Ice mining on the Moon?

[Kyng]

https://www.space.com/41164-mining-moon-...shape.html

 GOLDEN, Colorado — A diverse range of scientists, engineers and mining technologists have begun blueprinting what hardware and missions are required to explore and establish a prospecting campaign for water ice at the poles of Earth's moon. 

 Why have they warmed up to ultra-cold lunar ice? Water ice can be converted to oxygen, liquid water and rocket fuel. Exploiting the stores of this resource — which is thought to be abundant within permanently shadowed polar craters on the moon — could help pioneers survive and thrive on the moon, and help entrepreneurs turn a profit. 

 For example, United Launch Alliance is maintaining its $3,000-per-kilogram ($1,360 per lb.) offer, first made in 2016, for moon-derived propellant delivered to low Earth orbit. The satellite communications industry could well be the first market for space resources.
 

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Yeah, this would be very helpful for a number of reasons. Obviously, it'd be essential for any colonies established on the Moon (since the cost of shipping up water from the Earth would be prohibitive). 

Also, if we ever want to go to Mars, launching a rocket from the Moon would be far easier than launching it from Earth (and it'd save us from having to launch from Earth with all the fuel needed for a trip to Mars already on board). Still, since the water on the moon will be needed for any moon bases, I hope we're not going to use too much of it for making rocket fuel!

[Detective Osprey]

Oh, now that's so cool. I'll be excited to hear more about this.

[Kyng]

And now, it's been confirmed that at least some water ice exists on the moon: 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-45251370

It's been suspected for at least a decade (we've had indirect evidence suggesting that there was ice there), but now we finally have official confirmation. At the south, it's mostly concentrated in craters, whereas it's sparser but more widespread at the north (so I'm guessing it'd be easier to mine and exploit it at the lunar South Pole).