Mark my words, SpaceX will be the very first to get mining going outside our atmosphere. Nobody else is remotely close to them.
China is Now Positioned to Dominate the Moon ......"The lunar phase of Chang’E 2 was completed in nine months, with a departure from lunar orbit in June 2011. What happened next is significant. At the end of August 2011, the Chang’E 2 spacecraft was sent to Sun-Earth L-2, a stable libration point about 1,500,000 km from Earth. At this point, Earth and Sun remain fixed in space (relative to the spacecraft) and minimal fuel is needed to remain here (plans are to park the forthcoming James Webb Space Telescope here). After loitering at L-2 for about 8 months, Chang’E-2 departed in late April 2012 for an intercept and flyby of the asteroid Toutatis in December of that year. High-resolution images of Toutatis were obtained and the Chinese spacecraft entered solar orbit, where it remains to this day.
This mission sequence was highly complex and apparently completely successful. Although it accomplished a great deal scientifically, its operational significance is even greater. The ability to routinely move throughout and work in the volume of space between Earth and Moon (cislunar space) is key to both space permanence and space control. Space permanence means having vehicle assets on call in space for use as needed, as well as being able to position them at strategic spots where they can be reliably stored until required. Space control simply means the ability to provide space assets for national purposes when needed and to deny similar assets to an adversary if necessary. Both permanence and control are demonstrated by positioning satellites in cislunar space, lunar orbit, the L-points, and all parts of space in between."......