Plate tectonics on average do not contribute to the global sea level rise. They are important locally (like in PNW) but not on the global scope.

Not really true. Don't be fooled by marketing.

Intel 7 is a rebrand of 10 Enhanced SuperFin (10ESF). That is a node that is a refinement of their tragically-failed 10nm node. 10nm nodes included 10nm, 10nm+, 10SF, and 10ESF. Intel renamed 10ESF to Intel 7 without changing anything in hopes that no one would notice.

They also renamed their 7nm node to Intel 4. Intel 3 is a refinement of 4.

It's just a name. It doesn't necessarily mean that 14a has any transistor dimensions measuring exactly 14 angstroms. Most node names have been marketing for awhile.

Also your 3960X is on N7 which was definitely not a 7nm node, despite the name.

You'll have to do some digging to find actual transistor density figures for N7 and more-recent nodes to get an idea of how dense they're getting relative to N7.

Yeah we all miss Mitt Romney so much.

Let's be honest, the CHIPS Act was already a mistake since it did too much to help Intel without doing enough for the also-ran foundries that Intel put into the dirt.

Okay you got a Dyson sphere to go with it? Didn't think so. We might want to build some smaller ones.

Not many people want thorium. Usually.

Yeah that makes sense. What would they do with the radioactive stuff?

Yes, others have pointed out the fact that the mineral concentrations are quite low.

Sorry tellurium.

Gee if only we had thorium reactors. Also isn't telluride a problem in some mines?

You don't have to go that far. There's probably a less-intrusive way for the government to regulate these tailings.

It isn't just environmental costs. The yield from tailings may be so poor that mining higher-purity ore overseas is more cost-effective. In the case of the tailings mentioned in the summary, the desired mineral content is low enough that refining doesn't yet make any sense.

That answers my question, thanks.

. . . why not just charge the mining companies a storage fee, take possession of the tailings, and process them for valuable minerals? Surely there's a reason why no one has tried that already. Right?