(Kitco News) As minerals on Earth deplete, there is a race between the United States and China to mine resources in outer space. Chinese media have even warned that the U.S. wants to set up a "space-based NATO" to protect valuable commodities.
There is already one company planning to mine the moon: the Canadian Space Mining Corporation (CSMC). Its CEO, Daniel Sax, spoke with Michelle Makori, Lead Anchor and Editor-in-Chief at Kitco News, at the PDAC 2022 Convention in Toronto.
"As we extend life beyond planet Earth, and move onto other planets, we need to learn to utilize resources on those bodies to sustain our presence on them," said Sax. "What we're trying to do, as a space mining company, is to mine lunar dust… There's oxygen and hydrogen in moon dust. There's also a lot of water on the moon."
Space Mining
Although it is a relatively new phenomenon, Sax said that "universities have been working on [space mining] for forty years." The business side of space mining has "been around for about ten years."
"There's a lot of activity and new startups in this space," said Sax. "The [space mining] sector itself is forecast to be around $100 billion between now and 2040."
The Artemis mission, which includes NASA, the Canadian Space Agency, and the European Space Agency, aims to have colonies on the moon by 2030. Sax said that the Artemis Accords, signed in October 2020, form "a framework for the commercial use of extraterrestrial resources."
The Artemis Accords currently have over twenty signatories. However, China and Russia are not among them. Sax confirmed that this poses challenges.
"That's kind of the big elephant in the room," he said. "What is the value of these accords, if China does not participate, and if Russia does not participate, and they play by the same rules as everyone else?"
Canadian Space Mining Corporation
The CSMC is focused on mining lunar dust, which can be converted into hydrogen and oxygen. At present, the company does not have any missions to the moon, but intends to have exploratory missions within the next few years.
"We are not on the moon yet," Sax said. "We are hoping to get there in the next couple of years for our first mission… We are building out architecture, called 'concept of operations,' and doing a lot of planning related to that. And we're building some of the pieces of the technology with various partners."
To find out about the CSMC's contract with the Canadian Space Agency, and more details about its funding, watch the above video.
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