Minerals, Metals from Sea Water/brines.

Void · 2016-10-26 22:32:22

http://www.miningweekly.com/article/ove … 2016-04-01

If you want the truth, I have a hard time believing in the notion of extracting minerals from rock on Mars. I guess if it has to happen, it has to be tried. But the labor, risk, and needed machinery, is going to be massive.

So, this is why I look for possible labor and risk saving alternatives. Not to spite your efforts.

The above just might offer something.

I am of course thinking about brine aquifers, and possibly, polar seas as a source for these materials (Later).

Items of possible interest:
Fertilizers:

In similar fashion, some potassium chloride – also a salt – can be recovered from the sea on a commercial basis. However, this is only a minor source of the world’s supply of potassium chloride. Most potassium chloride is mined in the form of the minerals sylvite and sylvinite. Nevertheless, the Dead Sea Works, a business unit of Israeli company ICL Fertilisers, is the world’s number four producer and supplier of potash (potassium-containing minerals) products, while another of its products is magnesium chloride, all extracted from the Dead Sea. On the other side of the sea, the unit’s Jordanian counterpart, Arab Potash, is the world’s number eight potash producer. Its products are potassium oxide (fertiliser and industrial grades), potassium chloride (fertiliser and industrial grades), salt (fertiliser and industrial grades), magnesium chloride (fertiliser grade), calcium chloride (fertiliser grade), magnesium (industrial grade), calcium (industrial grade) and sulphate (industrial grade).

Magnesium:

The metal for which sea and briny lakes are crucially important sources is magnesium. Magnesium is a low-density, and therefore lightweight, metal that produces strong alloys. It is, in fact, the lightest of the commonly used metals. Aluminium, itself a famously light metal, is more than 50% more dense, for example. Magnesium is used in the production of alloys, fertiliser, refractories (for steel production) and flame retardants and for water purification. It is also essential for human health. Regarding the uses of magnesium metal, about 50% goes into alloys with aluminium. Aluminium-magnesium alloys are extensively used in the construction,

Uranium:

Japan is a leading, if not the leading, centre for research into extracting metals from seawater. The country started research into obtaining uranium from seawater during the 1960s, as did Germany and India (cooperating with France). All three developed pilot plants and all three used the principle of adsorption (in which atoms, ions or molecules of an element adhere to a surface). Each country used different types of material to provide the surface, and the Japanese enjoyed the greatest success in recovering uranium. Around 2009, using fibres made from amidoxime, arranged in 60-m-long braids anchored to the seabed, the Japanese were reportedly recovering uranium at a cost of $140/lb, when the uranium market price was $120/lb. (At time of closing for press, the spot price was less than $30/lb.)
So the Japanese technology works, but it is currently uncompetitive. In the US, research at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory has been focused on developing much-improved adsorbent material. This has been carried out with a private-sector company, and the resulting material, named HiCap, can extract between five and seven times more uranium, seven times faster, than the previous best adsorbents. Should the uranium price return to the higher levels seen in the mid-2000s, this technology may very well prove economically viable. And, of course, further improvements in extraction efficiency may be made in the coming years, further driving down the cost of obtaining uranium from seawater.

Lithium:

The Japanese, meanwhile, moved on to also seek to extract lithium from seawater. Lithium is, of course, essential to make the lithium-ion batteries that are so important in today’s world, powering laptops, tablets and cellphones, as well as electric vehicles, and providing electrical sources on the latest-generation airliners. It should be pointed out that most of the world’s current lithium supply comes from South America, extracted from brines that are pumped to the surface and released into shallow ponds, where evaporation removes the water and the solid material left behind is collected and processed.
Last year, researchers at the Japan Atomic Energy Agency’s Rokkasho Fusion Institute revealed that they had developed a new way of extracting lithium from seawater. This involves dialysis. It employs a dialysis cell containing a membrane made from a superconducting material. Lithium is the only ion in the seawater that can pass through the membrane. It moves from the negative electrode side of the cell to the positive electrode side. They reported that the system displayed good energy efficiency and that it would be easy to scale it up. However, they also cautioned that the process is years away from being commercialised.

