The Next Frontier of Mining

VISUAL CAPITALIST THE NEXT FRONTIER ROF MINING THE 5 MOST INTERESTING WAYS WE ARE EXPLORING FOR MINERAL WEALTH WITH GROWING GLOBAL DEMAND AND DECLINING MINE GRADES, COMMODITY PRICES CONTINUE TO RISE. HUMANS ARE STARTING TO LOOK MILES INTO SKY AND DEEP INTO THE SEA TO FIND THE NEXT SUPPLY OF NATURAL RESOURCES. HERE WE LOOK AT THE MOST INTERESTING WAYS THAT WE ARE EXPLORING FOR MINERALS. THE MOON THE MOON HAS TWO VERY VALUABLE RESOURCES: HELIUM-3 SCARCE ON EARTH, THIS ISOTOPE OF HELIUM CAN BE USED AS FUEL IN NUCLEAR FUSION. HELIUM-3 IS CREATED BY THE SUN AND BLASTED THROUGH SPACE BY SOLAR WIND. WHILE THE EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE PREVENTS IT FROM REACHING US, THE MOON IS CONSTANTLY BEING BOMBARDED BY IT. MINING THIS 9 FEET 0.75 MILES? WOULD PRODUCE 220 LBS OF HELIUM-3. ($141 MILLION) RESOURCE TARGETS ENOUGH TO POWER THE CITY OF DETROIT FOR A WATER YEAR VIA FUSION. HELIUM-3 REVENUE POTENTIAL: WATER MINIMUM COST: $25 BILLION WATER IS ONE OF THE MOST VALUABLE RESOURCES IN SPACE BECAUSE IT CAN BE USED TO MAKE ROCKET FUEL AS WELL AS DRINKING SUPPLY. HUMAN RISK FACTOR: ! ! ! ! COULD BE FEASIBLE BY 2025–2030 THERE IS ENOUGH WATER ON THE MOON TO PROPEL 90 BILLION LUNAR SHUTTLE LAUNCHES. ASTEROIDS BY SENDING OUT SPECIAL MINING SPACE CRAFT, HUMANITY COULD RETRIEVE VALUABLE MINERALS LOCKED UP ON NEAR EARTH ASTEROIDS (NEAS) FOR USE HERE AT HOME OR IN ORBITING 1500 SPACE STATIONS. THERE ARE MORE THAN KNOWN ASTEROIDS THAT ARE EASIER TO REACH THAN THE MOON, DESPITE BEING FURTHER AWAY. BECAUSE THE ASTEROIDS HAVE LOW GRAVITY, VEHICLES CAN APPROACH AND LEAVE THEM WITH VERY LITTLE PROPULSION. RESOURCE TARGETS PLATINUM GROUP A SINGLE PLATINUM-RICH METALS, NICKEL, IRON, WATER, GOLD AND MANY OTHERS 174X 500 METER WIDE ASTEROID CONTAINS: THE YEARLY REVENUE POTENTIAL: S $ S $ $ WORLD OUTPUT OF PLATINUM MINIMUM COST: APPROX $2.5 BILLION 1.5X HUMAN RISK FACTOR: ! ! ! COULD BE FEASIBLE BY 2025 THE KNOWN WORLD-RESERVES OF PLATINUM GROUP METALS NUCLEAR WASTE SIGNIFICANT QUANTITIES OF THE THREE LIGHT PLATINUM GROUP METALS - RUTHENIUM, RHODIUM AND PALLADIUM - ARE FORMED AS FISSION PRODUCTS IN NUCLEAR REACTORS. 1 TONNE OF SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL CONTAINS PER OZ TOTAL RUTHENIUM 0.19% $85 $5,192 RHODIUM 0.10% • $1,265 $16,268 PALLADIUM 0.04% • $700 $22,505 DID YOU KNOW? IN 2008, RHODIUM WAS THE MOST EXPENSIVE METAL ON THE PLANET, AT OVER $10,000 / OZ. SINCE IT HAS FALLEN SHARPLY IN PRICE TO BELOW GOLD AND PLATINUM. RESOURCE TARGETS PALLADIUM RUTHENIUM RHODIUM REVENUE POTENTIAL: SS S $ $ MINIMUM COST: $500 MILLION HUMAN RISK FACTOR: COULD BE FEASIBLE BY 2020 SHIPWRECKS EXPLORATION COMPANIES ARE SCOURING THE SEA FLOOR LOOKING FOR SUNKEN SHIPS STILL CARRYING LOST TREASURE. THERE ARE WELL OVER 1000 KNOWN HIGH VALUE TARGETS STILL TO BE FOUND, MOST WITH CARGO WORTH BETWEEN $50 MILLION TO $2+ BILLION. IN 2012, ODYSSEY MARINE EXPLORATION DISCOVERED THE SS GAIRSOPPA AND HAS RECOVERED MORE THAN 44 TONNES OF SILVER FROM IT TO DATE. RESEARCH INDICATES THAT FOUR TIMES AS MUCH STILL REMAINS ONBOARD. RESOURCE TARGETS GOLD, SILVER, AND GEMS REVENUE POTENTIAL: S S s $ $ MINIMUM COST: APPROX $50 MILLION DEEP OCEAN HUMAN RISK FACTOR: COULD BE FEASIBLE BY: NOW DEEP BENEATH THE WAVES, HYDROTHERMAL VENTS SPEW RICH CLOUDS OF MINERALS AND METALS AROUND THE CLOCK. ADVANCED ROBOTIC TECHNOLOGY ENABLES COMPANIES TO TAP INTO THIS RESOURCE, BUT ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS ARE STILL PREVALENT. RESOURCE TARGETS GOLD, COPPER, ZINC, AND MORE THESE RICH UNDERSEA DEPOSITS COULD CONTAIN MORE THAN 10X THE CONCENTRATION OF MINERALS THAN THEIR TERRESTRIAL COUNTERPARTS. REVENUE POTENTIAL: SS SS S MINIMUM COST: $500 MILLION HUMAN RISK FACTOR: COULD BE FEASIBLE BY 2015 IN THE NEXT 20 YEARS, TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS WILL BE SPENT TO TRY TO UNLOCK THE VAST WEALTH IN AND AROUND THE EARTH. SOME OF THESE METHODS ABOVE WILL FAIL. SOME MAY ALSO CHANGE OUR LIVES IN PROFOUND WAYS. INGENUITY IS THE GREATEST TRAIT OF HUMAN KIND - AND IT WILL FIND WAYS TO SOLVE ALL OF OUR CHALLENGES. VISUAL CAPITALIST HACKAGHON CREATED DURING THE ONE CONCEPT. ONE DAY. ONE INFOGRAPHIC. VISUAL CAPITALIST Educating a new generation of investors on resource investing and management VISUAL CAPITALIST www.visualcapitalist.com Sources: http://science.howstuffworks.com/asteroid-mining1.htm http://www.mining.com/asteroid-miners-explain-just-how-they-are-going-to-do-it-27631/ http://www.planetaryresources.com/asteroids/ http://www.planetaryresources.com/asteroids/composition/ http://www.space.com/15405-asteroid-mining-feasibility-study.html http://www.space.com/10619-mining-moon-water-bill-stone-í10114.html Mining The Moon - Rare Minerals - Helium 3 - Popular Mechanics http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/962678/plans_to_strip_mine_the_moon_may_soon_be_more_than_just_sciencefiction.html http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/space/moon-mars/1283056 For a complete list of sources, please visit: visualcapitalist.com/sources