Though the existence of water on the moon has not yet been proven, this possibility remains. Water is thought to exist as ice, frozen in the coldest regions of moon craters. Hydrogen atoms have also been found near the lunar poles. Because these areas have not yet been explored, this idea has not yet been proven. However, the discovery of water in these craters would lead to a multitude of possibilities including backup resources for Earth’s water as well as the potential for a moon colony.

Samples brought back from Apollo missions proved the existence of oxygen resources. Moon rocks were found to consist of as much as 40 percent oxygen. Also, ultraviolet images brought back form the Hubble Space Telescope have revealed the existence of a mineral known as ilmenite. Ilmenite is made up of titanium and iron oxide which provides oxygen and titanium for use in consumer goods. The oxygen is relatively easy to extract, and can be used for breathing and rocket fuel. Most likely, any initial mining efforts would be for oxygen to sustain outposts on the surface.

Compound	Apollo 11	Apollo 12	Apollo 14	Apollo 15	Apollo 16	Apollo 17	Luna 16	Luna 20
SiO2	42.47%	46.17%	48.08%	46.20%	45.09%	39.87%	43.96%	44.95%
Al2O3	13.78%	13.71%	17.41%	10.32%	27.18%	10.97%	15.51%	23.07%
TiO2	7.67%	3.07%	1.70%	2.16%	0.56%	9.42%	3.53%	0.49%
Cr2O3	0.30%	0.35%	0.22%	0.53%	0.11%	0.46%	0.29%	0.15%
FeO	15.76%	15.41%	10.36%	19.75%	5.18%	17.53%	16.41%	7.35%
MnO	0.21%	0.22%	0.14%	0.25%	0.07%	0.24%	0.21%	0.11%
MgO	8.17%	9.91%	9.47%	11.29%	5.84%	9.62%	8.79%	9.26%
CaO	12.12%	10.55%	10.79%	9.74%	15.79%	10.62%	12.07%	14.07%
Na2O	0.44%	0.48%	0.70%	0.31%	0.47%	0.35%	0.36%	0.35%
K2O	0.15%	0.27%	0.58%	0.10%	0.11%	0.08%	0.10%	0.08%
P2O5	0.12%	0.10%	0.09%	0.06%	0.06%	0.13%	0.21%	0.08%
S	0.12%	0.10%	0.09%	0.06%	0.06%	0.13%	0.21%	0.08%
H	51.0 ppm	45.0 ppm	79.6 ppm	63.6 ppm	56.0 ppm	59.6 ppm
He	60 ppm	10 ppm	8 ppm	8 ppm	6 ppm	36 ppm
C	135 ppm	104 ppm	130 ppm	95 ppm	106.5 ppm	82 ppm
N	119 ppm	84 ppm	92 ppm	80 ppm	89 ppm	60 ppm	134 ppm	107 ppm

As you can see from this chart of the average composition of Apollo and Luna samples, the moon has many minerals as well as Helium-3 which can be used in fusion reactors. These minerals are mixed together on the surface in the form of dust. Notice that the moon has large deposits of anorthite, which consists of aluminum, calcium, silicon, and oxygen. Anorthite could be processed to produce ceramics like calcia, CaO, and alumina, Al₂O₃. Metals are generally found in the form of metal oxides which must be processed by heat, chemicals, and/or electrical current to separate them from their oxide or silicate. This process is known as a "smelter."

Construction materials that can be found on the moon include Platinum Group Metals such as platinum and palladium, which are rare and expensive on earth but are used extensively in consumer products such as jewelry, and razors. Platinum is also used in dental and medical tools, nylon, and glass fiber. Its most common use is in catalytic converters which help to lesson automotive pollution.

Commercialism on the moon would also allow access to resources found in asteroids that collide with the moon. Metal-containing asteroids come in two types: iron and stony. These "metallic asteroid impactors" have been found to leave iron, nickel, cobalt, silicon, magnesium, aluminum, calcium, and oxygen within the lunar crust after collision.