Talk:Dust/@comment-4010415-20191220074541/@comment-27144409-20191221015048

There's also how often "rare earth" metalss get used, even in small amoounts for modern electronics. In case you needed something to keep you up, we could see peak lithium in our lifetimes if the suicidal race to peak oil doesn't get us first! The iPhone uses over 75% of the periodic table. Heck, gold, silver, and platinum are all prized for electronics. Copper is too, but people don't appreciate its value as much.

Speaking of diamonds being artificially scarce, the Soviets actually bought literal (I think) tons of "silver bears" from the Mir diamond mine to keep them off the market to maintain their value. Also, diamonds are great for industrial powers.