In my book THE BELT, I wrote about a vast part of the solar system where planet mining could make people trillionaires.  If a mining operation discovers a planetoid half the size of the moon that has large quantities of platinum, gold, diamonds, and uranium, the deposits might be worth enough to make every human miner and investor over a trillion dollars.  The deposits might be so huge that the material would have to be kept in reserve and sent back a portion at a time or else the prices would plunge due to an overabundance. 

In my book, the belt is like the Wild West during the gold rush eras.  People will make quick fortunes and can die just as fast.  That is why there will have to be stations out there to maintain order.  In my book they are stations Yukon, Siberia, Pategonia, Tibet, and eventually Antarctica which would be run by the United Federation of Planets.  All five stations are named after frigid areas on the earth since the stations will be placed in a frigid and dark part of the solar system. 

The people working in the stations will represent the space agencies.  NASA will run Yukon.  the Russians will run Siberia.  The European Space Agency will run Pategonia.  The Asian space agency will run Tibet.  Claims for planetoids and other bodies in the belt will be filed at the appropriate stations and law enforcement agents will make sure the claims aren’t stolen. 

Another job of the personnel will be to prevent objects from the belt from plunging into planets and colonies in the solar system.  Also, patrols will make sure people don’t take away parts of Halley’s Comet because it would disappear centuries sooner if a billion tourists were to take home a chunk of it.  Also, a little nudge in the belt will prevent a rock the size of a mountain from ending life on the earth maybe a decade later. 

People serving out there will also take care of the systems used for interstellar travel like the field acceleration stations for the ships and the teleportation devices for people.  It is uncertain how crowded the area is.  So the people working out there will need to clear the way for ships and people. 

Also, there will be colonies out there to provide what people need.  Prostitution and gambling will be legal out there since people will want those vices.  There will be pleasure areas on some planetoids that will offer the sexual stimulation of pleasure units and the excitement of casino gambling.  In order to get the best performers out there to act, dance, and sing, top money will be offered.  The Frank Sinatra of the 24th century may make the equivalent of $10 million a performance.  But with someone making that much in an hour if he removes a ton of uranium from a mine in an hour, the price won’t be too unreasonable. 

There may be pirates out there raiding mining colonies or hijacking cargo carriers.  That is why the stations will be busy enforcing the law.  Judgment will be swift and sure just like it was in the Old West.  

After people have made their fortune out in the belt, they may want to settle down in retirement on Mars or on their own personal planet that will orbit the sun or maybe the earth as a large satellite.  They will no doubt invest in mining operations in the belt so that their descendants will remain rich beyond their wildest desires.  

With so much material coming to earth for us to use, prices for such things as cars and planes should go down considerably.  Uranium might be so plentiful that people could have reactors that only cost half as much as a house that may never need to be refueled for decades.   Even the house may be made from material from the Kyuper Belt and cost less than people might expect.  

This may all happen by the 24th century, as my book states.  My great-great-great-grandnieces and nephews may not see that day.  But I believe it may happen someday.