Mining on the Moon?

Rare Earth Metals has developed into one of the prominent resources seen in industries world wide, there are found in everything from plasma televisions, smart phones, medical imaging, you name it! With the increasing usage of Rare Earths in technology, the compensation to provide for the demand has also increased. Sooner or later mines will dry out and locations for new mines will need to be found, "Some estimates suggest that current known reserves will run out in as little as 40 years, with China’s reserves exhausted in as little as 10-15 years."

China, as we know, is the leading country mining for Rare Earth Metals, "Globally, the rare earths market is overwhelmingly controlled by China, with as much as 97 percent of the market share routed through Beijing."

Other countries are now taking part of the Rare Earths industry, such as the United States, Australia, and Russia. What is interesting though is that Russia is looking toward mining not on Earth but in comic space to seek out Rare Earths.
"Russia’s scientists believe that the moon’s surface holds vast quantities of rare earth elements, enough to make the moon a viably profitable source for export. This is actually not the first time Russia has made plans to mine the moon, with a 2006 announcement stating that Russia would have a permanent moon base established by 2015 and active mining of nuclear fusion fuel element Helium-3 underway by 2020."
Russia is a leading country in space exploration and science, "They have been vital to the success of the International Space Station. And, unlike the United States, which has discontinued its own space shuttle program in favor of using privately owned space transportation vendors, Russia still has an active spaceflight program capable of shuttling humans and equipment into orbit."

This might not be as far reaching as it sounds. It may be a daunting aspiration but it could be possible! And if science shows that the moon is abundant in Rare Earths, it might be the perfect resource for metals. What do you all think? Do you think we have the means to mine Rare Earths on the moon? There are infinite factors that we have to consider, but perhaps in years to come we will be using moon elements to develop our technology.
 

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