At the base of Meteor Crater rest the rusting remains of an early foray in asteroid mining for the precious iron and nickel that the booming U.S. railway industry valued more than gold in these parts.
Today, we might look for the Platinum Group Metals (PGMs like palladium, iridium, and platinum) that are used as catalysts and average $1,500 per ounce.
Platinum and the PGMs are so expensive because they only come from asteroids. All of the Earth mines are centered on historic meteor impacts like this one, and given the fracture on impact, the precious metals exist in densities of 1 part per billion at a good site.
Why is this? During the Earth’s formation, all of these heavy PGM elements settled by gravity within the molten core of our planet. The only remains near the surface are those that arrived much later, from asteroid impacts.
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