I have been putting this Idea though a lot of thought and the only instance I have seen My Ideat was in the Malestrom mod that I cannot now get to work within the new update.
My Idea is a utility frigate that will go out to astroid belts and gas giants that you cannot colonize and set up a small minebase that will act simmilar to a trade port.
this is in no way like a starbase but the frigate will be lost in the even of conversion into a mineing base and once converted will slowly take over the neutral extractors in the local gravity well and will support transports like trade transports only they will only be moving back and forth betwin the mining platform and the extractors.