There are two types of exploration sites in wh. Pirate sites and sleeper sites. Low end wh have pirate sites for exploration. These sites do not have rats. Oth the regular sleeper sites have sleeper rats and I understand are not worth doing.
As for mining in a wh, its probably not a good idea, unless you are gas mining. Using a barge for regular ore would require alot of effort.
Ratting in wh’s is where the isk is. If it interests you - there is plenty of stuff on interweb talking about it.