Mining the Sky: Untold Riches from the Asteroids, Comets, and Planets is a book by John S. Lewis which discusses the development of interplanetary space within our solar system.
Lewis makes a prediction that the abundant natural resources of the solar system, including effectively-limitless solar energy, could support a vast civilization of 1016 people. He argues that shortage of resources is "...an illusion born of ignorance."
Lewis calculated the value of M-type asteroid 3554 Amun at US$20 trillion: US$8 trillion worth of iron and nickel, US$6 trillion worth of cobalt, and US$6 trillion in platinum-group metals.[1] Since the book was published, the value of platinum, for example, has tripled.[2]
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