If you think about it you had a spaceship and your goal is to set up an automated factory and do whatever you want. Well the planet appears to have no intelligent life yet you can live on the planet, so why didn't anything live on the planet before you arrived on it.

My idea is that you add a new ...

Basically have a research for a land surveyor robot that will fly out in whatever direction you tell it while placing an item transport system. Once it finds a resource node it will then plant itself on it an will become a electrical mine and will notify you that it has set itself up/have it have a ...