The cost of traveling around the solar system is so outrageous that there is NO commodity so valuable that will justify the cost of going there, much less developing the recovery gear and process, and bringing it back to earth. We live in a deep gravity well and our current propulsion technology simply can't deliver enough energy. There could be gold or platinum bars, already refined and neatly stacked up on Psyche and it would still cost too much to just go there, pick them up and bring them back. And stop to consider that the mining technology and refining capacity has never been developed and tested. We haven't got a clue what the problems are, much less the solutions.

The only "stuff" worth mining in space, from a strictly commercial point of view, would be scientific knowledge. If an asteroid or comet had an alien base or shipwreck, or hosted some exotic lifeform, or contained a miniature black hole, THEN it might be worthwhile going there, no matter the cost.

Ask Podrock, our resident geologist. He has remarked here often that even here on earth, where mining, refining and transport is much, much cheaper, that many rich mineral deposits are never developed because the cost of extraction and removal exceeds the value of the ore.

This asteroid mining fantasy is a scam concocted by geek entrepreneurs to get Federal and private investment to finance their space hobby. Its the old Werner von Braun trick; "Pay for my space travel fantasy and I'll win the war for you." The only way this lunatic scheme makes sense is if the mined commodity can be used in space by colonists so it doesn't have to be hauled back to earth. It must also be in a highly refined state, almost ready-to-use, not a low-grade ore. It also demands that the target body has been thoroughly surveyed and assayed so we can show up with precisely the equipment and skills needed to develop the resource. I expect prospecting in space will be even more expensive than mining! Even so, we have no experience doing any of this, it will take a long and expensive learning curve to acquire it.

Technology cannot solve all our problems. Even if a scheme is scientifically possible, it often demands obscene amounts of energy and extravagant amounts of money. We probably couldn't build the Panama Canal today, we'd never be able to secure the financing.