Moon mining company to bring 'precious resources' back to Earth after funding secured

[mystery-ak]

Moon mining company to bring 'precious resources' back to Earth after funding secured

Moon Express competing for Google’s Lunar Xprize worth $30 million (£25 million)

    Shehab Khan
    @shehabkhan
    2 hours  ago
   
A company hoping to extract the Moon’s natural resources has just completed a $20 million financing round. 

Moon Express, which is based in Silicon Valley, has received a total of $45 million (£37 million) in funding for its efforts a lunar lander.

The company is competing for Google’s Lunar Xprize, which will give whichever firm can land a rover on the moon $30 million (£25 million).

more
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/moon-mining-company-moon-express-google-lunar-xprize-a7528606.html

[catfish1957]

$20M in financing for moon mining?  I need to make sure my investments are at least a 1000 miles from any VC rep who thinks SyFy's The Expanse is Science non-fictiom.

I got a hot tip on moon beams he'll love.

[MajorClay]

Don't tell the Hffmans on Gold Rush.

[MajorClay]

Hoffmans

[Smokin Joe]

Y'all laugh, but what's the going price per pound of moon rock?

Uh huh. More valuable than diamonds.

[Idiot]

Hoffmans

@MajorClay
lololololol
The Hoffmans tend to screw up everything they touch. 

[Just_Victor]

What precious resources?  The moon is largely made up of mineral oxides, none of which are uncommon on earth.
http://www.permanent.com/lunar-geology-minerals.html
http://www.outerspaceuniverse.org/what-mineral-resources-found-on-the-moon.html


He3 may one day have value, if we ever get a fusion reactor that functions.  But for now, I don't see much value in shipping SiO2 back to earth.  I don't think we've depleted Arizona's supply yet.

[dfwgator]

[catfish1957]

Y'all laugh, but what's the going price per pound of moon rock?

Uh huh. More valuable than diamonds.

Incorrect.

(1) Value of moon rocks are based on the collectability of their rarity, (only 840 pounds from  6 Apollo moon missions)
(2) Mining them and bringing them back will extremely reduce the rarity, and thus their price.
(3) Captial costs way through the roof for non rare metals????

True folly, and fools at work.

[Smokin Joe]

Incorrect.

(1) Value of moon rocks are based on the collectability of their rarity, (only 840 pounds from  6 Apollo moon missions)
(2) Mining them and bringing them back will extremely reduce the rarity, and thus their price.
(3) Captial costs way through the roof for non rare metals????

True folly, and fools at work.

Yes, and no. There are tons of diamonds out there, and their availability is controlled, keeping the market high. There are millions of silver dollars, too, but only a few from 1804.
The supply of moon rocks would be even easier to control, at least initially. Issued by location and type, serially numbered, and series they could be the next collector market, with early issues in shortest supply and highest demand, even in a limited market, provided the quantities were limited too.
The Apollo mission rocks will remain rare, the 'First Return' issue would be the first it was legal for private citizens to own. (The Apollo rocks were presented to countries as a diplomatic perq, to be in museums or to be studied in university labs. You can't legally own one, as things stand.)
Currently, the only way for anyone to own lunar material legally is to have a meteorite composed of lunar material, literally blasted from the moon by impact and which made it to Earth.

[Joe Wooten]

What precious resources?  The moon is largely made up of mineral oxides, none of which are uncommon on earth.
http://www.permanent.com/lunar-geology-minerals.html
http://www.outerspaceuniverse.org/what-mineral-resources-found-on-the-moon.html


He3 may one day have value, if we ever get a fusion reactor that functions.  But for now, I don't see much value in shipping SiO2 back to earth.  I don't think we've depleted Arizona's supply yet.

 
Lunar resources will be valuable in lunar based industries, but you have to have a colony there first and determine what is worth mining. With our current technology, there is nothing on the moon that cannot be mined and processed cheaper here on Earth. Transport costs are a major obstacle.

