DailyDirt: Space Mining

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

It's fairly common in science fiction for space mining operations to exist, but the reality is that just getting anything into space is pretty expensive -- and there isn't all that much stuff in space that needs to get re-supplied with materials. However, the legal basis for claiming ownership of space resources may be clearing up, and a few companies might actually be driving down the costs of getting a spacecraft into space. The concept of striking a literal gold mine in space might not happen, but the technology to collect resources in space might still be valuable for future space exploration.

• The House has passed a bill containing rules for space mining rights -- allowing private companies to actually own whatever they manage to mine on any asteroids they find. The Space Act appears to only cover resources from asteroids, so private companies can't claim ownership of moons, planets or planetoids or... anything else yet. [url]
• Another asteroid mining company has ambitious plans to release a fleet of cubesats to look for precious metals in asteroids in near-earth space. Even if this company succeeds in finding asteroids that contain more metal than others, it could end up being a very expensive way to get nickel and iron back to earth. [url]
• Planetary Resources Inc might not be so optimistic about extracting platinum from mining asteroids -- as the company pivots to collecting water from space objects to serve as a re-fueling station to help extend the lifespans of aging satellites already in orbit. However, it's not clear if the owners of existing satellites would ever want to pay for such a risky service. [url]

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Filed Under: asteroid mining, asteroids, cubesats, platinum, precious metals, satellites, space, space act, space exploration
Companies: deep space industries, planetary resources

DailyDirt: Valuable Metals Abound

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Things that we use every day, like cell phones, computers, and other consumer electronics, actually contain a wide variety of valuable metals, such as europium, dysprosium, neodymium, terbium, and yttrium. When these electronics reach the end of their useful life, these metals are often lost to landfills if they're not properly recycled. Rather than let these useful materials go to waste, the U.S. Department of Energy is now working to recover rare earth elements from used consumer products, using methods employed in nuclear fuel reprocessing. Here are some other examples of ways to get at valuable metals.

• Researchers at Murdoch University have developed a faster and cheaper microfluidics approach to recover precious metals like platinum and palladium from spent automotive catalyst. The new technique could also be used for the purification of rare earth elements.  [url]
• British company Metalysis is hoping to isolate useful metals like tantalum, titanium, neodymium, tungsten, and vanadium from their oxides via electrolysis in molten salt at 1,000 degrees Celsius. The electrolysis is done directly on the powdered oxide, which acts as the cathode and is gradually transformed from the oxide to the metal. [url]
• Companies like Planetary Resources and Deep Space Industries have ambitious plans to mine asteroids for useful metals (and water). Planetary Resources plans to build a couple of low-cost robotic prospecting spacecraft that can survey, intercept, and process asteroids, and then deliver the resources directly to where they're needed. DSI has similar plans, but it's also developing a 3D printer ("Microgravity Foundry") that will be able to create high-quality metal components in orbit. [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post via StumbleUpon.

Filed Under: asteroid mining, electrolysis, metals, mining, recycling
Companies: deep space industries, metalysis, planetary resources