Excalibur Mining Corporation

A now defunct mining corporation composed of many state and privately owned interests, focused on the mineral deposits in the asteroid belt. This was not by choice, as Maytec and the Anarchists controlled Mars, the Chinese controlled the Moon, and Earth was essentially depleted. Attaining the minerals in the outer realms of the solar system was a high risk, high reward endeavour, as the belt was rich in metals such as nickel and iron, but it was also a long way out and located where very big rocks travelled at very high speeds.
The EMC farmed the belt by building a large fleet of heavily armoured mining ships and dozens of space stations to service them. The EMC did well enough at first to become a place where anyone could make a lot of money very quickly. This became its downfall, as the EMC's expansion and lack of regulation led to them cutting corners. With the death toll from accidents increasing rapidly, their reputation quickly became that of a place where anyone could get a quick death rather than a quick buck.
Not helping matters, the amount of money involved drew the attention of the criminal elements, bringing drugs, crime, and even piracy to the EMC's lawless frontier. The EMC's response to this was a brutal crackdown that didn't work but, due to the type of people attracted to the EMC, was doomed to failure either way.
Losses dominated, with the final nail in the coffin being the Anarchists' discovery of a rich seam of iron on Mars, driving the prices down drastically. Unable to compete, the EMC declared bankruptcy, and most of their remaining infrastructure was abandoned.
Mostly.
After the EMC went bankrupt, ex-CEO Rupert Mann is quoted as saying, "With our technology, we have travelled to the furthest reaches of our solar system. There wasn't much out there, and it wasn't very nice, so we came back home again."
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Category:EMC