Let's get a base first to figure out how to live there and truly explore the moon, then worry about what can be economically mined to support the colony.

[Just_Victor]

Lunar resources will be valuable in lunar based industries, but you have to have a colony there first and determine what is worth mining. With our current technology, there is nothing on the moon that cannot be mined and processed cheaper here on Earth. Transport costs are a major obstacle.

Let's get a base first to figure out how to live there and truly explore the moon, then worry about what can be economically mined to support the colony.

@Smokin Joe brought up a good point that the value (probably only initially) would be to collectors, rather than in industry usable minerals.

I've been playing with the numbers, in between running around extinguishing work related fires, and I'm coming up with a rough single mission cost of ~$300M to return 1ton of lunar rock.  I can't find any estimates for $/lb. to return from the moon, so I'm making my own guesses.

But the $300M/2000lb. means I have to sell to collectors at $150,000/lb. just to break even.  If you break it into <1lb. pieces, and get the cost to ~$10,000 for a 1oz marble sized piece you probably stand a better chance of finding buyers.   This is possibly doable, but I'm betting after one trip, the market is saturated.

[240B]

The Hoffmans tend to screw up everything they touch.

They really are the 3 stooges of the show. Parker had a bad cleanup and one of his crew immediately said, That's a Hoffman cleanup!"

[Smokin Joe]

@Smokin Joe brought up a good point that the value (probably only initially) would be to collectors, rather than in industry usable minerals.

I've been playing with the numbers, in between running around extinguishing work related fires, and I'm coming up with a rough single mission cost of ~$300M to return 1ton of lunar rock.  I can't find any estimates for $/lb. to return from the moon, so I'm making my own guesses.

But the $300M/2000lb. means I have to sell to collectors at $150,000/lb. just to break even.  If you break it into <1lb. pieces, and get the cost to ~$10,000 for a 1oz marble sized piece you probably stand a better chance of finding buyers.   This is possibly doable, but I'm betting after one trip, the market is saturated.

It wouldn't take so long to saturate the market for raw lunar material--but think of the write-offs!

More seriously, getting the foothold paid for would be a tremendous start, from there, a marketable commodity or industry (low G manufacturing/refining) would have to be viable.

The idea, however, of building in-system craft with a 1/6 G launch investment, or building those in lunar orbit and bringing material up from the moon could really boost (no pun intended) the ability to compete in the eventual asteroid mining equipment business. It isn't so much the product, as the location where it would be made and the shipping costs to the user.

Sure, we can make a lot of things cheaper here, but getting them there is what eats up the profits. If we can establish controlled conditions and make them there, that would be a solid beginning, and the savings in lift costs would be huge.

[Smokin Joe]

They really are the 3 stooges of the show. Parker had a bad cleanup and one of his crew immediately said, That's a Hoffman cleanup!"

Granted they have some rough runs, often self inflicted. I have to give them some credit for being willing to keep trying new areas, though. It's a gamble, and if you hit big, it can pay off. He does keep coming back.

Pity Parker doesn't have his granddad's demeanor, but he is darned young yet.

Beets has a plan, and if he can pull it off, those dredges could make him a lot more money.

[Cripplecreek]

@Smokin Joe brought up a good point that the value (probably only initially) would be to collectors, rather than in industry usable minerals.

I've been playing with the numbers, in between running around extinguishing work related fires, and I'm coming up with a rough single mission cost of ~$300M to return 1ton of lunar rock.  I can't find any estimates for $/lb. to return from the moon, so I'm making my own guesses.

But the $300M/2000lb. means I have to sell to collectors at $150,000/lb. just to break even.  If you break it into <1lb. pieces, and get the cost to ~$10,000 for a 1oz marble sized piece you probably stand a better chance of finding buyers.   This is possibly doable, but I'm betting after one trip, the market is saturated.

There are minerals in abundance on the moon that are fairly rare on the earth but the real value in the moon isn't on what we can bring back. The real value of the moon is as a low gravity manufacturing and launch site.

