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Has anyone made predictions on the implications of "rare-earth" minerals becoming "not-so-rare-anymore"? What, today, costs a fortune due to the requirement of
by mabbo 8y ago
Has anyone made predictions on the implications of "rare-earth" minerals becoming "not-so-rare-anymore"? What, today, costs a fortune due to the requirement of certain matter that we don't have much of? Jewelry is obvious, but what else in my home right now is expensive to replace just because of the matter it's made of?
- LeifCarrotson 8y agoOne example of this from the past is aluminum. In the 1850s, it was extremely rare and difficult to produce - costing more than gold, used as serving utensils in Napoleon's court, and as the capstone of the Washington monument. Now it's one of the cheapest metals.
- kwhitefoot 8y ago> Jewelry is obvious But is it really? Most gemstones can be made artificially these days and the price has dropped dramatically so it seems unlikely to me that mining asteroids would have much effect. The price of jewellery is much higher than the value of the materials already.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- microtherion 8y agoDespite the name, rare earth minerals are not particularly rare.