Scientists have found evidence of cubic zirconia in Moon rocks, showing that the universe not only holds diamonds, but its own fire-safe knock-offs. Space could be absolutely shimmering with precious stones, though Mao emphasizes that they probably aren't quite like the ones in earthlings' jewelry boxes.
Satellite imaging has shown that the top 10 centimetres of regolith (moon soil) at the south pole of the moon appear to hold about 100 times more gold than the richest mines on earth. Only a few years ago, most geologists would have laughed at the idea of mining anything from our moon.
The moon isn't so barren after all. A 2009 NASA mission—in which a rocket slammed into the moon and a second spacecraft studied the blast—revealed that the lunar surface contains an array of compounds, including gold, silver, and mercury, according to PBS.
High pressure experiments suggest large amounts of diamonds are formed from methane on the ice giant planets Uranus and Neptune, while some planets in other planetary systems may be almost pure diamond. Diamonds are also found in stars and may have been the first mineral ever to have formed.
The Outer Space Treaty means therefore that - no matter whose national flags are planted on the lunar surface - no nation can 'own' the Moon.
In their economic summary they state the “water produced on the Moon has a current value of US$10 million per tonne, this value being based on the current costs to supply it from Earth. WGM estimates that water can be mined and processed on the Moon for around US$0.5 million per tonne.
The Cullinan Diamond is the largest gem-quality rough diamond ever found, weighing 3,106 carats (621.20 g), discovered at the Premier No. 2 mine in Cullinan, South Africa, on 26 January 1905. It was named after Thomas Cullinan, the owner of the mine.
In addition, lithium, cobalt, nickel, copper, zinc, niobium, molybdenum, lanthanum, europium, tungsten, and gold have been found in trace amounts.
Tidally locked hot Jupiter WASP-121b has an atmosphere so hot on one side that it breaks down water molecules and rains rubies and sapphires.
A massive gas giant orbiting a star about 855 light-years from Earth, WASP-121b may have metal clouds and rain made of liquid gems, according to new research. A study showing how water atmospherically cycles between the planet's two sides published Monday in the journal Nature Astronomy.
There are some extremely valuable resources on the moon that could support such a lunar economy. Helium-3 is one moon resource that is rare on earth but much more abundant on the lunar surface and could potentially be cheaper to mine from the moon. Helium-3 is a very attractive fuel for future nuclear fusion reactors.
While mining the Moon wouldn't have any significant effects on our quality of life – the Moon has a mass of 73 quadrillion tons, even if we removed one metric ton from the Moon every day, it would take 220 million years to deplete 1% of the Moon's mass.
Hematite, a mineral composed of ferric oxide (Fe2O3), has been found on the moon.
About 244,000 metric tons of gold has been discovered to date (187,000 metric tons historically produced plus current underground reserves of 57,000 metric tons). Most of that gold has come from just three countries: China, Australia, and South Africa.
Right now, scientists and engineers are close to working out the technology that will turn the moon into the first extraterrestrial mining base. After decades of work, government and private labs have come up with prototypes for a possible lunar mine.
In our solar system alone, there is an asteroid between Mars and Jupiter named 16 Psyche that scientists believe contains more than 700 quintillion dollars in gold and other precious metals.
Gold is rare on Earth in part because it's also rare in the universe. Unlike elements such as carbon or iron, it cannot be created within a star. Instead, it must be born in a more cataclysmic event —a short gamma-ray burst (GRB), like one that occurred last month.
Scientists have found an oil field containing 200 times more hydrocarbons than the amount of water that currently exists on Earth. But there's the rub. The oil field is 1,300 lightyears away.
The Golden Jubilee diamond
In 1997, the diamond was presented to the King of Thailand after it took specialists a few years to cut and polish. Today, the largest finished diamond is owned by the Royal Family of Thailand.
The most expensive diamond in the world is owned by the British Royal Crown. The Kohinoor gem currently resides at the HM Tower of London where it is displayed as the central diamond of the Queen Mother's Crown.
The Type IIa diamonds comprise only 1% of all the diamonds in the world. They are also sometimes called “Golconda Diamonds” named after the famous Golconda mine in India, which has historically produced many iconic Type IIa diamonds. They have no nitrogen impurities, as a result of which most of them are colorless.
Like I mentioned before, you can use moon water for anything you want, you can drink it and feel the energy of the moon, or you can put it in a bottle and spray your home with it, you can also water your plants, heat it and drink it in tea, anything you want.
How is Moon Water Used? Boil your moon water and drink it in your favorite tea to increase energy and/or heal any minor ailments you may have. Add a little moon water to your cleaning spray to cleanse your home on a deeper, spiritual level.
Some of these protons interact with oxygen molecules in the lunar soil to produce water. This water isn't anything like what you could drink, though: it's in such small amounts that the lunar soil is still hundreds of times drier than Earth's deserts.