Strategy to mine an asteroid, Part XVIII

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How might the mining of 3554 Amun, or a similar near earth asteroid take place?

Amongst the initiatives to mine asteroids, it seems to me that this asteroid won't be selected.  At least not by the current players.

The government won't select it because they want to go to Mars.  If the government chooses an asteroid mission, it will be a small one that Sen Nelson of Florida favors.  That mission will be in support of an eventual Mars mission, not an asteroid mission.

Furthermore, the private companies interested in asteroid missions want the small ones that they can bring back.  This asteroid is too big to move.

If anyone wants to mine this asteroid, they will have to do it on their own.  It will have to be a new player.

Now, as far as asteroid mining as a business opportunity goes, the only thing that's worth bringing back is precious metals.  It doesn't make sense to bring back fuel because you have to use so much of it in order to bring it back.  Besides, in the long run, the goal should be to not use fuel for destinations.  Fuel should be a temporary business.

Here's a thought:  What if you dedicate the asteroidal platinum towards making fuel cells for cars?  Also, dedicate the space solar energy towards making hydrogen?  The final product could be sold in competition with fossil fuels.  Prices are high enough to support a large profit margin if costs can be brought down low enough.  The basic idea is not to sell the space derived products themselves; rather, to sell value added products derived from space.

The trick would be in getting the product back to earth.  The way to do that economically would be to use space sails.  These require no fuel.  They are not likely to wear out soon. Thus, operating costs should be low.  Construction costs should be low too, as it would be built by robots. The cost of labor would be low at first because you can't send many miners yet.  The main cost would be in initial start up costs, and that would be taken up largely by the need to launch from earth. This cost is coming down, but realistically, it will likely be relatively high for a long time to come.

Another trick would be to get people up there.  After all, why go into space at all?  It is  a dangerous and forbidding place.  The answer is money.  People will take risks for money.  A money making opportunity won't be passed by simply because it is too dangerous.

The final trick is to get investors who would be willing to mine this rock.  That may be the toughest sell.  The reason is that money men are not big risk takers.  You don't get rich by being careless with money.  You have to convince them that the risks are manageable and relatively small in comparison to the benefits.

It will have to have money making potential of course.  But there are other reasons.

The reasons to do this go beyond mere monetary gain.  Humans should spread out from the earth.  It would be an insurance policy against human extinction in case of a calamity on earth.  Furthermore, the mining of platinum and space solar production will mitigate the burning of fossil fuels, an activity which is changing our atmosphere in ways we may regret some day.

Why 3554 Amun?  Because it has growth potential.  Its very size will mean a long term project to mine its platinum.  It can also be used to build a permanent habitat in space, which will enable true space settlement.  Miners will be going to space to stay and could bring their families.That will take time, of course, but the potential exists.  I would say the potential would be better than for settling Mars.

The government is not likely to do this.  Private industry might, but they will have to be shown the way.  It will take private individuals to start this, and they will have to be willing to spend the money necessary to get it started.  Those who would do this could be the only realistic hope for mankind's settlement of outer space.  The failure to do this could spell doom for us all.


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