Other substances:

On the other side of the sea, the unit’s Jordanian counterpart, Arab Potash, is the world’s number eight potash producer. Its products are potassium oxide (fertiliser and industrial grades), potassium chloride (fertiliser and industrial grades), salt (fertiliser and industrial grades), magnesium chloride (fertiliser grade), calcium chloride (fertiliser grade), magnesium (industrial grade), calcium (industrial grade) and sulphate (industrial grade).

I find it very interesting the potential to extract Uranium and Lithium, which of course are important for Fission and Fusion.

However, of course if brine water tables could be accessed, the mineral concentrations might not be precisely the same.

But of course if you are drawing brine for water, then of course you also have the water. I just make that point that briny water could be a gift, not a burden if we adapt to what is given to us (Those who follow us, but go to Mars).

Last edited by Void (2016-10-26 22:50:02)

RobertDyck · 2016-10-26 23:20:58

That, of course, depends there being large brine aquifers. Considering temperatures on Mars, I do not believe you will find any liquid aquifer at the poles, much less polar seas. The question of subsurface aquifers at equatorial or tropical latitudes on Mars is highly controversial. Temperatures one day measured by Mars Pathfinder ranged from -8°C to -78°C. Average is about -43°C, so I expect subsurface to be frozen solid. Some days at tropical latitudes the surface temperature can get above freezing. With salt in the soil to reduce melting temperature, permafrost can melt in hot afternoon Sun. But, I could be proven wrong.

elderflower · 2016-10-27 02:20:23

On Mars there will be a rise in temperature with depth below the surface, just as there is on Earth (Geothermal Gradient). On Earth this is variable, largely due to plate tectonics, and the depth at which the temperature increase overcomes the cooling effect of recent ice ages is also variable.
There will be some depth at which liquid brines can exist within the rocks, or perhaps in deep ice covered basins. It might not be easy to access, though.

louis · 2016-10-27 06:35:56

Were these droplets on the polar lander ever explained?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/ … s-leg.html

Void wrote:

