Another solution looking for a problem.
Mining in space is even on the horizon.
Until the cost of lifting material in to orbit falls dramatically the economics of mining in space is just unrealistic.
I don’t care what the commodity is, it is just not possible to make a profit now mining in space.
Well, maybe if they found a nearby asteroid with a rich deposit of unobtanium it might be worth it.
Profit isn’t a concern if your spending taxpayer money.
DARPA has been mining illudium for years and squirreling away the completed space modulators (even the latest Q-36 models) for years preparing for the launch of the Space Force.
I think you are wrong. Find an asteroid a cpl of million tons made mostly of water ice. Land a small reactor on it. Reactor heat to melt some water and turn to steam as propulsion into an orbit around the moon and we are off to colonizing space. Water is very good radiation shielding and would make a very good building material, believe it or not.