What nonsense, though. If there is all this "easy gold" on some asteroid, the price of gold will plummet, and the total value of the world's mined gold won't really change all that much.
Are they really this desperate to come up with some bogus excuse/reason for foisting the next plank of The Communist Manifesto down the throats of uneducated Americans??? Geesh...
"For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, If any will not work, neither let him eat." -- II Thessalonians 3:10
yeah...it's nonsense.
or
it's a metaphor.
Space is chock full of resources and free energy.
So called 'environmental concerns' are non existent.
Put factories in space...make stuff. Metaphorical Gold.
But WAIT..there's more.
Some stuff can be made more easily in zero gee than it can be made on earth.
Some stuff (theoretically) can ONLY be made in Zero Gee.
but that's complete nonsense.
It'll never fly Orville.