Basalt Woven Textile (materialdistrict.com)

That is completely unrelated.

This newfangled "rockpaper" really complicates the rules of my favourite game.

I can understand basalt, as that is abundant on Mars. But butyl rubber, from where do you get that? Synthetize from CO2 in the atmosphere might work on Mars but on an Asteroid? But if you go through the route of synthetizing from CO2, why butyl rubber and not some other hydrocarbon?

That's interesting! I think of butyl rubber as being fairly expensive stuff compared to building materials—here on Earth, construction sand costs maybe 4¢ per kilogram, while polymers typically cost around 200¢ per kilogram. I'm not sure how much to expect that higher cost to transfer to Martian and asteroid ISRU, because I don't really understand where it comes from. Are you thinking that the composite you're describing would have major advantages, even if it's more expensive?

Not rock, but silver-plated and EM-shielding: https://vollebak.com/products/shielding-pants

A reinforcing fiber to mix with concrete is one.

One use that fascinates me is with foamed concrete (literally mixing concrete with a foaming agent) can be used to create cheap lightweight, insulating blocks, slabs or pours. While it shouldn’t be considered “structural” (low compressive strength), it can be quite durable and withstand and dissipate very energetic impacts when blended with chopped fibers (like basalt). The exact use will effect the ultimate blend and resulting density.

Not a typical material for sure, but I do see it come up in some countries when someone is having to DIY a lasting shelter. For a lot of situations it’s quite a sensible choice, and much healthier than spray foams. Depending on how open/closed the cells end up and freeze thaw cycles, protection from water saturation may be needed.

This combination of materials is also sold as prefabricated bullet stops for training, meant for retaining lead in an alkaline environment: https://www.terrancorp.com/sacon

The problem with asbestos is that, due to its structure, it keeps breaking in the longitudinal direction, making thinner and thinner until it is the size of chromosomes. Physical interference with DNA is how it causes cancer.

My understanding is that basalt fibers seem to be glassy, not crystalline, so the breaking does not happen.

This one <https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1567289/> seems to show that it is at least _safer_. But inhaling large amounts any form of particulate is ultimately dangerous.

couldn't imagine what the spaghetti looks like

One could probably add some other minerals to lower the melting temperature. Like is done for regular glass. I am not a chemist but I would assume most likely still way too high for plastic-like temperatures.

So there are basalt boats floating on the not so salty Baltic.

Looking at the web page is kinda ironic. A yacht builder proclaiming how much better the materials are for the environment. We could just build less yachts, for example. Nobody needs a yacht.

There has to be an interesting commentary here regarding the necessity of productive endeavours that pay taxes and fund local governments and drive investors portfolios into the black, all funded by useless largesse.

Vinalon is an organic polymer, like many other synthetic fibers we wear, but derived from coal instead of oil because North Korea has no oil.

The basalt fiber OP describes is not organic at all. It sounds more like asbestos actually.