2 ms·
Iridium, if nothing else. We've mined all the terrestrial iridium we can reach (there's all that magma, but it's going to be a helluva lot easier to get an ast
by Vivtek 16y ago
Iridium, if nothing else. We've mined all the terrestrial iridium we can reach (there's all that magma, but it's going to be a helluva lot easier to get an asteroid than to get to the magma).
Oh, also: the disadvantage of mining the Earth's crust is all those people and other things living on it. The environment is not an issue with an asteroid - you'll be using up the whole thing anyway.
Longer-term, of course, you can set up a big mirror and smelt the whole asteroid in situ for much, much lower prices than a terrestrial smelting furnace - with the added advantage that you'll be able to breathe in Gary, Indiana. (If you still think getting your metal out of the crust of the planet you're living on is a good idea, I invite you to visit Gary. It's way better than it used to be, since China and Korea have volunteered to poison themselves in its place, but it's still bad enough.)