Submission + - Mining Asteroids and Getting Rich (or not) (discovery.com)
astroengine writes: "Asteroid mining is a popular industry in sci-fi novels and space visions of the future. Asteroids are great because they contain a huge wealth of precious metals and handy ores... right? Actually, asteroid mining is far from being a practical reality for many decades, as there is one thing that always gets in the way: profit.
From Space Disco:
From Space Disco:
""But while our musings about exploiting the vast resources of asteroids are all well and good, we need to keep in mind that for mining corporations to devote the time and effort to the idea, asteroid mining needs to be a profitable line of business which brings in a tidy sum at the end of the fiscal year and looks good on a balance sheet. Considering that major mining conglomerates have annual revenues between $30 and $50 billion, that number has to be very big."