Just 1% Near-Earth Asteroids Viable for Mining

Just 1% Near-Earth Asteroids Viable for MiningSubmitted by Sumit Yayavar on Tue, 01/14/2014 - 12:36 

An experiment was carried out to know about total number of asteroids in the Solar System that can prove viable for mining.
Dr. Martin Elvis, Harvard astrophysicist, found that few asteroids are there that can be exploited in a cost-effective way. In order to know the same, Dr. Elvis made an equation and tried to know the factors to know the number of asteroids that are worth mining.
It was thought that iron-nickel asteroids will be the main focus when it comes to mining operations. It has been said so, as they are thought to be the best when it comes to platinum-group metals. But Dr. Elvis said that when he carried out the study, just 1% of near-Earth asteroids were found to be rich in elements like platinum, ridium, palladium and others.

Not only the material, but its size also matters, affirmed Dr. Elvis. He further affirmed that mining asteroids that are smaller than around 100m were thought to be budget-friendly.
"I want to stress that my paper does not mean that there is no commercial future for asteroid mining. It does mean that gold mines are rare, which shouldn't be too surprising", said Dr. Elvis. He further affirmed that NASA has been planning to bag an asteroid, but in 2018.