What is the Moon made of?
The Moon's composition and internal structure are not known in great detail. Most of what we do know comes from studying samples of the lunar surface returned by Apollo missions and from seismic studies performed both remotely from Earth and by astronauts on the Moon. Rocks from the lunar surface are all igneous, having been created below the surface then carried to it by meteor impacts or by the Moon's now-defunct volcanoes. They consist primarily of typical Earth minerals like olivine, feldspar, and quartz, though some minerals found are unique to the Moon -- tranquillityite, armalcolite, and pyroxferroite.
As for the Moon's interior, our understanding of its structure is much more limited. Most scientists agree on the following general concepts: the remains of countless meteor impacts and volcanic flows dominate the first 60 miles below the surface; the next 60 to 100 miles of lunar "crust" is rich in metals. Deeper below the surface, the structure becomes less clear; starting about 100 miles below the lunar surface is a region that appears to have been molten in the past -- how deep this goes remains a subject of debate. Some scientists argue that this region extends through to the center, while others suggest that there is a separate, partially molten iron core as much as 400 miles in radius. Obviously, more work needs to be done to settle these questions.
Rumors of gold and diamonds on the Moon are a bit farfetched. While trace quantities of gold have been found in Moon rocks, they appear to have been deposited by falling meteors -- not a good prospect for potential miners.
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