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Goldman Sachs says mining platinum from asteroids is a way for bankers to earn billions and is a realistic goal. Goldman Sachs is bullish on space mining with "asteroid-grabbing spacecraft." In a 98-page note for clients, analyst Noah Poponak and his team argue that platinum mining in space is getting cheaper and easier, and the rewards are becoming greater as time goes by.
"Prospecting probes can likely be built for tens of millions of dollars each and Caltech has suggested an asteroid-grabbing spacecraft could cost $2.6bn." It is believed an asteroid the size of a football field could be worth up to £40 billion. However, bringing that much platinum back to Earth is likely to crash the precious metal market - and probably the rest of the economy with it.
(Score: 2) by archfeld on Saturday April 08 2017, @06:50AM (2 children)
No I really don't think a legal corporation would massacre a city, or continent, no profit in it. I also don't think a corporation could secure their own ass from determined hackers, or a suicide terrorist take over. Look at what suicide bombers have been able to do ground based with little or no tools. Just imagine if they got into a position inside the operation of something like this. I will readily admit it is far fetched but so was terrorists having access to nerve gas 20 years ago. Remember this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster [wikipedia.org]
or this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_subway_sarin_attack [wikipedia.org]
or even this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11_attacks [wikipedia.org]
All of those read like plots from bad Sci-Fi books...
For the NSA : Explosives, guns, assassination, conspiracy, primers, detonators, initiators, main charge, nuclear charge
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 08 2017, @08:46AM (1 child)
I will readily admit it is far fetched but so was terrorists having access to nerve gas 20 years ago.
Thats stupid logic.
Something unlikely once happened so something on a totally different scale of unlikely is also gonna happen.
Nobody is going to drop an asteroid on a city out of the blue.
Not only would the 'terrorists' have to pull off a massive, well-organized plan that would be the equal of commandeering the entire operation of SpaceX or its equivalent, they would have to keep it secret for months from all of the people with telescopes and radar who would see the asteroid coming.
(Score: 2) by archfeld on Saturday April 08 2017, @07:00PM
Of course, did you follow the conversation as a whole at all ? The entire premise is based on asteroid mining and the technology to do so becoming a reality. Goldman Sachs speculates out of the blue that asteroid mining is a potential reality in some 'near future' my response is based on that bit of fluff actually bearing fruit rather than being a vapor dream of some investment seeking hedge fund parasite. I know it is a stretch, but try reading before replying.
For the NSA : Explosives, guns, assassination, conspiracy, primers, detonators, initiators, main charge, nuclear charge