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wookiemeister scenario

what if nasa had found gold on mars?

could gold be mined on mars and shipped to earth to make it worth shipping?

what if they found gold on the moon?

the earth was hit by a shower of gold millions of years ago, what if places such as the moon (a very close neighbour) had large gold deposits, would that be enough for mining companies to travel to the moon the get it?

wookiemeister said:

what if they found gold on the moon?

Actually, it’s Helium-3 which is more important.
The Germans already have a secret base on the Moon and they are mining Helium-3, my sources tell me that they’re also planning an attack on Earth…soon.

I’ve got a lot of money in GOLD, the last thing I want is for it to become abundant.

Ordinary lunar and Martian rocks are already worth far more than gold, because they’re a lot more rare, here on Earth. But that high value isn’t anywhere near enough to enable mining for profit.

So how is gold going to make any difference?

rarer

Peak Warming Man said:

I’ve got a lot of money in GOLD, the last thing I want is for it to become abundant.

GOLD fever strikes again.

wookiemeister said:

could gold be mined on mars and shipped to earth to make it worth shipping?

Nope. Not even close.

1. Gold is heavy, and weight is the issue when getting things into space.
2. You’d need to get a Saturn V rocket to Mars (and associated fuel and infrastructure) for every 1000kg or so of gold you want to bring back.

And that is not even taking into consideration the infrastructure required to mine/process the gold.

Still it is a thread about SPACE and IMAGINATION so it must be 99% right.

There would be elements rarer than gold in the Martian crust, but rarity is not going to ensure profits in regard to any extraterrestrial mineral resources. You’re talking about a fairly dumb luxury market who just don’t have that kind of money. If the stoopid rich had thousands of billions to invest in Martian jewellery, they’d be investing it already.

Bubblecar said:

There would be elements rarer than gold in the Martian crust, but rarity is not going to ensure profits in regard to any extraterrestrial mineral resources. You’re talking about a fairly dumb luxury market who just don’t have that kind of money. If the stoopid rich had thousands of billions to invest in Martian jewellery, they’d be investing it already.

reasonably put.

In case nobody realised, my first post was in reference to the movie, ‘Iron Sky’

Aquila said:

In case nobody realised, my first post was in reference to the movie, ‘Iron Sky’

I got it.

:-)

Witty Rejoinder said:

Aquila said:

In case nobody realised, my first post was in reference to the movie, ‘Iron Sky’

I got it.

:-)

*phew

)

Aquila said:

In case nobody realised, my first post was in reference to the movie, ‘Iron Sky’

I didn’t realise, and I haven’t seen the film. The significance is lost on me.

if you had a space elevator then travel to mars/ moon would become much cheaper

would a mining company build the space elevator to get to the gold?

think of it

a planet elsewhere wouldn;t be covered by any mining rights because no one else can claim it and even if they could would have no means to enforce their claim.

if a mining company got to mars first they would claim it in the name of the company – no natives to sign treaties with, no environmental worries because mars is going to be virtually unhabited for quite some time.

if taking things to orbit became cheaper then mining activity would become viable on another planet.

a nuclear powered craft from the earths surface to mars orbit is possible as a protype nuclear bomber has been made in the past. the technology could be “miniaturised”, the fuel could be water that is heated electrically and superheated. a carrier craft to earth orbit would be necessary.

nuclear materials could be mined on mars to power craft there and fuel the arriving craft, the spent waste could be dumped on mars in deep tunnels without much worry as no geological activity to speak of happens there.

the gold found on mars could be used to fuel the new economy of mars

Gold wouldn’t be profitable enough.

My understanding of the economics of huge open cut mines is that they run on fairly tight margins, just like any other business. Unless they’re tuning up nuggets of pure gold – if they’re digging huge volumes if ore to process it and extract a few ounces of gold there’s not a great deal of money in it.

party_pants said:

Gold wouldn’t be profitable enough.

My understanding of the economics of huge open cut mines is that they run on fairly tight margins, just like any other business. Unless they’re tuning up nuggets of pure gold – if they’re digging huge volumes if ore to process it and extract a few ounces of gold there’s not a great deal of money in it.

Well, there is a thing called the cost curve. And your profitability depends on where you are on the cost curve. You can find such curves online for different mining industries.

As prices decline, the people to the right end of the cost curve fall away.

To explain a little, the Cost Curve plots price of production against cumulative tonnage for the particular mining industry, with the lowest cost producers counted first.

how to factor in a return trip to Mars into the cost curve?

:)

party_pants said:

how to factor in a return trip to Mars into the cost curve?

:)

Hehe.
I am sitting here trying to factor a return trip to the Pilbara into a quote.

Actually, it’s Helium-3 which is more important.
———————
True, as gold can only be used in jewellery and electronics and insulation, but Helium-3 can be used in party balloons, and everybody loves party balloons.