re: McFly has a point...
Look at the American west. Spain had it, including California, for 200 years. Under Spanish law any minerals found belonged to the King. Few mines existed. And what the King's men found wasn't worth transporting because of no roads.
The U.S. took it over. Under U.S. law any minerals found belong to the finder. In just 20 years of U.S. ownership prospectors made gold strikes in California and Colorado. The huge Comstock silver mines were found. Roads and railroads were built to bring the wealth out.
If the moon was owned by private interests the same would happen. Prospectors would find wealth and ways would be found to bring it to Earth. Never underestimate the power of capitialism.