How do the space-metals customers earn money? (was Who athe space-metals)

OK, hitman,...There will be all these assorted installations built in space (multiple prayers being said!!!), see, anything from SSP stations to research facilities, habitats of assorted design and size, military space stations, tourist hotels, a variety of spacecraft and hanger facilities with habitat for crews, etc., and they will all need raw materials from which to be built or added on to, they will all need consumables, air, water, soil, minerals, chemicals and lots of other things that could, conceivably, be better supplied by prospectors already in space than brought up from the surface with the trade penalty that that automatically incurs. In the early years, such custom would keep prospectors going. Within a generation, though,j the culture and community of prospectors and their families will be supplying each other as well, and trade between colonies will begin to normalize. Of course, the solar home of the Human race is a lot bigger than just his birthworld. I expect trade will continue to grow for a couple centuries before weve cataloged most all the available real estate here and start venturing further through the oort cloud and Kuiper belt and into interstellar space, whether it be the oort and Kuiper of Alpha C., or otherwise...

From: hitssquad
Sent: Saturday, March 24, 2012 11:20 AM
To: spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [spacesettlers] How do the space-metals customers earn money? (was Re: Who are the space-metals)

--- In mailto:spacesettlers%40yahoogroups.com, "Victor Smith" wrote:
> From: hitssquad
> > > Settlers will go to supply those needs
> > ...For what customers?
> For the others like themselves

That's what I as afraid of. How are the customers generating the new value they will need to trade for the space-metal? In other words, customers have to have some way of generating income so they can pay. How are they generating income? What business are *they* in?