(We originally posted this in 2020. You can read more of our original ideas in our archive. You can order a business plan of this idea here.)
Problem: While much of the world has been settled, there is still lots of unexplored land both above and below the surface of the earth.
Solution: During quarantine, I went on a road trip down the west coast of America. What was most interesting about the drive was the amount of small towns, farms, and open land that existed in between major American cities (Seattle, Portland, Reno, San Francisco, etc.). While most of this land is farmland or national parks, there are lots that could be purchased for location exploration. This business would purchase lots in order to mine and discover new reserves of minerals, natural resources, and more.
Just in the United States, experts estimate that the mining industry has a market size of around $400 billion with the major corporate players being “ConocoPhillips Company, Exxon Mobil Corporation, BP PLC, Halliburton Company, Freeport-McMoRan Inc. and Vulcan Materials Company.” Through taking an entirely new approach to mining (perhaps allowing people to invest in expeditions or using the millennial experience to find and purchase lots that are undervalued), this business would hope to crack just 1-2% of this huge industry.
Through looking at the map above provided by S&P’s Global Market Intelligence, you can see exactly which locations (aka the whitespace) this business would focus on exploring first.
Monetization: Sales from the commodities collected and mined on the lots owned.
Contributed by: Michael Bervell (Billion Dollar Startup Ideas)