Elements are listed in decreasing order of abundance by mass. Mass data are from Web Elements Periodic Table (www.webelements.com), and are an average of other sources. PPB or mg./M.T. means Parts Per Billion by weight (mass) or milligrams per metric ton (also kilograms per million metric tons). Metallic element value data are from a USGS publication of 1998 values for refined metals. N/A means value data not available. * indicates a more up to date (2003-04) non-USGS source for value data. $ in 1 M.T. Ore (value of element mass contained in one metric ton of asteroid ore) data are rounded to nearest penny. $ in 1 mil. M.T. Ore (value of element mass contained in one million metric tons of asteroid ore) data are rounded to the nearest dollar. Values are in US dollars.
Please note that all figures should be used only as a general guide to abundance and values. Abundance figures represent an average composition for C-Type asteroids. The actual composition of any asteroid will vary, often significantly, from these values. Element prices are subject to market conditions and will vary, often significantly, from those stated below. Please also see the section titled "Supply and Demand - Space Economics" regarding pricing.
P.S.: Yes, we know that the sum total of PPB values exceeds one billion by about 2% (1,020,574,275). This is one reason we state that the figures below should be used only as a general guide. They represent relative abundance and are an average of values.
| ELEMENT | PPB or mg./M.T. | $ per M.T. of Elem. | $ in 1 M.T. Ore | $ in 1 mil. M.T. Ore |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oxygen (O) | 410,000,000 | *80.00 | *32.80 | *32,800,000. |
| Iron (Fe) | 220,000,000 | 410.00 | 90.20 | 90,200,000. |
| Silicon (Si) | 140,000,000 | *320.45 | *44.86 | *44,863,636. |
| Magnesium (Mg) | 120,000,000 | 3,460.00 | 415.20 | 415,200,000. |
| Sulfur (S) | 41,000,000 | *25.00 | *1.03 | *1,025,000. |
| Hydrogen (H) | 24,000,000 | *2,000.00 | *48.00 | *48,000,000. |
| Carbon (as Graphite) (C) | 15,000,000 | *2,750.00 | *41.25 | *41,250,000. |
| Nickel (Ni) | 13,000,000 | 4,630.00 | 60.19 | 60,190,000. |
| Calcium (Ca) | 11,000,000 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Aluminum (Al) | 9,800,000 | 1,440.00 | 14.11 | 14,112,000. |
| Sodium (Na) | 5,600,000 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Chromium (Cr) | 3,100,000 | 7,570.00 | 23.47 | 23,467,000. |
| Manganese (Mn) | 2,800,000 | 2.40 | 0.00 | 6,720. |
| Nitrogen (N) | 1,400,000 | *1,623.38 | *2.27 | *2,272,732. |
| Phosphorus (Red) (P) | 1,100,000 | *70,000. | *77.00 | *77,000,000. |
| Potasium (K) | 710,000 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Cobalt (Co) | 600,000 | 47,245.00 | 28.35 | 28,347,000. |
| Titanium (Ti) | 550,000 | 9,650.00 | 5.30 | 5,307,500. |
| Chlorine (Cl) | 380,000 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Zinc (Zn) | 180,000 | 1,130.00 | 0.20 | 203,400. |
| Copper (Cu) | 110,000 | 1,730.00 | 0.19 | 190,300. |
| Fluorine (F) | 89,000 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Vanadium (V) | 62,000 | 12,060.00 | 0.75 | 747,720. |
| Germanium (Ge) | 21,000 | 1,700,000.00 | 35.70 | 35,700,000. |
| Selenium (Se) | 13,000 | 5,510.00 | 0.07 | 71,630. |
| Strontium (Sr) | 8,900 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Gallium (Ga) | 7,800 | 550,000.00 | 4.29 | 4,290,000. |
| Zirconium (Zr) | 6,700 | 248,000.00 | 1.66 | 1,660,000. |
