Assuming this is all feasible—and this remains a big theoretical assumption—reactors1) using this approach could produce around 11,000 pounds (5,000 kilograms) of gold every year per gigawatt of electricity generated, according to Marathon Fusion’s chief executive, Kyle Schiller, and chief technology officer, Adam Rutkowski. To put this into perspective, around 3,000 metric tons of gold are mined each year. In an interview with the Financial Times, the two representatives stated that this “byproduct” could double the revenue of the plant.
But it’s worth noting that the same process would likely result in the production of unstable and potentially radioactive isotopes of gold. As such, Rutkowski admitted, the gold would have to be stored for 14 to 18 years before it could be labeled radiation-safe.
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Shiny by day and by night, what’s not to like?
1) A somewhat tweaked Tokamak. Of which, as we all know, thousands are already up and running successfully all over the world. In some parallell universe or other.
The way I read this the tweaked Tokamak is supposed to produce both electricity and gold.
In huge amounts. Right.
I must say though that I kinda like the concept of making so much gold that it’s worth will be reduced to it’s actual industrial value for making practical stuff like electrical connectors and so on.
Seeing as westinghouse wants to build ten new nuke plants in the US, all the waste they produce should be stored in their honchos’ basements and backyards.
