Solar power stations will provide energy. The initial mining station will provide the materials to build more and bigger versions of itself.

Space Mining with Artificial Gravity

Two companies have announced plans to investigate asteroid mining. While the basics of identifying likely mining prospects with telescopes and deep space probes is straight forward enough, what the companies have not disclosed is a method for refining discovered ore. I believe that by adapting smelting and refining technology we currently use on Earth for…