On Thursday, December 1, 2016 at 12:35:25 AM UTC+13, Fred J. McCall wrote:
Jeff Findley wrote:

In article ,
says...

I would suggest you study the work of Diane Newman at Caltech. She bred bacteria that breathe rock and **** valuable metals like gold and copper. They're working in copper mine tailings today and are revolutionising mining industry.


Not self replicating mining machines that can be used on an asteroid in
the vacuum and cold of the asteroid belt.


They're also not revolutionizing much in very many places. There are
a few countries where they are being used on sulfates to extract
metals (not mine tailings) and the United States is not one of those
countries (we have enough trouble just mining the old fashioned way,
given the depressed price of copper).

Once again Mook has read a research paper and then grossly oversold.


--
"Ignorance is preferable to error, and he is less remote from the
truth who believes nothing than he who believes what is wrong."
-- Thomas Jefferson

Tell that to the MacArthur foundation! LOL!

https://www.macfound.org/fellows/963/