http://www.miningweekly.com/article/ove … 2016-04-01
If you want the truth, I have a hard time believing in the notion of extracting minerals from rock on Mars. I guess if it has to happen, it has to be tried. But the labor, risk, and needed machinery, is going to be massive.
So, this is why I look for possible labor and risk saving alternatives. Not to spite your efforts.
The above just might offer something.
I am of course thinking about brine aquifers, and possibly, polar seas as a source for these materials (Later).
Items of possible interest:
Fertilizers:
In similar fashion, some potassium chloride – also a salt – can be recovered from the sea on a commercial basis. However, this is only a minor source of the world’s supply of potassium chloride. Most potassium chloride is mined in the form of the minerals sylvite and sylvinite. Nevertheless, the Dead Sea Works, a business unit of Israeli company ICL Fertilisers, is the world’s number four producer and supplier of potash (potassium-containing minerals) products, while another of its products is magnesium chloride, all extracted from the Dead Sea. On the other side of the sea, the unit’s Jordanian counterpart, Arab Potash, is the world’s number eight potash producer. Its products are potassium oxide (fertiliser and industrial grades), potassium chloride (fertiliser and industrial grades), salt (fertiliser and industrial grades), magnesium chloride (fertiliser grade), calcium chloride (fertiliser grade), magnesium (industrial grade), calcium (industrial grade) and sulphate (industrial grade).
Magnesium:
The metal for which sea and briny lakes are crucially important sources is magnesium. Magnesium is a low-density, and therefore lightweight, metal that produces strong alloys. It is, in fact, the lightest of the commonly used metals. Aluminium, itself a famously light metal, is more than 50% more dense, for example. Magnesium is used in the production of alloys, fertiliser, refractories (for steel production) and flame retardants and for water purification. It is also essential for human health. Regarding the uses of magnesium metal, about 50% goes into alloys with aluminium. Aluminium-magnesium alloys are extensively used in the construction,
Uranium:
Japan is a leading, if not the leading, centre for research into extracting metals from seawater. The country started research into obtaining uranium from seawater during the 1960s, as did Germany and India (cooperating with France). All three developed pilot plants and all three used the principle of adsorption (in which atoms, ions or molecules of an element adhere to a surface). Each country used different types of material to provide the surface, and the Japanese enjoyed the greatest success in recovering uranium. Around 2009, using fibres made from amidoxime, arranged in 60-m-long braids anchored to the seabed, the Japanese were reportedly recovering uranium at a cost of $140/lb, when the uranium market price was $120/lb. (At time of closing for press, the spot price was less than $30/lb.)
So the Japanese technology works, but it is currently uncompetitive. In the US, research at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory has been focused on developing much-improved adsorbent material. This has been carried out with a private-sector company, and the resulting material, named HiCap, can extract between five and seven times more uranium, seven times faster, than the previous best adsorbents. Should the uranium price return to the higher levels seen in the mid-2000s, this technology may very well prove economically viable. And, of course, further improvements in extraction efficiency may be made in the coming years, further driving down the cost of obtaining uranium from seawater.
Lithium:
The Japanese, meanwhile, moved on to also seek to extract lithium from seawater. Lithium is, of course, essential to make the lithium-ion batteries that are so important in today’s world, powering laptops, tablets and cellphones, as well as electric vehicles, and providing electrical sources on the latest-generation airliners. It should be pointed out that most of the world’s current lithium supply comes from South America, extracted from brines that are pumped to the surface and released into shallow ponds, where evaporation removes the water and the solid material left behind is collected and processed.
Last year, researchers at the Japan Atomic Energy Agency’s Rokkasho Fusion Institute revealed that they had developed a new way of extracting lithium from seawater. This involves dialysis. It employs a dialysis cell containing a membrane made from a superconducting material. Lithium is the only ion in the seawater that can pass through the membrane. It moves from the negative electrode side of the cell to the positive electrode side. They reported that the system displayed good energy efficiency and that it would be easy to scale it up. However, they also cautioned that the process is years away from being commercialised.
Other substances:
On the other side of the sea, the unit’s Jordanian counterpart, Arab Potash, is the world’s number eight potash producer. Its products are potassium oxide (fertiliser and industrial grades), potassium chloride (fertiliser and industrial grades), salt (fertiliser and industrial grades), magnesium chloride (fertiliser grade), calcium chloride (fertiliser grade), magnesium (industrial grade), calcium (industrial grade) and sulphate (industrial grade).
I find it very interesting the potential to extract Uranium and Lithium, which of course are important for Fission and Fusion.
However, of course if brine water tables could be accessed, the mineral concentrations might not be precisely the same.
But of course if you are drawing brine for water, then of course you also have the water. I just make that point that briny water could be a gift, not a burden if we adapt to what is given to us (Those who follow us, but go to Mars).

JoshNH4H · 2016-10-27 08:00:28

Hi Void,

The possibility of extracting minerals from seawater is in no way crazy. We don't do it on Earth because it takes a lot of energy. This is a consideration on Mars, too, but it's a lot easier to flash-boil saltwater there.

While seawater on Earth has certain chemicals in it, that mixture is dependent on the rocks and minerals that the water has been exposed to. I would expect that an aquifer under the surface of Mars would have substantially different solutes than we find in the oceans. Just consider the variation in different bodies of water on Earth!

louis · 2016-10-27 08:46:59

One of the advantages of this approach in an early colony on Mars is that it could, I presume, be a one stop process i.e rather than trying to mine at several different locations, we simply collected the brine water by whatever means and then transfer it en masse to a single processing facility (SPF). The SPF could have several automated machines in it to do the metal collecting.

