On July 17, platinum prices plunged to their lowest level in 6.5 years.
That same day, NASA identified UW-158, a half-mile wide asteroid hurtling by Earth's orbit that so happened to contain an estimated $5.4 trillion worth of platinum.
Coincidence?
Well, consider this: According to the U.S. Geological Society, the world mines a mere 190 tons of platinum each year due to its extreme rarity. By comparison, the "Platinum Asteroid" is estimated to contain 90 MILLION tons of platinum in its core. At that rate, it would take 468,750 Earth years to excavate the asteroid's natural reserve.
"This has made [US-158] one of the primary targets of the asteroid mining company, Planetary Resources," writes a July 20 article.
So, it stands to reason: If, one day, robotic mining succeeds, platinum will no longer be a rare precious metal as the “astronomical” surge in supply dilutes prices.
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