Unprecedented wealth of precious metals on the Moon?

A new study suggests that the lunar surface could hold as much as $1 trillion worth of precious metals, particularly so-called platinum group metals (PGMs) such as platinum, palladium and rhodium, which have been delivered over billions of years by impacting asteroids.

Unlike Earth, the Moon has no atmosphere or tectonic activity, meaning these metals have likely remained close to the surface. Researchers estimate that up to 30 million kilograms of PGMs could be present on the Moon, making it potentially the richest known source beyond Earth.

However, extracting these metals would be technically very challenging due to the low gravity and the lack of water on the Moon. New extraction methods would therefore be necessary.

Nevertheless, because of its proximity to Earth and fixed position, the Moon is more accessible for remote-controlled mining than asteroids. The findings, published in Planetary and Space Science, highlight both the potential and the challenges of future lunar mining.

(PP with DC - Source: The Times - Photo: © Mike Petrucci on Unsplash)