Starconverter

So I am super confused here mate. How is it there is TONS of ore available in these asteroids and yet 4 hours later you are claiming that you have people wasting tons of fuel searching asteroids for nothing to show for it?

I haven't seen anything speaking of it so maybe someone can help me out. Currently I can mine on a tile that is unowned. It appears that mining bots need to be placed on a static construct. Does that mean I can only mine on owned/claimed tiles?? Does this not create a barrier to entry to go mining, one of the most basic entry level activities of the game?