With an early colony, we wouldn't necessarily need huge amounts of the metals - maybe kgs rather than tonnes in many cases. Of course we would, I think be mining or collecting iron ore, basalt and silica separately.

JoshNH4H wrote:

Hi Void,
The possibility of extracting minerals from seawater is in no way crazy. We don't do it on Earth because it takes a lot of energy. This is a consideration on Mars, too, but it's a lot easier to flash-boil saltwater there.
While seawater on Earth has certain chemicals in it, that mixture is dependent on the rocks and minerals that the water has been exposed to. I would expect that an aquifer under the surface of Mars would have substantially different solutes than we find in the oceans. Just consider the variation in different bodies of water on Earth!

JoshNH4H · 2016-10-27 09:37:15

In the human body, we have macronutrients and micronutrients. Macronutrients are things like carbohydrates, fats, water, etc. that we need in large quantities. Micronutrients are things like potassium and vitamin C that we need in small quantities. Both are important, of course.

This is a framework that we can apply to Mars as well. Macromaterials (if you will) are as follows:

Iron/Steel
Carbon
Water
Silica/glass
Aluminium
Concrete
Bricks
Nitrogen
Probably some others that I've failed to mention

Micromaterials on the other hand include some of the following:

Lithium (for batteries)
Uranium (for nuclear reactors, should we use them)
Chromium (For alloying)
All sorts of chemical catalysts
Platinum or palladium (For chemical catalysts and electrodes
Nickel (for alloying)
Strong acids and strong bases
Various inert gases
Probably a bit of Tungsten or other high-temp materials
Definitely lots and lots of others that I've failed to mention

Depending just how micro (and how hard to make/find) these micromaterials are some will probably be imported from Earth. However, rather than maintaining a whole bunch of different mining sites it definitely could make sense to try either to avoid using them or to see if we can get them all from one place.

On Earth metals like these are often sold as byproducts of the production of other metals. On Mars if we're mining Iron from meteorites (I'm somewhat skeptical but it's not totally crazy) Nickel, Platinum, and Palladium will probably have come along for the ride also.

Void · 2016-10-27 12:03:13

Nice,

You are correct, the materials in any aquifer may be different. That's not necessarily a bad thing. For instance, for some of the Earths history, Iron was dissolved in the oceans, due to a different Oxygen content of the atmosphere, so we will need to expect quite a few differences.

FYI, Some theories believe that Mars had an Oxygen dominant atmosphere however, in ancient times, due to the photolysis of water and preferential loss of Hydrogen and retention of Oxygen. Not a fact yet, but a speculated theory.

So, the atmosphere of Mars also changed most likely, and so also how minerals behaved.

Void · 2016-10-27 13:16:21

I just wanted to mention that for salt solutions, it is possible to precipitate salts out by temperature. Therefore possibly concentrating salts of a particular metal as precipitants, under a certain situation. Temperature, concentration, possibly dissolved gasses.

So, that is another factor which could favor Mars, as it has a large day and night temperature range, at least near the equator.

SpaceNut · 2016-12-03 21:02:11

Antius wrote:

SpaceNut wrote:
If I recall there are signs from orbit that there is a seasonal brine that stains the slopes of craters in serveral spots so we have the making of the Dry valley lakes
Polar seas would require an very large dome to make possible and lots of heat generation to keep it in liquid form...
As for polar seas, they could be stable at Martian atmospheric pressure if covered in ice. An internal heat source would be needed to keep the water under the ice liquid. On the scale of an entire sea, the power required would be formidable. Smaller crater lakes could be kept liquid with more modest heat addition.

SpaceNut · 2017-04-01 10:09:45

borrowing another post for a topic where it fits....

