Gold Asteroid

There is allegedly an asteroid full of gold residing somewhere between Mars and Jupiter. If it was brought to Earth, it would make everyone a billionaire.

This, of course, ignores the fact that minerals in the ground, or in space, are not the same as minerals mined and refined. Space may be full of rare minerals, but that is of no value as long as it is impossible to get hold of. Likewise, enormous amounts of minerals remain in Earth's crust. None of it can be mined at a profit.

To talk about mineral reserves without also mentioning the cost of mining, transportation and refinement is plain stupid. The idea that the mere existence of minerals in space or deep in the crust of our planet has value is nonsense. It takes energy and capital to mine and refine minerals. It is only when that work has been done that those minerals can be added to our stock of resources.

As things stand, mining asteroids for minerals is so expensive that it will not be done, and this state of affairs is likely to remain for a very long time to come.

By NASA - http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/imgcat/html/object_page/nea_19970627_mos.html, Public Domain, Link