Ship Builds & Load Outs Does a higher rating Prospector give a better chance of finding high value Asteroids?

Ceekay

Ceekay
All the asteroids were 100% I fire the prospector and then note the % drop after 1 frag has dropped, I think the asteroid ore % are the same whatever the prospector just that the better grades "find" more of the ore so a 1A will almost double the yield of a 1D.

Essentially a frag could be 40% osmium (5 frags = 2 tons refined) but a 1A will allow 28 - 42 frags a 1D 16 - 24 so if the ship can spare the power fit a 1A.


1A prospector range 2.38 - 3.57 %/frag or 42 - 28 fragments

1B prospector range 2.73 - 4.17 %/frag or 36 - 24 fragments

1C prospector range 3.70 - 5.00 %/frag or 30 - 20 fragments

1D prospector range 4.17 - 6.25 %/frag or 24 - 16 fragments

1E prospector range ???? - ???? %/frag or ?? - ?? fragments (pending)
 

Drownerfood

D
I think how it works is the asteroid composition is calculated when the ring cell is loaded, so what each asteroid is fixed from the time you enter the area. Then the number of fragments is multiplied by some number based on the prospector grade. I guess to finally answer the question this thread title asks: No, a better prospector doesn't help you find higher value asteroids (more Painite), it finds more of everything.
 

Ceekay

Ceekay
Sounds logical in an FD kind of way ;) BTW these figure were collected over several mining sessions and the % look to be consistent, if the trend on the prospectors (testing 1E tomorrow) continues it's probably going to be 20 - 12 fragments just a little better than no prospector at all.

I wonder if the Engineers update will allow us to stretch the prospector performance even further?
 

Assimilator1

Assimilator1
Ceekay said:
All the asteroids were 100% I fire the prospector and then note the % drop after 1 frag has dropped, I think the asteroid ore % are the same whatever the prospector just that the better grades "find" more of the ore so a 1A will almost double the yield of a 1D.

Essentially a frag could be 40% osmium (5 frags = 2 tons refined) but a 1A will allow 28 - 42 frags a 1D 16 - 24 so if the ship can spare the power fit a 1A.


1A prospector range 2.38 - 3.57 %/frag or 42 - 28 fragments

1B prospector range 2.73 - 4.17 %/frag or 36 - 24 fragments

1C prospector range 3.70 - 5.00 %/frag or 30 - 20 fragments

1D prospector range 4.17 - 6.25 %/frag or 24 - 16 fragments

1E prospector range ???? - ???? %/frag or ?? - ?? fragments (pending)
Click to expand...

Excellent work CK! :cool: :)
Wish I could give you in game credits for that!
And was that several mining trips for each prospector or all of them?
No wonder I was getting relatively poor credits/hr with my 1D prospector!!
 
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Ceekay

Ceekay
Currently doing the osmium mining CG so it's easy enough to mix in a little data gathering at the same time, I had my mining ship docked in 38 Lyncis and always use the same loRES so there's not too many variables.

I'm not a billionaire but I run around 10 ships excluding marker Sideys (2 x Pythons, FAS, FDL, Asp..........) so I'm good for cash but thanks for the offer;)

I realised as I was buying the 1D prospector that like the collector you can fit more than one to your ship so it's got a C and D and I switched between them at the RES, tomorrow it'll be an A and E and that's it for prospectors although if you're running an Anaconda/Type 9 miner multi drone prospectors might be worthwhile.
 

Ceekay

Ceekay
Last one and I'm off to deliver my osmium!


1A prospector range 2.38 - 3.57 %/frag or 42 - 28 fragments

1B prospector range 2.73 - 4.17 %/frag or 36 - 24 fragments

1C prospector range 3.70 - 5.00 %/frag or 30 - 20 fragments

1D prospector range 4.17 - 6.25 %/frag or 24 - 16 fragments

1E prospector range 6.25 - 8.33 %/frag or 16 - 12 fragments

In a smaller power/slot limited mining ship I wouldn't bother with a 1E you'd be better off with the additional cargo space but with Cobra 4, Asps and above a 1A is essential, however with typically 30+ fragments to be collected a 3 drone (or more) collection system (3, 2+1, 2+2) is also required with an A grade prospector.

I've been using a 5D collector (3 drones, 10 minutes and 0.78 km) it works fine as long as you keep close enough to the frags. a 5C has better range (1.78 km) and similar time (8.5 minutes) but it weighs 20 tons instead of 8 and a 5A is 32 tons!
I'll probably fit a pair of 3A's at 2 x 8 tons, 12 minutes and 1.32 km range as that seems like a good balance of mass, duration and range with a bit more collection capacity if needed.
 

Assimilator1

Assimilator1
Good work :cool:
.
Re collectors, you don't really need a range much greater than 500m, I go for a combination of best time+lowish weight.
 

Ceekay

Ceekay
Just dropped off my last load of osmium making a total of 260 tons (almost 2 mil who says mining doesn't pay? ;)), as to collectors I've just tried a pair of 3C's (2 drones each) range 1.1 km, time 8.5 minutes and mass only 5T, the drones just time out rather than being lost by being out of range like the 5D and boy do they clear the frags!
 

