a population would result in falls in income per capita until poverty and starvation would result as a constricting factor on population. Malthus posited this years ago, and no sign has yet emerged of the Malthus effect regarding raw materials. Proven reserves are deposits of mineral resources that are already discovered and known to be economically extractable under present or similar demand, price and other economic and technological conditions. Conditional reserves are discovered deposits that are not yet economically viable. Indicated reserves are less intensively measured deposits whose data is derived from surveys and geological projections. Hypothetical reserves and speculative resources make up this group of reserves. Inferred reserves are deposits that have been located but not yet exploited. Continued development in asteroid mining techniques and technology will help to increase mineral discoveries. As the cost of extracting mineral resources, especially platinum group metals, on Earth rises, the cost of extracting the same resources from celestial bodies declines due to technological innovations around space exploration. , there are 711 known asteroids with a value exceeding US$100 trillion. Financial feasibility Space ventures are high-risk, with long lead times and heavy capital investment, and that is no different for asteroid-mining projects. These types of ventures could be funded through private investment or through government investment. For a commercial venture it can be profitable as long as the revenue earned is greater than total costs (costs for extraction and costs for marketing). The costs involving an asteroid-mining venture have been estimated to be around US$100 billion in 1996. There are six categories of cost considered for an asteroid mining venture: Research and development costs Exploration and prospecting costs Construction and infrastructure development costs Operational and engineering costs Environmental costs Time cost Determining financial feasibility is best represented through net present value. One requirement needed for financial feasibility is a high return on investments estimating around 30%. Example calculation assumes for simplicity that the only valuable material on asteroids is platinum. On August 16, 2016, platinum was valued at $1157 per ounce or $37,000 per kilogram. At a price of $1,340, for a 10% return on investment, of platinum would have to be extracted for every 1,155,000 tons of asteroid ore. For a 50% return on investment of platinum would have to be extracted for every 11,350,000 tons of asteroid ore. This analysis assumes that doubling the supply of platinum to the market (5.13