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**BashBeissedat** · 05-02-2012, 05:04 AM

But if past trends are anything to go by, technological advancements will mean that deposits of ever decreasing grade will continue to become economically viable to extract.

They become more economically viable because the price increases and the scale of the operation increases. There have not been too many step change type technological advancements in mining in many years. When we're digging 5km down to get at 0.1% nickel, not much is going to help you make it cheaper.

The simple point is that mining companies will look to maximize profits and minimise risk... I just can't see how any non-terrestrial mining activity could possibly satisfy these criteria.

Mining a few km underground is pretty expensive and risky too.

05-02-2012, 05:04 AM	#45
BashBeissedat Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 389 Senior Member	But if past trends are anything to go by, technological advancements will mean that deposits of ever decreasing grade will continue to become economically viable to extract. They become more economically viable because the price increases and the scale of the operation increases. There have not been too many step change type technological advancements in mining in many years. When we're digging 5km down to get at 0.1% nickel, not much is going to help you make it cheaper. The simple point is that mining companies will look to maximize profits and minimise risk... I just can't see how any non-terrestrial mining activity could possibly satisfy these criteria. Mining a few km underground is pretty expensive and risky too.
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