| Scandium (Sc) | 6,500 | 18,000,000.00 | 117.00 | 117,000,000. |
| Rubidium (Rb) | 3,300 | 6,120,000.00 | 20.20 | 20,196,000. |
| Barium (Ba) | 2,800 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Tellurium (Te) | 2,100 | 39,680.00 | 0.08 | 83,328. |
| Yttrium (Y) | 1,900 | 450,000.00 | 0.86 | 855,000. |
| Arsenic (Y) | 1,800 | 1,010.00 | 0.00 | 1,818. |
| Lithium (Li) | 1,700 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Boron (B) | 1,600 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Lead (Pb) | 1,400 | 1,000.00 | 0.00 | 1,400. |
| Tin (Sn) | 1,200 | 8,230.00 | 0.01 | 9,876. |
| Molybdenum (Mo) | 1,200 | 5,800.00 | 0.01 | 6,960. |
| Bromine (Br) | 1,200 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Platinum (Pt) | 1,000 | *25,000,000.00 | *25.00 | *25,000,000. |
| Ruthenum (Ru) | 830 | *1,925,546.00 | *1.60 | *1,598,203. |
| Cerium (Ce) | 760 | 350,000.00 | 0.27 | 266,000. |
| Paladium (Pd) | 670 | *7,830,552.00 | *5.25 | *5,246,470. |
| Osmium (Os) | 670 | *12,836,970.00 | *8.60 | *8,600,770. |
| Iridium (Ir) | 550 | *6,739,410.00 | *3.71 | *3,706,675. |
| Neodymium (Nd) | 510 | 450,000.00 | 0.23 | 229,500. |
| Cadmium (Cd) | 450 | 617.00 | 0.00 | 278. |
| Lanthanum (La) | 290 | 350,000.00 | 0.10 | 101,500. |
| Dysprosium (Dy) | 280 | 500,000.00 | 0.14 | 140,000. |
| Iodine (I) | 260 | *16,770.00 | *0.00 | *4,360. |
| Mercury (Hg) | 250 | 4,050.00 | 0.00 | 1,012. |
| Gadolinium (Gd) | 230 | 400,000.00 | 0.09 | 92,000. |
| Niobium (Columbium) (Nb) | 190 | *3,127.00 | *0.00 | *594. |
| Rhodium (Rh) | 180 | 19,930,000.00 | 3.59 | 3,588,018. |
| Erbium (Er) | 180 | 725,000.00 | 0.13 | 130,500. |
| Ytterbium (Yb) | 180 | 1,600,000.00 | 0.29 | 288,000. |
| Gold (Au) | 170 | *12,260,911.00 | *2.08 | *2,084,355. |
| Hafnium (Hf) | 170 | 187,000.00 | 0.03 | 31,856. |
| Samarium (Sm) | 170 | 300,000.00 | 0.05 | 51,000. |
| Caesium (Cs) | 140 | 63,300,000.00 | 8.86 | 8,862,000. |
| Silver (Ag) | 140 | *190,629.00 | *0.03 | *26,688. |
| Antimony (Sb) | 120 | 1,580.00 | 0.00 | 190. |
| Tungsten (W) | 120 | 66.00 | 0.00 | 13. |
| Praseodymium (Pr) | 100 | 540,000.00 | 0.05 | 54,000. |
| Thallum (Tl) | 80 | 6,500,000.00 | 0.52 | 520,000. |
| Bismuth (Bi) | 70 | 7,930.00 | 0.00 | 555. |
| Europium (Eu) | 60 | 6,500,000.00 | 0.39 | 390,000. |
| Holmium (Ho) | 60 | 1,200,000.00 | 0.07 | 72,000. |
| Rhenium (Re) | 50 | *1,322,751.00 | *0.07 | *66,138. |
| Indium (In) | 45 | 300,000.00 | 0.01 | 13,770. |
| Thorium (Th) | 40 | 33,000.00 | 0.00 | 1,320. |
| Terbium (Tb) | 40 | 1,300,000.00 | 0.05 | 52,000. |
| Beryllium (Be) | 30 | 848,000.00 | 0.03 | 25,463. |
| Lutetium (Lu) | 30 | 7,500,000.00 | 0.23 | 225,000. |
| Thulium (Tm) | 30 | 6,500,000.00 | 0.20 | 195,000. |
| Tantalum (Ta) | 20 | 74,950.00 | 0.00 | 1,499. |
| Uranium (U) | 10 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| ALL ELEMENTS | N/A | N/A | $1,126.72 | $1,126,725,747. |
To estimate the production value of any element on the table above, simply multiply the number in the last column for that element by the number of millions of tons per year in expected production. For example, if you expect to process 50 million M.T. of asteroid ore per year, the value of the Iron extracted would be $90,200,000 times 50, or $4,510,000,000 ($4.51 billion).
Of course, as stated above, each asteroid is different, and metal prices do fluctuate. But overall, the above values should be accurate to within +/-20% for most C-Type asteroids.