Scott Beach wrote:

Fesenkov Crater
The Fesenkov impact crater on Mars is 87 kilometers in diameter (i.e., 54 miles wide).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_c … ars:_A-G#F
“The area around craters may be rich in minerals. On Mars, heat from the impact melts ice in the ground. Water from the melting ice dissolves minerals, and then deposits them in cracks or faults that were produced with the impact. This process, called hydrothermal alteration, is a major way in which ore deposits are produced. The area around Martian craters may be rich in useful ores for the future colonization of Mars”.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fesenkov_(Martian_crater)
I believe that the “soil” around Fesenkov Crater is rich in minerals that were ejected from the crater during impact. Those minerals may be important to growing nutritious food. I also believe that the volcanoes in the Tharsis Region of Mars have erupted many times and deposited many layers of volcanic ash on the lands around Fesenkov Crater.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File … oom_32.jpg
(Fesenkov Crater is near to the eastern side of the Tharsis Region
and is at about the same latitude as Olympus Mons.)
An area about 120 miles south by southeast of Fesenkov Crater has been photographed by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
http://viewer.mars.asu.edu/planetview/i … 8N084W&T=2
Directly above the horizontal midline of that photograph is a smooth, reasonably level area. That might be a good place to put a spaceport and a number of settlements.

knightdepaix · 2017-04-09 22:31:37

Void wrote:

I just wanted to mention that for salt solutions, it is possible to precipitate salts out by temperature. Therefore possibly concentrating salts of a particular metal as precipitants, under a certain situation. Temperature, concentration, possibly dissolved gasses.

borrowing another post for a topic where it fits....

RickSmith wrote:

Q--- WHAT ARE THE MAIN PROBLEMS FOR LIFE ON MARS?
A--- There are several problems:
--1) The first problem is the air pressure. It varies from 6 to 14 mBars. (milliBars = 1/1000 of a Bar. 1 Bar is about 99% of an atmosphere.) Earth by contrast has 1.101325 Bars at sea level. Mars is therefore at a near vacuum and multicellular life will soon die.
Info on Breathable Atmospheres.
--2) The second problem is the cold. Tho occasionally the temperature gets above freezing on the equator, most of the time Mars is far below freezing. A typical night temperature is -90C and the temperature at the south pole in southern winter is -127C. This low temperature is enough to freeze out carbon dioxide ( CO2 ). So much CO2 freezes out that the planetary air pressure drops significantly each Martian winter.

Note from Wikipedia, the the atmospheric pressure on the Martian surface averages 0.6kPa (0.087 psi; 6.0 mbar), about 0.6% of Earth's mean sea level pressure of 101.3 kPa (14.69 psi; 1.1013 bar); and annual mean temperatures at the surface are currently < 210 K (−63 °C; −82 °F), significantly lower than that needed to sustain liquid water. Triple points of
oxygen -- 54.36 K (−218.79 °C) 0.152 kPa (0.00150 atm)
water -- 273.16 K (0.01 °C) 0.611657 kPa (0.00603659 atm)
hydrogen -- 13.84 K (−259.31 °C) 7.04 kPa (0.0695 atm)
carbon monoxide -- 68.10 K (−205.05 °C) 15.37 kPa (0.1517 atm)
carbon dioxide -- 216.55 K (−56.60 °C) 517 kPa (5.10 atm)

So in Martian surface atmosphere pressure and mean temperatures, only oxygen has a liquid phase.

From oxalic acid, there are two pathways.

knightdepaix wrote:

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/327/5963/313
Given the technological advance in carbon fixation, capture and storage, fixation carbon dioxide by electrosynthesis into oxalic acid is possible.

1) Imagine the round-bottom, triple-neck flask in a laboratory but a much large non-glass apparatus and one of the neck opens near the bottom of the flask, where Oxalic acid in water solution is added through. The solution is heated, pressure inside the flask is controlled. Oxalic acid is broken down into water, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. The two carbon oxides are sublimed into gas and leave the apparatus from another neck. Oxalic acid is denser than water so it stay at the bottom of the apparatus. Given appropriate pressure control, liquid water is regularly drawn from the third neck opening. The water is electrolyzed into hydrogen and oxygen in another apparatus.

