. Long-term charts is one reason I say everything is cyclical - everything. I was responding to your comment that "gold is the worst investment." The data doesn't support that. Gold, currencies, stocks, commodities all rise and fall over periods of time. Each is good at specific periods in a cycle, and each is poor at specific periods in a cycle. Investors need to figure out which one will be in favor going forward. A lot of people figured out metals was entering a bull market back in the early 2000s, and have done extremely well because of it. I don't know of any early ones (those that recognized the change in the cycle) that have bailed on the sector yet. That doesn't mean they will be correct going forward, but all I was doing was responding to your statement about it being "the worst investment."

 

[EZLivin]

And as long as we are on the subject...

It REALLY REALLY burns me that so-called "guru" radio personalities (Clark Howard, Bob Brinker, and Dave Ramsey) have told callers to avoid metals - "dont' buy it" - blah blah blah. The people who unfortunately took their "advice" haven't taken part in the 13yr bull market. Sad. The callers were smart enough to consider it, so they asked for their opinions, but unfortunately they asked "gurus" who were know-nothings on the subject. That was back at $800 gold (don't know about now - I don't listen to financial radio any more). Sad.

 

[AMProducts]

hey AMP tritium is man made not mined

It is made from deuterium, which is mined from seawater. Look up the story of norsk hydro.

 

[kickstart my heart]

I don't see it financially feasible to for them to go to space and mine gold. We're not exactly out of it here on earth. I think the gold bubble is going to bust soon, one way or the other. Everyone tell me to buy gold right now is giving me bad advice. I should have been buying gold years ago, not when it's at such a high price. Ammo seems to be a better investment to me, and much more useful.

 

[cookie]

Gold is only worth what people are willing to pay for it. There is no shortage of gold or silver there is now too many people buying it now. Just like ammo.

 

[erudne]

And as long as we are on the subject...

It REALLY REALLY burns me that so-called "guru" radio personalities (Clark Howard, Bob Brinker, and Dave Ramsey) have told callers to avoid metals - "dont' buy it" - blah blah blah. The people who unfortunately took their "advice" haven't taken part in the 13yr bull market. Sad. The callers were smart enough to consider it, so they asked for their opinions, but unfortunately they asked "gurus" who were know-nothings on the subject. That was back at $800 gold (don't know about now - I don't listen to financial radio any more). Sad.

Rule #1
If your friend is trying to Sell You something he May be telling you a half truth.
If a man on a radio is trying to sell you something, he's flat out lieing!

 

[jimmyjjohn]

How do people do it? I hear stories about people making thousands of gold from jewelcrafting but I have no idea how it's done.

I thought maybe transmuting green gems into blues but that seems like it would cost more gold after buying the Golden lotus for the transmutes. Gold Mining Equipment

Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[Navman]

Couldn't they just use a Tractor Beam to pull the asteroid into low Earth orbit then Space X could fly up and mine the Gold

Kinda like having a day job on the rock :drink:

 

[chemist]

I remember in the Seventies when they were going to collect pure manganese nodules right off the sea floor. Lots of "very smart people" worked the numbers and showed what a winner it was.
It never was - and still isn't. Those nodules are still there, and the costs of recovering them - here on Earth - are still prohibitive.

Now imagine the "unknown-unknowns" of asteroid mining, and tell me what kind of contingency budget you'd have to build into your plans for a fair shot at success. It's incalculable - it's unimaginable.

This asteroid-mining nonsense is just one more lame attempt to put a ceiling on PM prices in an age and a time when no currency has any legitimacy or intrinsic value.

 

[coop44]

to answer AMP more completely:
Tritium is produced in nuclear reactors by neutron activation of lithium-6. This is possible with neutrons of any energy, and is an exothermic reaction yielding 4.8 MeV. In comparison, the fusion of deuterium with tritium releases about 17.6 MeV of energy.

6
3Li + n → 4
2He ( 2.05 MeV ) + 3
1T ( 2.75 MeV )

High-energy neutrons can also produce tritium from lithium-7 in an endothermic reaction, consuming 2.466 MeV. This was discovered when the 1954 Castle Bravo nuclear test produced an unexpectedly high yield.[3]

7
3Li + n → 4
2He + 3
1T + n

High-energy neutrons irradiating boron-10 will also occasionally produce tritium:[4]

10
5B + n → 2 4
2He + 3
1T

A more common result of boron-10 neutron capture is 7Li and a single alpha particle.[5]


another interesting fact is that tritium is a gas

 

[Provincial]

I remember in the Seventies when they were going to collect pure manganese nodules right off the sea floor. Lots of "very smart people" worked the numbers and showed what a winner it was.
It never was - and still isn't. Those nodules are still there, and the costs of recovering them - here on Earth - are still prohibitive.

Now imagine the "unknown-unknowns" of asteroid mining, and tell me what kind of contingency budget you'd have to build into your plans for a fair shot at success. It's incalculable - it's unimaginable.

This asteroid-mining nonsense is just one more lame attempt to put a ceiling on PM prices in an age and a time when no currency has any legitimacy or intrinsic value.

The sea floor mining plan was a cover story for the CIA mission to recover a Russian nuclear sub that sank in extreme depths in the Pacific. It was never really considered feasible. A good report on Project Jennifer is here:

Project Jennifer / Hughes Glomar Explorer