OSIRIS-REx will collect samples from an asteroid and return them to Earth, in what it could be a pivotal step for firms currently planning to tap into the space mining business.
Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi (ETT), the state-owned company that holds the license to the deposit, has already begun evaluating bids and calculating the potential economic benefits of restarting it.
The 1,770 kilometre, $3.7-billion (U.S.) Dakota Access pipeline would carry oil from just north of the Standing Rock Sioux’s land in North Dakota to Illinois.
A recent report by Arkansas Online says the energy industry's support sector could feel the effects of low oil prices for up to two years after the current bear market recovers.