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The popular Guide to space mining
Lance ‘Spacecat’ D. - "This is a guide intended for players new to space mining, to show them the essentials. Also included are a number of links to mining ship setups."
Selling mined commodities
(original official post is here)
- High-end commodities (Alexandrite, Benitoite, Grandidierite, Low Temperature Diamond, Monazite, Musgravite, Painite, Rhodplumsite, Serendibite, Void Opal) uses realistic supply and demand process based on the system's economy. This means that a station's purchasing price for minerals will reduce as the demand is met! Now how it works in real on simple example: Station demand is 1000 LTD. If you will bring on your ship more as 250 LTD (so more as 25% of demanded amount), your selling price/per ton will start lineary reducing. With this example is clearly obvious, that trying to sell big amounts (counts what is in your ship cargo hold!!!) of hig-end commodities is not effective. If you want decent money from mining, as a starting player, then use smaller ship and learn 1st hand how it works and what demands are expectable. Then you will be able sell your hard acquirded commodities for a maximum price.
- Different station economies have different supply and demand levels. The best prices offers next economies: Tourism, High Tech, Industrial and Refinery. Multipliers for demand are next states: Boom (or Investment) + Civil Liberty + Pirate Attack and Public Holiday.
- You can use in game galaxy map filters to search for stations with demand (or you can try Inara's galaxy info)
- The best source of money vs time (most of time) is painite mined by laser mining. Few useful tools for mining: Pristine Metallics Distances Calculator, Miner's Tool and other in the same place, which can be very usefull when search for nearest classic laser mining locations and/or selling points.
Classic "laser" mining
Needed equipment
- Mining Laser
- Surface_scanner
- Refinery
- Prospector limpet controller (1 - 2 active limpet is enough)
- Collector limpet controller (6+ active limpets is recommended)
- Cargo racks
- Fuel Scoop
- Shield generator (optional)
Mining in T6 video Guide
In video below are nicely explained all the basis for classic laser mining: Source Reddit thread: Efficient Mining Tips (Using a T-6 transport) : EliteDangerous
RES sites influence
Info about RES sites influence for classic mining using mining lasers. If you will do mining with some friend covering your six (and gathering bounties doing so), you can seriously shorten time needed for fully filling your ship cargo hold.
QuoteHas the higher yield per 'roid been proven with science? So far I've just heard it as an old_miner's tale?
Yes, it's been tested and confirmed by several miners that are a part of the EDC Facebook group. I'll try to find a diagram that one of them drew, but the yield bonus decreases with distance from the RES. Within 10km gives the full yield bonus and decreases until it drops off at 30km. I take my conda in there and can regularly pull ~50t of material from one of the 40-50% rocks. Stick it out long enough to fill the hold and when I cash in I end up making 5-6 million per run from goodies and bounties.
Core and Subsurface mining
Needed equipment
- Abrasion blaster
- Seismic charge Launcher (for cores mining, needs some ship flying to be used effectively)
- Sub-Surface Displacement Missile (for subsurface mining, needs some ship flying skills and proper timing to be used properly)
- Pulse wave_scanner (is quite energy hungry)
- Surface_scanner
- Refinery
- Prospector limpet controller (1 active limpet is enough)
- Collector limpet controller (4 to 6 active limpets should do it), good alternative is also Universal or Multilimpet controller
- Cargo racks
- Shield generator