If you do an online search for the term “gold on Mars,” you will find all kinds of videos and articles on the topic. Some of the information you’ll uncover is dry and scientific, but you’ll also find weird conspiracy theories that claim that NASA doesn’t want anybody to know that there are huge veins of Martian gold that are waiting to be claimed by world powers. Goldfinger sends up a Mars craft, brings back untold riches, and dominates the world.

Is there gold on the red planet? Image credit: NASA/JPL/Caltech.

Okay, that’s interesting. The dream behind it all seems to hinge on the fact that it really is possible to send a spacecraft, equipped with robotic devices, that would dig up gold and then carry it back to Earth for refining. Okay, we could do that. After all, Earthlings have already been sending robotic vehicles to other planets. So how hard would it be to create a mining spacecraft for use on the Red Planet? The fantasy is also fueled by the fact that gold can probably be found on Mars. Scientists tell us that Earth’s gold probably got dropped here from outer space, so gold probably got dropped on Mars too. Makes sense, right? So let’s all fly to Mars and get rich.

Astronomical Costs

Yes, it all makes sense. But will it really be done, when you consider the astonishingly high expense of such an undertaking? Almost certainly not.

Then you also have to put the issue of Martian gold mining in perspective . . .

There are large quantities of gold right here on Earth that have not been mined. Sure, mining companies and prospectors have already extracted lots of gold from the Earth, but actually only from the Earth’s outer layers. Chances are that there is still more gold deeper within the Earth that could be mined, and at lower cost than bringing gold back from Mars for refining.
Undersea gold mining is still in its infancy. If there are veins of the precious metal on land, there should be untapped reserves of the metal beneath the Earth’s seas too, right? There are even particles of gold floating free in seawater. (According to NOAA, each liter of seawater contains, on average, about 13 billionths of a gram of pure gold.) It is not unlike oil extraction, which has recently moved from dry land to the seas. There would be serious environmental obstacles to overcome before large-scale underwater gold mining could happen. But when you look at the big picture, could those difficulties be any greater than those posed by Martian gold mining? It is hard to imagine how that would be possible.

And What About Recycling Gold?

If you are an Earthling (not a Martian, we assume) who wants to profit from gold, the easiest and most practical way to do it is to find older gold items – old eyeglass frames, jewelry, gold dust and scrap, and all the other items we have written about on this blog. You won’t need a spaceship, just a sense of adventure and the ambition to find gold items and then send them to us. Call us at 800-426-2344 and when you do, ask about free or discounted shipping on the items you send us for testing.

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Is there Gold on Mars?

Astronomical Costs

And What About Recycling Gold?

America's Best Gold Refiners