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I never get this. We're digging our mines deeper and deeper. Automation is improving by leaps and bounds. What happens when we start mining deeper in the crust
by FredPret 4y ago
I never get this. We're digging our mines deeper and deeper. Automation is improving by leaps and bounds. What happens when we start mining deeper in the crust where there is probably much more gold?
I feel like commodity prices tend to get pushed down by tech improvements.
- AnimalMuppet 4y ago"Probably" is doing a lot of work for you there. So far as I know, there is no reason to suppose that the chemical composition of the earth's crust is significantly higher in gold at deeper levels.
- FredPret 4y agoHeavier elements sink to the bottom. The liquid core is mostly iron, so I would expect the even heavier gold, uranium, platinum, etc to be distributed closer to the centre of mass than the surface. Now the crust is not liquid but it is very old and there have been lots of plate tectonics. I imagine all the shaking and scraping would be enough to get the gold in deeper. It's interesting to note that the richest gold field we have was created when a meteorite hit the Earth so hard, the deeper parts of the crust got bent upward and lay closer to the surface (Vredefort dome). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vredefort_impact_structure https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vredefort_impact_structure
- jliptzin 4y agoNot to mention asteroid mining