[Just_Victor]

There are minerals in abundance on the moon that are fairly rare on the earth but the real value in the moon isn't on what we can bring back. The real value of the moon is as a low gravity manufacturing and launch site.

That was the point of my first post up-thread.  The aluminum, titanium, chromium, iron, manganese, and magnesium that are fairly abundant in lunar rock are more valuable there than here.

[Cripplecreek]

That was the point of my first post up-thread.  The aluminum, titanium, chromium, iron, manganese, and magnesium that are fairly abundant in lunar rock are more valuable there than here.

Exactly. The value in the moon is primarily as a stepping stone where we can mine materials needed for further expansion into space. The low gravity means a major cost savings on launches however I think the idea of a space elevator is far more feasible on the moon. (doesn't need to be as tall, doesn't need to deal with weather or most of our space junk)

[Taxcontrol]

I was once told that there is an abundance of Helium3 on the moon and that it has value in fusion reactions as there is almost no radioactive waste product.  Not sure if that is true as I am not a nuclear physicist.  However, if it is true, then I could see a chance to make money once fusion reactors are able to provide an over unity sustained reaction.

[Idaho_Cowboy]

Exactly. The value in the moon is primarily as a stepping stone where we can mine materials needed for further expansion into space. The low gravity means a major cost savings on launches however I think the idea of a space elevator is far more feasible on the moon. (doesn't need to be as tall, doesn't need to deal with weather or most of our space junk)

It might make sense, if we can get ships for long haul space travel that never have to blast out of earth's gravity. Then we just have to 'puddle jump' supplies etc to the moon.

[Cripplecreek]

It might make sense, if we can get ships for long haul space travel that never have to blast out of earth's gravity. Then we just have to 'puddle jump' supplies etc to the moon.

Yup. Bigger is better in space and to really begin to move around the solar system takes aircraft carrier sized ships carrying crews of many dozens. They would be too large to launch from the lunar surface but heavy lift vehicles could carry much larger payloads to lunar orbit for building the ships there. Also the space elevator becomes far more feasible in the low grave zero G lunar environment. For that matter, rail guns could be used to launch payloads into orbit around the moon.

[Idaho_Cowboy]

Yup. Bigger is better in space and to really begin to move around the solar system takes aircraft carrier sized ships carrying crews of many dozens. They would be too large to launch from the lunar surface but heavy lift vehicles could carry much larger payloads to lunar orbit for building the ships there. Also the space elevator becomes far more feasible in the low grave zero G lunar environment. For that matter, rail guns could be used to launch payloads into orbit around the moon.

That would be cool. Jules Verne from the Earth to the Moon only with a rail gun.

[240B]

@240B
I know it's just a reality show...BUT... I do find it kind of sad to watch Parker grow up into this foul mouthed kid.  They tend to all talk like "roughnecks".  His grandfather seemed like such an honorable person and I don't think I ever heard a cross word from the guy.  His parents seemed like decent folks as well.

They talk like roughnecks because they are roughnecks.


Parker had some bad influences. Dealing with Beets would make anyone dirty. And when Parker first started Beets was abusing him badly.


I think in that environment, like prison, if he wasn't serious and hard, the felons working for him would walk all over him. They would steal from him, goof off, and generally take advantage. He is like that because he has to be.


And his "nice old grandfather" was very likely a gun toting badass back in his day.

[Joe Wooten]

I was once told that there is an abundance of Helium3 on the moon and that it has value in fusion reactions as there is almost no radioactive waste product.  Not sure if that is true as I am not a nuclear physicist.  However, if it is true, then I could see a chance to make money once fusion reactors are able to provide an over unity sustained reaction.

The so called "abundance of HE3" is a guess based upon a computer model of solar wind interactions with the lunar regolith. There is no physical evidence of this abundance. Also, the fusion reaction involving HE3 is much harder to accomplish. No one is even trying to build  a reactor using the HE3 cycle.