For years I’ve enjoyed reading a blog by a renowned marketing guru and have often agreed with his posts.

However, a recent essay used a mine as an example of “extraction” but not as an “investment,” meaning that the mine’s usefulness ended with a “taking” but failed to generate growth. Wow, I thought! How could anyone so savvy, educated, and esteemed think that?

There is no growth without mining or really all natural resources. Everything we build, use, develop, power, or invent consists of some material that has come from mining. There is no “lifestyle” or “quality of life” without that fact.

Part of the problem is a lingering 19th century perception of a grizzled guy with a pick and shovel despoiling the environment. That image is as inaccurate as saying our main mode of transportation is by horse and carriage.

Today’s large mines use the world’s most advanced technologies, including fully electric, autonomous haul trucks, AI, and robots. Robots in mining are transforming how mines operate, improving safety, productivity, and operational efficiency. All of this means safer, greener, and more efficient mining.

The spotlight on mining’s importance to US technology leadership was particularly visible during the recent discussions on rare earths and related geopolitical developments. And for those following the plans of space exploration companies like SpaceX, commercial space mining will usher in the “largest resource rush” in history becoming the next frontier.

Mining’s ability to generate growth will be truly “out of this world.”