The Google leaders’ crazy asteroid venture: A Platinum rush?

[steve2470]

http://venturebeat.com/2012/04/21/the-google-founders-crazy-asteroid-venture-a-platinum-rush/

Speculation continues around the plans of company called Planetary Resources, backed by the Google executives Larry Page and Eric Schmidt, as well as Ross Perot, James Cameron and other bigwigs.

The company, in a vague but audacious statement released last week, said it will unveil a plan Tuesday in Seattle that includes “space exploration and natural resources.”

The company says its project will “add trillions of dollars to the global GDP,” and will “create a new industry and a new definition of ‘natural resources’.”

News reports are now emerging pointing to the background and recent comments of the company’s co-founder Peter H. Diamandis. They provide more clues about what the company might be up to.

[TheWraith]

1. Platinum is one easy way to make missions pay for themselves.

But the reality is that if they're targeting the asteroid I think they are, (6178) 1986 DA, platinum is just the beginning. Besides something like $3 trillion in platinum alone, you've also got more than $15 trillion in nickel and iron, enough to supply all Earthside demand for steel for a decade or more. Say goodbye to conventional metals mining.