Editing Shackleton Ice Mining Cooperative (section)

== Organization ==

=== Governance structure ===

The cooperative was governed by a Board of Crew Delegates, typically comprising between seven and eleven members depending on active membership levels. Delegates were elected by shift workers in quarterly ballots and could be recalled by majority petition. No delegate served more than two consecutive terms without a gap period. Executive decisions required a simple majority of the full Board; charter amendments required two-thirds.

This structure was explicitly designed to prevent the emergence of a managerial class disconnected from extraction work. All Board delegates were required to maintain active shift-worker status, meaning that senior cooperative leadership spent a minimum of twelve hours per week in operational roles alongside rank-and-file members.

=== Propellant-mass credit system ===

The propellant-mass credit (PMC) was issued internally by the cooperative as a unit of account tied to the mass-equivalent of processed propellant. One PMC represented the cooperative's commitment to deliver one kilogram of water-derived propellant feedstock at any recognized redemption point. The currency was not legal tender under Earth or lunar administrative frameworks but achieved practical acceptance through bilateral agreements with supply-chain partners.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Propellant-mass credit recognition network (selected depots, c. 2041 CE)
|-
! Depot or station !! Location !! Recognition status !! Notes
|-
| Shackleton Rim Station || Shackleton crater, Luna south pole || Full issuer || Cooperative headquarters; primary redemption point
|-
| Tycho Shipyards depot || Tycho crater, Luna nearside || Bilateral agreement || Accepted for maintenance and berthing fees
|-
| Phobos Anchor Station || Phobos orbit, Mars || Partial recognition || Accepted at negotiated discount; formal agreement 2039 CE
|-
| Cis-Lunar Customs Union nodes || Multiple, Earth-Luna space || Informal recognition || Accepted at operator discretion; no formal backing
|-
| Mass Driver Complex Nine transit node || Low lunar orbit || Operational credit || Accepted for lift-fee settlement only
|}

=== Extraction and logistics operations ===

Core operations were organized into three functional teams:

* '''Extraction crews''' operated bore-sleds in permanently shadowed crater regions, managing drilling, ice fracture, and raw material recovery in thermal conditions that required full pressure-suit protocols at all times.
* '''Processing teams''' operated the sublimation and electrolysis plants at Shackleton Rim Station, converting raw ice into hydrogen and oxygen propellant components stored in pressurized tanks.
* '''Logistics coordinators''' managed transport scheduling, depot contracts, and the PMC ledger system, coordinating deliveries via surface crawler and orbital transfer vehicle to cis-lunar customers.