Asteroid mining could cut platinum carbon footprint by 99.6%, study estimates

A 2018 study presented at the International Astronautical Congress found that mining a platinum-rich asteroid would produce about 150 kg CO2eq per kg of platinum, compared to roughly 40,000 kg CO2eq per kg from terrestrial mining.

Theo Anand

Science and Earth

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Asteroid mining could drastically cut platinum's carbon footprint AI illustrationhow this picture was made

A study presented at the 69th International Astronautical Congress in 2018 estimated that mining a platinum-rich asteroid would carry a carbon footprint of about 150 kg CO2eq per kg of platinum, including rocket launch and re-entry, compared to roughly 40,000 kg CO2eq per kg produced on Earth using existing mining practices.^[1] The estimate, by researchers at the University of Paris-Saclay, suggests a reduction of roughly 99.6% in emissions per kilogram of platinum.^[1] Ian Lange, professor of economics and business and deputy director of the Critical Materials Innovation Hub at Colorado School of Mines, said the CO2eq estimates do not account for the exploratory work needed for asteroid mining, and that little is known about how to realistically conduct such operations or how asteroids might change as a result.^[2]

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A study by researchers at the University of Paris-Saclay, presented at the 69th International Astronautical Congress in 2018, estimated that mining a platinum-rich asteroid could have a carbon footprint of about 150 kg CO2eq per kg of platinum (including rocket launch and re-entry), compared to roughly 40,000 kg CO2eq per kg produced on Earth using existing mining practices. · Hindustan TimesIndia
Ian Lange, professor of economics and business and deputy director of the Critical Materials Innovation Hub at Colorado School of Mines, co-author of a complementary PNAS study, said the CO2eq estimates do not account for the exploratory work needed for asteroid mining, and that little is known about how to realistically conduct such operations or how asteroids might change as a result. · Hindustan TimesIndia
A study published in Nature Astronomy by researchers including Damanveer Grewal of Yale University, Zhongtian Zhang of Princeton University, and Joanna Drążkowska of the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research reports that the parent planetesimals of carbonaceous iron meteorites were 8 to 17 percent fine, volatile-rich matrix, with the remaining 83 to 92 percent by mass being millimeter-scale chondrules. · Space Daily

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