Using nuclear options to transform ordinary metals to gold should be less pricier than running a gold mining operation on an asteroid flying by, I think.
Do we have anyone as an expert on any of those options?
Do we have anyone as an expert on any of those options?
Indeed what gold and other rare(-ish) metals we mine today are largely the remains of asteroid impacts which deposited metals into the crust of this planet after formation, then got mixed around by plate tectonics and water cycles. Go to the source and you’ll fine pure, reduced metals at the original concentrations.
Like for example, there are near earth asteroids classified as “non-metal” types that are 1-4% gold and platinum group metals by weight, which would totally make them valuable ores on Earth. Let me emphasize these are the non-metal asteroids.
I would imagine that asteroids would hold value with rare-earths instead of currency metals.
There is no reason to make this assumption.
This is extremely wrong. Gold is the preferred material for a huge variety of industrial applications, it's just not used because it's too expensive.
Silver and platinum are probably even bigger industrial wins though. Platinum is used a lot in industrial chemical reactors, and silver would entirely replace copper in electronics and heat-sinks if it were cheaper.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fact-or-fiction-l...