Limoncello Lizard

Limoncello Lizard
Ceekay said:
Here's my FDS miner build, TBH it could do with a few more slots and I'll probably fit a 5A shield to free up more cargo space, I'll try some different prospectors although Coriolis just quotes different masses and range but you never know!

http://coriolis.io/outfit/federal_d...4i0404031qC0P4.Iw18aQ==.Aw18SCMQ?bn=FDS miner
Click to expand...
You should upgrade your Power Distributor. The FDS can easily power two class 2 mining lasers.
Here is the Mining Dropship I used to use. FDS doesn't need shields.
 

Limoncello Lizard

Limoncello Lizard
Shields on a FDS aren't going to last long in any PvP scrap. You'd be far better off silent running, though I'd swap the weapons for multicannons for the above build.
But mining is a mostly solo thing, regardless of what mode you are in.
 

BillD

BillD
Hi Mine mine a lot, I mean hundreds and hundreds of millions in mining. Cant wait to be a billion Miner :)
The stats quoted above for the prospectors agrees with my findings too. More chunks from a rock with A class prospector attached. And A lot, lot more than 2 times the frags without one.
However unlike those stats I have been able to get frag percent sizes as low as 1.2% in high and Hazardous RES sites at the same pristine ring. Thats a massive jump in the number of frags you get out of the one roid. We are talking 60-80frags.
As long as you can survive within 20Km of the site.
When I feel like only a quick mining session, I ninja mine these areas in my python. I Jump in to a HIGH Intensity Resource Extraction Site, keep away from the other ships while staying within 20K if the RES (very important as yield drops if you go much further out) and sample, sample, sample with an A1 prospector.
As soon as I find a reasonable Plat or Painite, I blast away with 2 x D2 mining lasers and drop 8 collectors so I can get it done as quickly as possible. Often just off 3 or 4 mined roids, I have managed something like 20 Painite, and 30 plat within the first 10 or 15 mins.... The stuff comes in so fast it surprises me and I have to start dumping drones to make room, and working the refinery to keep things under control.
It is high risk but makes hunting for a good roid well worth it as the yield from just one is just so high. You find a 30 or 40% painite at 1.2% per frag and its party time back at the station if you can get it collected before you are discovered. Much more fun too.

If I do get scanned I check whether its something I can handle or decide to run. If I could stay out there the whole time and actually fill my cargo it would be truly amazing and probably even net more than a trader could per hour. But alas its a tough existence in the high res and I usually only get to mine 3 or 4 roids before big nasties turn up and I have to go. I could jump back in again but as the station is close I usually just cash in and then go back with my FAS to exact some revenge :)
 

Assimilator1

Assimilator1
Interesting observations :)
But I don't think I'll attempt the high haz res sites until I have a Python.
Would be worth going in with friends, gain from the higher yields & have more ships to fight back with.
.
BillD, don't start predicting what I'm going to say ;)
 

Drownerfood

D
Mining in a wing in Haz RES might be fun- have your wing protect you and get huge bounties while you get the good stuff! Having two elite anacondas (or worse, 5 couriers) on you is no joke though, even in a python.
 

BillD

BillD
Would be interesting, but you have to be very careful. Death can come so quickly in a haz res, especially since my python is down two mediums that are set aside for the mining. I did try just one D2 so I could carry another Beam, but its the wrong setup for this environment. with such tiny frags it takes forever to mine one rock, which is a problem in the short time you can hang around.
Sometimes I have been lucky and been able to spend some time out there, but often not.

BTW the yields are still high at the lesser RES sites than just in pure rings. If you jump into the rings anywhere the only npc ships you will see spawn with you when you arrive, you can assess kill or ignore depending on whether they are a threat or just another miner. In the res sits yields go up, but you are badgered by npc's which is bad enough or other players which is worse.

It depends on whether I feel like a long peaceful session or something more intense. Even entering the HAZres on your own is pretty intense when you come out of Super Cruise and a message flashes up telling you there is a communications failure and you realise you are not getting any help out here, even from the pathetic defence forces, that could at least distract them while you get away.

If anyone ever tells you mining is boring tell them to mine in a Haz res :) The excitement is there if you need it, but its really is about as far away from mining as you can get :)

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Assimilator1 said:
Interesting observations :)
But I don't think I'll attempt the high haz res sites until I have a Python.
Would be worth going in with friends, gain from the higher yields & have more ships to fight back with.
.
BillD, don't start predicting what I'm going to say ;)
Click to expand...

I lost my tech so no chance of that. :)

Whether its a python or Asp, its more about the ninja mine in those sites. It has the same feel to me as smuggling but if caught they don't fine you they try to kill you.
Jump in, use the prospectors to sample the rocks as quickly as you can while staying away from other ships,. Stay in the 20k perimeter, when you find that high plat or painite. hit it drop the roids and stay frosty. If discovered, swear and run :)
 
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