370 XXXI International Mineral Processing Congress 2024 Proceedings/Washington, DC/Sep 29–Oct 3
Space mining has become an attractive option as the pop-
ulation of the earth upsurges and the earth’s resources
become increasingly limited and scarce. This is especially
true as the world transitions towards clean energy sources,
for which certain minerals and metals are essential. In par-
ticular, critical metals such as lithium, neodymium, and
cobalt have become increasingly difficult to acquire (Huber
and Steininger 2022 Junne et al., 2020 Sun et al., 2019).
Junne et al. (2020) emphasise that not only are these met-
als needed to produce the batteries needed for renewable
energy sources such as wind and solar, but they are also
essential components in other essential technologies, such
as EV (Junne et al., 2020). Henckens (2021) noted that
space mining offers an alternative source for these metals,
allowing for greater availability and potentially leading to
lower costs than traditional methods. There are two main
sources for space mining (1) Near-earth objects (NEOs)
“comets and asteroids that have entered orbits in the vicinity
of Earth” (NCEOS 2020), and (2) the moon (Blanchette-
Seguin 2016).
Clean Energy Transition Minerals
As of the last studies in minerals production, the availability
of critical minerals, including rare earth elements (REEs),
for the global energy transition is a topic of concern and
debate (Gregoir and van Acker 2022 Korotev 2009).
Source: (Calvo and Valero 2022)
Figure 3 shows the critical and high-risk minerals. The
extraterrestrial objects contain essential elements, some
of which are abundant and well-established, like Ni, Ti,
(PGMs) Rh, Ru, Pd, Os, Ir, Pt, Mg, Al, and Si, while others
occur in smaller trace amounts but hold significant poten-
tial, such as Nb, U (Cannon, Gialich, and Acain 2023
Crawford 2015 Matter et al., 2013).
Source: (Calvo and Valero 2022)
As per the International Energy Agency (IEA), the
number of metals employed in various technologies of
clean energy differs significantly. For optimal battery per-
formance, durability, and energy density, crucial metals like
lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, and graphite play a vital
role (IEA 2022). Additionally, rare earth elements are key
components of the permanent magnets that facilitate the
rotation of wind turbines and electric vehicle motors (IEA
2022). See Table 1.
According to IEA, the demand on REEs will increase
3–7 times by 2040 compared to 2020 data (IEA 2022).
This applies to other critical minerals as well. There is a
requirement to bridge the disparity between the future
available supply and demand.
Figure 3. Table of very high- and high-risk elements high-risk minerals are associated with social,
environmental, and governance risks in their extraction and supply chain, while critical minerals are
strategically important for a country’s economy, national security, and technological development
Space mining has become an attractive option as the pop-
ulation of the earth upsurges and the earth’s resources
become increasingly limited and scarce. This is especially
true as the world transitions towards clean energy sources,
for which certain minerals and metals are essential. In par-
ticular, critical metals such as lithium, neodymium, and
cobalt have become increasingly difficult to acquire (Huber
and Steininger 2022 Junne et al., 2020 Sun et al., 2019).
Junne et al. (2020) emphasise that not only are these met-
als needed to produce the batteries needed for renewable
energy sources such as wind and solar, but they are also
essential components in other essential technologies, such
as EV (Junne et al., 2020). Henckens (2021) noted that
space mining offers an alternative source for these metals,
allowing for greater availability and potentially leading to
lower costs than traditional methods. There are two main
sources for space mining (1) Near-earth objects (NEOs)
“comets and asteroids that have entered orbits in the vicinity
of Earth” (NCEOS 2020), and (2) the moon (Blanchette-
Seguin 2016).
Clean Energy Transition Minerals
As of the last studies in minerals production, the availability
of critical minerals, including rare earth elements (REEs),
for the global energy transition is a topic of concern and
debate (Gregoir and van Acker 2022 Korotev 2009).
Source: (Calvo and Valero 2022)
Figure 3 shows the critical and high-risk minerals. The
extraterrestrial objects contain essential elements, some
of which are abundant and well-established, like Ni, Ti,
(PGMs) Rh, Ru, Pd, Os, Ir, Pt, Mg, Al, and Si, while others
occur in smaller trace amounts but hold significant poten-
tial, such as Nb, U (Cannon, Gialich, and Acain 2023
Crawford 2015 Matter et al., 2013).
Source: (Calvo and Valero 2022)
As per the International Energy Agency (IEA), the
number of metals employed in various technologies of
clean energy differs significantly. For optimal battery per-
formance, durability, and energy density, crucial metals like
lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, and graphite play a vital
role (IEA 2022). Additionally, rare earth elements are key
components of the permanent magnets that facilitate the
rotation of wind turbines and electric vehicle motors (IEA
2022). See Table 1.
According to IEA, the demand on REEs will increase
3–7 times by 2040 compared to 2020 data (IEA 2022).
This applies to other critical minerals as well. There is a
requirement to bridge the disparity between the future
available supply and demand.
Figure 3. Table of very high- and high-risk elements high-risk minerals are associated with social,
environmental, and governance risks in their extraction and supply chain, while critical minerals are
strategically important for a country’s economy, national security, and technological development