I've done lots of reading on the Human mining of the asteroids, and the single most frequent objection I run across is that it will be far too dangerous. The TECHNOLOGY is here; now. NOT refined to the point that Earth's mining industry has it today - but as it BEGAN on Earth a long time ago.
OK – I’m going to run with this theme for a few pieces and I’m going to take a step back. One of the biggest objections to mining the asteroids is that “it’s going to be hard; maybe even impossible”.
I’d like to use a different template to this. I live in Minnesota; iron mining has been (and still is!) a large part of our state’s character and history.
Some of you reading this may roll your eyes and mutter, “Who the heck cares about iron mining? That’s a dead issue! Even in your ‘special’ state, your iron is pretty much played out. The whole idea of mining is so passe as to be pretty much irrelevant!”
I might point out to you that without Minnesota’s mining and manufacturing history – both past and CURRENT – your personal life would be quite different. First of all, “Minnesota's rich iron deposits were a vital component of America's [World War II] war effort. About 70% of the iron ore that America devoted to the war came from Minnesota, amounting to more than 333 million tons.” I believe it might be safe to say that without the iron from Minnesota, there wouldn’t have been much of an American response to the Nazis and the Emperor of Japan.
Secondly, in case you missed it, a company that formed out of Minnesota’s iron mining was Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing.
You know the company? No? Are you SURE you have no idea what stupidly obscure company I’m referring to? Maybe it’s other name would jog your recognition: 3M…you know a couple of their totally irrelevant products – PostIt Notes; Scotch Brand Tape…well, I’ll stop as they manufacture some 60,000 products.
“I think we’d live without paper products!” you snap with irritation. I’ll point out that among those products, there is at least ONE that conceivably saved countless lives of Humans on Earth: “The N95 respirator mask was developed by 3M and approved in 1972. Due to its ability to filter viral particulates, its use was recommended during the COVID-19 pandemic…the U.S. government asking 3M to stop exporting US-made N95 respirator masks to Canada and to Latin American countries…President Donald Trump invoked the Defense Production Act to require 3M to prioritize orders from the federal government.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3M)
So let’s move on. “Historically, much of the iron ore utilized by industrialized societies has been mined from predominantly hematite deposits with grades of around 70% Fe. These deposits are commonly referred to as "direct shipping ores" or "natural ores". Increasing iron ore demand, coupled with the depletion of high-grade hematite ores in the United States…” read there, 70% of the iron ore available to the world prior to WWII came from Minnesota.
The iron mined in Minnesota didn’t spring out of the earth in fully formed iron ingots.
It had to be dug out. “On the Cuyuna Iron Range…mining began in 1907. In the early 1880s, federal surveys noted magnetic anomalies near what would become the Cuyuna Range. No visible outcrops of iron ore were present at the surface…buy surveyors suspected the anomalies could be buried iron ore deposits. By 1902, Adams began seeking outside investors to develop mines…in June 1907, the Rogers–Brown Ore Company opened the first active iron mine on the Cuyuna Range. Around 1910, immigrants from northern and southern Europe settled into newly built mining communities with the hope of finding work at mines.”
“Demand for iron ore in the United States surged during World War I. Over thirty iron mines were operating at that time; most were underground operations. After the war, many of these Cuyuna Iron Mines closed. The few new mines of the 1920s were open pits that used large earth-moving equipment rather than shafts and tunnels to reach the ore. By the early 1930s, the economic woes of the Great Depression affected mining in the Cuyuna Range [which held] manganese-rich iron ores important for making very hard steel. The Cuyuna Range held the largest domestic supply of this ore. Demand for iron and steel continued throughout World War II and the Korean War. In 1953, production on the Cuyuna Range reached its highest point, at a little over three-and-a-half million tons. The early 1960s saw a rapid decline in iron ore from the Cuyuna Range as seventeen mines closed between 1961 and 1965. By 1982, the last reported shipment of iron ore from the Cuyuna Range was made, ending the period of active mine operations in the district.” (https://www.minnpost.com/mnopedia/2016/04/very-brief-history-mining-cuyuna-iron-range/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiA44OtBhAOEiwAj4gpOSt0UhiZ2WaXl-6EI4yaEdcj89-g1Nd0qdvanbAhe1BaUYtMibg-LhoCHHYQAvD_BwE)
“There is evidence that meteorites were used as a source of iron before 3000 BC, but extraction of the metal from ores dates from about 2000 BC. Following the discovery of high-quality iron on the island of Elba, iron became an important commodity of Roman Empire.”
How many people died attempting to develop the technology for extracting metal ore from underground? Apparently that’s a virtually unknown number. Recently, all I can get are general numbers: “Although there are no accurate figures, estimates suggest such accidents kill about 12,000 people a year.” https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-11533349. That’s for 2023…
If the argument against mining the asteroids is that too many people will die…I suggest to you that since underground mining started…well, that number isn’t available, either. So, let’s just start with 1900-2023. If 12,000 people a year die in mining accidents, that means in the past 123 years, 1,470,000 humans (mostly males) have died; that is, from the beginning of the Industrial Era to the Colonization of Space Era, a million plus people have died.
Why do we think that mining in space will be ANY EASIER? Objecting to mining is space based on an imaginary “injury report” is…not entirely rational – and if that is the objection, then perhaps we should stop mining on Earth altogether.
No?
“12,000 lives – and some of those are probably just slaves! – is the price we have to pay in order to have the way of life we do.” And what about some of those other specialized metals the Western Climate Mitigation People need? How many deaths have there been while lithium for electric car batteries have occurred? We don’t know: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-tuesday-edition-1.5399491/tech-giants-sued-over-appalling-deaths-of-children-who-mine-their-cobalt-1.5399492 BTW – in the event that your argument is that “we don’t have mining accidents any more. We’re technologically advanced!”, I suggest you follow this link: https://www.mining-technology.com/features/featureworld-worst-mining-disasters/?cf-view
My premise is that using “it’s dangerous” as an excuse to refrain from mining the asteroids carries little weight. The technology itself is making rapid advances, plus we’re not talking about sending asteroid miners to the farthest reaches of the Solar System. Asteroids swing by Earth all the time. We have the technology to support life in space – the ISS has been “live” for the past 24 years. We have ways to reach space that are gradually getting both easier and more accurate. “We don’t have any mining machines!!!”
Obviously we can’t use diesel-powered machinery! How about battery powered? Maybe take a few of those lithium batteries and repurpose them?
I’m just saying: mining the asteroids isn’t impossible – and every member of the IPCC, every democrat in the US, and Green Party members everywhere, should be backing asteroid mining programs EVERYWHERE!
New Source: https://cowboystatedaily.com/2024/01/06/wyoming-could-be-a-space-pioneer-when-not-if-we-start-mining-asteroids/
Fundamental Resource: (A general Wikipedia post detailing what the authors currently know about asteroid mining: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroid_mining)
Noted Resources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_asteroid_close_approaches_to_Earth, https://www.pharostribune.com/news/local_news/article_7fcd3ea5-3c14-533f-a8d5-9bf629922f34.html, https://www.fool.com/investing/2022/04/29/like-asteroid-mining-be-careful-what-you-wish-for/, https://www.nps.gov/wrbr/learn/historyculture/theroadtothefirstflight.htm, https://hackaday.com/2019/03/27/extraterrestrial-excavation-digging-holes-on-other-worlds/, https://www.planetary.org/space-missions/every-small-worlds-mission; https://www.earthsystems.com/history-mining/
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