First, reconnaissance. Is this area worth prospecting?
Second, prospecting. Get some actual samples.
Third, exploration. Drill some cores.
Forth, delineation of the ore body, size, shape, volume, grade.
Fifth, metallurgy. How do you separate and isolate the desired metal? (This gets really complicated. How do you mill the ore? How do you do flotation separation in zero G?)
Sixth, economics. Can you make a profit? Otherwise, It ain't ore. Who's money (OPM) will finance it?

These are the steps we take in Discovery long before the digging starts.

On earth, these steps take decades. I've got no problem with sending probes to do step one. But as my father always said, one bridge at a time. If one is convinced that investing in something that promises billions in return...well...best be young and remember that often "A mine is a hole in the ground with a liar on top." See it all the time.