Potential mineral resources of the Moon

Abstract

Highlights: – The most geochemically and geophysically evolved layer is the regolith; – Lunar regolith should be treated as a multi-component, pre-crushed ore; – The first object of exploitation and processing on the Moon will be regolith; – Potential deposit zones include outcrops of ultrabasic igneous rocks enriched in metals: Cr, Ti, REE, and PGM; – The most promising deposit areas are the lunar maria, primarily the Procellarum KREEP Terrane, circumpolar areas, and regions on the far side with a regolith thickness > 10 m. The homogeneity of the chemical and isotopic compositions of the Earth and the Moon facilitates the identification of potential mineral resources present and exploitable on the Moon. Current knowledge of the geological structure of the Moon indicates that the greatest geochemical and geophysical activity of the surface layer of the Moon’s crust lies in the regolith, and it is this that promises the most promising lunar raw material resource base. The regolith contains increased concentrations of life-supporting raw materials (H2O and O2), fuels and energy raw materials (3He, U, Th, H2, and O2), metallic raw materials (Fe, Ti, Zr, Hf, Eu, other REEs, Cr, Ni, Co, Al, and Si), rock raw materials (regolith, breccias, basalts, anorthosites, and others) and chemical raw materials (K, P, Cl, and S). Lunar regolith should be treated as a multi-component, pre-crushed ore, in which there are local enrichments of selected raw materials, and so initially will form the target of exploitation and processing on the Moon. The next potential deposit zones are outcrops of basic and ultrabasic igneous rocks, which may be enriched in metals such as Cr, Ti, REEs and PGMs, or places where these rocks are covered by only a thin layer of regolith. Such zones also include areas of occurrence of acidic igneous rocks, enriched in quartz, and perhaps also in many other valuable metals and chemical raw materials. The most important prospective areas in terms of the occurrence of raw materials in the regolith are the lunar maria, primarily the Procellarum KREEP Terrane, circumpolar areas, as well as areas on the far side of the Moon characterized by a regolith thickness exceeding 10 m.