[JRandomFreeper]

An economically significant mass of minerals depends on the mineral.

Platinum is significant in small masses. So are some of the rare earths.

Water would be stupid to return, except as fuel to be used to slow a spacecraft, as would some others, unless they had been worked into valuable end items.

Meter long carbon nano-tubes might be a case for value returning.

But the bottom line is that we don't know until we get there and do it.

What use is a baby? What is the economic return? Maybe a lot, or maybe none.

Same here. Folks will fail, we will learn, and we'll move forward.

/johnny

[DManA]

See my post #34.

[cripplecreek]

At current platinum prices ($1500+ per oz) I’m getting over a billion and a half dollars for a shuttle bay full of platinum which is one of the common metals in space. (Obviously that’s processed price in a shuttle that wouldn’t be used)