The answer is clearly yes IMO. We probably wouldn't have nuclear fission if it weren't for Shinkolobwe, which by sheer luck had uranium ore at a concentration f

The answer is clearly yes IMO. We probably wouldn't have nuclear fission if it weren't for Shinkolobwe, which by sheer luck had uranium ore at a concentration far greater than any uranium ore ever found anywhere else on earth. Surely there are other technologies we're missing out on simply because we don't (or didn't at the time) have the raw materials.