facilities in May 1975 investigated this problem in some depth. In a paper entitled "Process Chemistry for L5" (Ref. 17), P.G. Grodzka of Lockheed found that earth bound technologies were probably inadequate to meet the needs of lunar processing; he also recommended possible solutions warranting further research and development. To quote from the paper: "Under the ground rule that no material other than hydrogen will be brought from earth, it is concluded that aluminum and titanium extraction from lunar soils by means approximating those used on earth is unfeasible. Metal extraction by direct electrolysis of molten lunar soil, however, appears to be feasible, although as yet undemonstrated, alternative. Another feasible alternative appears to be production from lunar soils of glass and ceramic construction materials. "Two routes appear promising for the production of oxygen from lunar soils. One involves direct reduction with hydrogen of ilmenite in lunar soils to produce water, iron, and titanium dioxide. This method, however, is not viewed as practical for the production of metals. Electrolysis of molten lunar soils is another method which appears promising and warrants further investigation. Electrolysis would have the advantage of not only producing oxygen but also of producing metals." At the same conference, R. McCreight of General Electric, in a paper entitled "Industrial Development in Zero-G" (Ref. 18), pointed out that mining on the average is generally not feasible. On the earth, one needs mines which have concentrations of the desired material on the order of 100 to 100,000 times its presence on the average. If there are concentrations on the moon, their location is currently unknown and if there are not, the whole process might not be feasible. To give an idea of the problem, McCreight offers the following calculations for large operations - g 5,000 tons (4.5 x 10 kg) of material per year: Lunar Concentration Dressing and Percent Mining Costs_____ _____Refining Costs____
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