Can We Turn Disaster Into Opportunity?
Strange as it sounds, a catastrophic asteroid impact could also bring unprecedented access to minerals and metals. Some asteroids contain more gold than has ever been mined on Earth. One object alone is believed to contain seven hundred quintillion dollars worth of it. That would be enough to give every person alive more than ninety billion dollars.
Asteroid mining is already being studied by scientists and entrepreneurs. It offers a cleaner, more ethical alternative to traditional mining, which often causes pollution and human suffering. Impact sites from the distant past in South Africa and Canada are already rich sources of gold and nickel.
