EXPERT OPINION ON THE DRAFT mining on asteroids
Mikhail Nazarov, head of the Laboratory of the Institute of Meteoritics of Geochemistry and Analytical Chemistry, Vernadsky, commenting on the idea of mining operations on asteroids, said it makes sense. After all, the world#39;s demand for platinum group metals is quite high.
The American company Planetary Resources launches unique project of water production and the platinum group metals on asteroids. This group includes iridium, rhenium, osmium, rhodium and palladium in the world they are relatively rare.
Nazarov noted that space objects, in comparison with the Earth, contain a lot more platinum group metals. For example, iridium crust occurs in 20 thousand times smaller than the outer material. If you solve all the technical issues of production, delivery and processing, while the company#39;s costs will pay off.
In most commonly encountered space carbonaceous hondrits in which the platinum content reaches 1 gram per ton, less than twice iridium, osmium and palladium. The total concentration of these elements consists of 2 grams per tonne.
Less common type asteroids M, which consist entirely of nickel-iron alloy, they are much richer than PGE.
Technology mining in space can be much easier than on Earth. Metals fairly easily separated from the silicates by the method of magnetic separation.
Asteroids may contain up to 10% water, contained in chemically bonded form in the form of hydroxyl groups. It is possible that some asteroids have large deposits of ice.
According to RIA Novosti.