The carbon dioxide is separated in a third apparatus -- let us name it Boudouard apparatus; the pressure inside allow CO2 sublimation but not that of carbon monoxide in liquid. Liquid carbon monoxide is heated inside to subliming carbon dioxide and carbon. Centrifugal turning of this Boudouard apparatus precipitates carbon as the densest substance among the three. The carbon is drawn off from the bottom of the apparatus.

2) Concentrated oxalic acid leaches iron ores and gives Iron (III) oxalate. In a hydrogen atmosphere, iron (III) is reduced to iron (II). After drying, anhydrous iron (II) is destructed by heating into carbon dioxide and iron powder. As metals have vastly different electrode potential, each metal can be electrolyzed directly to the metal or to 2+. metal (2+) oxalates yield metal powder by heating. Note that this heating may be controlled to yield nanometerials of each metal.

Last edited by knightdepaix (2017-04-10 14:11:13)

knightdepaix · 2017-04-09 22:46:12

JoshNH4H wrote:

Depending just how micro (and how hard to make/find) these micromaterials are some will probably be imported from Earth. However, rather than maintaining a whole bunch of different mining sites it definitely could make sense to try either to avoid using them or to see if we can get them all from one place.
On Earth metals like these are often sold as byproducts of the production of other metals. On Mars if we're mining Iron from meteorites (I'm somewhat skeptical but it's not totally crazy) Nickel, Platinum, and Palladium will probably have come along for the ride also.

So I may prefer a hydrometallurgical pathway where metal ores are processed into metal ions of a salt, oxalate, chloride, fluoride, sulfate, carbonyl for example. From different mining sites, metal salts are stored and delivered to a centralized processing factory on schedule. Then each salt are reduced by electrolysis or chemical processes, or heated to yield metal powder. Pyrometallurgy like the conventional roasting in a blast furnace needed so much thermal energy, maintenance and chemical additive such as carbonate and not as much conventional for a Mars colony due to much less human, although the process is well matured. Automated or computerized management can help but add more technological requirement to the metallurgy.

knightdepaix · 2017-04-09 22:57:11

JoshNH4H wrote:

[*]Strong acids[/*]

borrowing another post for a topic where it fits....

knightdepaix wrote:

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/327/5963/313
Given the technological advance in carbon fixation, capture and storage, fixation carbon dioxide by electrosynthesis into oxalic acid is possible.

From Wikipedia,
Oxalic acid pKa = 1.27, 4.27
Sulfuric acid pKa = -3, 1.99
Phosphoric acid pKa = 2.148....

So Oxalic aid is stronger than Phosphoric acid and about as strong as a bisulfate salt.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_bi … ulfate.jpg

SpaceNut · 2017-04-10 18:57:00

I was searching for why mars rocks have a blue hue to them and made this post...

SpaceNut wrote:

The rocks blue hue could be from lithium salts which under the blue sky would appear with the shadowing of blue.
The image on the bottom of the post is frost coating the ground for sure.....

Which brings me to how we are processing the lithium on earth.

http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2 … ves-ground
chile-lithium-525-2.jpg?itok=TFqs2YWf
Lithium Evaporation Pond
Part of SQM's operations on the Salar de Atacama in northern Chile

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news … n-lithium/

21598.ngsversion.1421959823006.adapt.768.1.jpg
The Uyuni Salt Flat in Bolivia is one of the world's large untapped reserves of lithium, a key metal for batteries.

No politics Please......

SpaceNut · 2020-07-11 19:20:38

Another topic with the use of brine. Converting Slabs of ice into seas. Brine Resouces.

Calliban · 2020-07-11 19:52:37

SpaceNut wrote:

I was searching for why mars rocks have a blue hue to them and made this post....

Fe(II)O?

SpaceNut · 2020-07-11 20:01:13

http://www.galleries.com/minerals/prope … droxide%29.

