User blog:Unownshipper/Metallurgists Wanted: Rapture's Natural Resources

So we've discussed on other pages the types of plants and animals that certainly (and possibly) were brought in and made available in Rapture, but let's turn our attention to more indigenous resources. What kinds of mineral resources would be available to Rapture?


 * What kind of stone might those beautiful Art Deco tiled floors and walls be made of?


 * What’s the soil in Arcadia likely composed of?


 * What other types of natural minerals could be used to build skyscrapers and other buildings once the city would expand?

With Rapture's goal of self-sustainability, we must assume than mining operations of some sort were put in place to harvest natural deposits of raw materials near the underwater city's location of 63° 2' N, 29° 55' W. With that in mind, what kind of materials could we possibly expect to be near the volcano-adjacent (the Hephaestus power core) sea-floor metropolis? Furthermore, what would NOT be near?

Now I’m not about to pretend that I know much at all about metallurgy, volcanology, or the natural layout of different types of minerals and resources, and I'm willing to bet that a number of other contributors on this Wiki are a bit fuzzy on the subject as well, but if you are an expert (or fancy yourself one) please help us out.

Now this is ALL speculative, but let's set some guidelines:


 * Let us not limit Rapture only to metals that are easy to mine or synthesize. These are the people who chose to build a city at the bottom of the ocean, if they were looking for an easy route, they never would've come. So if the raw materials are within the vicinity and in largw enough quantities, let's assume it's possible.


 * Let us not limit Rapture only to materials that were only developed in or before the late 1940s & very early 1950s. Rapture is filled with geniuses and innovators. These people may have come up with scientific advancements 5, 10, or perhaps even 15 years ahead of their surface world counterparts. Let's not get too carried away with this though.


 * Let us not limit Rapture to standard building materials of the era. A city at the bottom of the sea requires vastly different considerations in its construction, but it also presents exciting opportunities. Resources found at the depths of the ocean are usually far beyond the reach of a place like America, but for Rapture, they're right outside their door.