Russia, vast and rich in resources, declares: There's no need to mine on the Moon due to Earth's abundant resources — Russian Federal Agency for Mineral Resources: Exploiting lunar minerals isn't economically viable
Oleg Kazanov, Head of the Russian Federal Agency for Mineral Resources, said in an interview with Sputnik News that the Moon's geological history is far simpler than Earth's, so one should not expect a wide variety of mineral deposits there. However, titanium, iron, and vanadium may be present.
"We don't expect a large variety of minerals there," Kazanov stated. "Samples returned from the Moon suggest possible deposits of titanium, iron, and vanadium. But these have not attracted special interest because such resources are already sufficiently abundant on Earth."
He explained that the formation of mineral deposits depends on geological history. Earth has undergone extremely complex geological evolution—plate tectonics, collisions, oceanic sedimentation, and other processes—which have created diverse and rich mineral deposits.
Kazanov added: "Studies in lunar science show that the geological history of Earth's satellite is actually very simple—this generally does not favor the formation of mineral deposits."
He also revealed that scientists from China and the United States have discovered some minerals on the Moon containing rare earth metals, but this does not imply commercial mining potential. According to Kazanov, modern research methods can detect rare earth metals almost anywhere, but this doesn't mean they form industrial-grade enrichments—or actual ore deposits.
"As a scientific phenomenon, this is interesting; however, it is not indicative of discovering exploitable mineral deposits," Kazanov emphasized.
Kazanov explained that while helium-3 enriched lunar soil could theoretically be used—for example, in cooling processors and other industrial processes—there is currently no significant demand for it, and no technology exists yet for mining it. On Earth, helium-3 is obtained through technological means.
Kazanov concluded: "The potential reasons for developing the Moon lie not in geological considerations."
Source: sputniknews
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1867650927426568/
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