Copper, Cu,produces the azure blue color of azurite, (copper carbonate hydroxide).
Iron, Fe,produces the red color of limonite,(hydrated iron oxide hydroxide).

https://www.thoughtco.com/blue-purple-a … ls-1440938

elderflower · 2020-07-12 04:40:00

colours of Iron oxides and other iron compounds are heavily dependent on the state of oxidation of the iron and on the degree of hydration of the compounds. They vary from a quite pale yellow through oranges, browns and reds to black.

Void · 2020-07-12 10:52:13

This is for the Moon, but I wonder about Mars. Both are largely without plate tectonics, so I wonder about minerals near the surface. Could there be more for both worlds?
https://www.msn.com/en-xl/money/tech-an … r-BB16iDG0

The Earth has plate tectonics, so, I expect that over time heavy stuff tends to sink. But the Moon and Mars are not like that apparently, and as it happens Mars is rather close to the asteroid belt. That suggests to me that heavy materials have been included into a world with a "Basement" impediment to heavy materials sinking beyond reach.

Fluidization from repeated impacts, and air and water erosion probably sorted the light to the top and the heavier to a bit lower, but we might find that if we dig only a reasonable amount there may be heavy materials to be had.

Done.

Last edited by Void (2020-07-12 10:54:14)

tahanson43206 · 2020-08-14 15:18:24

This post is about (to me surprising) progress in desalination of sea water ...

I thought it might be a good fit for Void's topic here, because it both cleans brackish water, but it releases captured molecules/particles in a flushing operation of some kind.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/turn-seawate … 00224.html

What seems particularly interesting is the use of sunlight to reset the collection matrix.

(th)

SpaceNut · 2020-12-15 20:21:22

The only brine currently is possibly under the poles several kilometers down from the super cold surface.

It may be possible that its still liquid at that depth and salinity but its going to be mineral rich in content under pressure of the materials above it.

The quest for liquid water on mars is for the least energy input to make fuel and oxygen but its at a price that requires nuclear power for polar returns from going to mine it from the depths of the mixed co2 ice caps.

Mixed Ice in other locations would have less water content for each cubic meter and would still come with an embodied level of mining / digging of the regolith soil to be able to process it with even more energy to get the water from it.

Rovers have indicated that cups are all to expect from the surface with the unknown being how deep must we get to see anything different.

The cover glaciers with quick drop offs are inaccessible at the edge of them and would need to be mined from a distance away from the edge and its still an unknown for the levels of water content bound in the co2 ice.

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#1 2016-10-26 22:32:22

Minerals, Metals from Sea Water/brines.

#2 2016-10-26 23:20:58

Re: Minerals, Metals from Sea Water/brines.

#3 2016-10-27 02:20:23

Re: Minerals, Metals from Sea Water/brines.

#4 2016-10-27 06:35:56

Re: Minerals, Metals from Sea Water/brines.

#5 2016-10-27 08:00:28

Re: Minerals, Metals from Sea Water/brines.

#6 2016-10-27 08:46:59

Re: Minerals, Metals from Sea Water/brines.

#7 2016-10-27 09:37:15

Re: Minerals, Metals from Sea Water/brines.

#8 2016-10-27 12:03:13

Re: Minerals, Metals from Sea Water/brines.

#9 2016-10-27 13:16:21

Re: Minerals, Metals from Sea Water/brines.

#10 2016-12-03 21:02:11

Re: Minerals, Metals from Sea Water/brines.

#11 2017-04-01 10:09:45

Re: Minerals, Metals from Sea Water/brines.

#12 2017-04-09 22:31:37

Re: Minerals, Metals from Sea Water/brines.

#13 2017-04-09 22:46:12

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#14 2017-04-09 22:57:11

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#15 2017-04-10 18:57:00

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#16 2020-07-11 19:20:38

Re: Minerals, Metals from Sea Water/brines.

#17 2020-07-11 19:52:37

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#18 2020-07-11 20:01:13

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#19 2020-07-12 04:40:00

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#20 2020-07-12 10:52:13

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#21 2020-08-14 15:18:24

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#22 2020-12-15 20:21:22

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