Smelting metals from which bodies could potentially be more energy-efficient than digging out Mercury’s core?

silicate crusts of Venus or certain asteroids

While Mercury represents a prime resource depot for pure metal due to its relatively thin mantle overlying a massive core, accessing that resource poses extreme engineering hurdles related to high density and high escape velocity. Consequently, some analyses suggest that alternative sourcing methods might be more energy-efficient for large-scale construction projects, such as building structures like a Dyson swarm near the Sun. Specifically, these analyses indicate that smelting metals derived from the silicate crusts of other, less differentiated bodies, such as certain types of asteroids or even the planet Venus, could require less overall energy expenditure than attempting to excavate Mercury’s heavily guarded, deep, metallic core.