For some funzies I fitted my T9 with 10 collector limpets... Now I can't keep up with them with my mining lasers^^
Calling all miners
- Thread starter StainlesSteelRat
- Start date
currently grinding Alioth with 50 bromelite
Ugh. That actually seemed worse than the 500 tons for Selene.
- - - Updated - - -
Lol, I think that's a bit overkill just to unlock Selene. So's a Anaconda, Python, etc.
The Gigantic Table You Didn't Ask For!
I've made up mining builds on Coriolis for almost every ship, so I decided to complete it with EVERY SHIP!!!
Here's a table comparing every reasonable mining ship under 70M. Including the Orca! (using beta 2.3 stats)
Most outfittings are optimized somewhat
Small ships usually trade shields for extra cargo space
The number of mining lasers is maxed for the ships' Power Distributor capacity. Adding more lasers won't make mining any faster without engineering the PD with weapon focused.
At least 2 collector limpets per medium laser.
Core component outfitting is pretty basic and on the low-cost side. Thrusters, power plant and frame shift drive would be the first upgrades.
Observations from the table:
Power Distributor class and number of collector limpets are the biggest factor in mining speed. Class 3A can run 1 medium or 2 small lasers. Class 6A can keep 2 mediums going.
There are many cheap, small mining ships under 4M credits, but mostly limited to 32T of cargo. Almost all of the small ships have a class 3 distributor limiting them to medium speed mining (2 minutes per asteroid typically). The T-6 stands out for it's cargo capacity, but is no faster at mining.
Above this price range you get more cargo space and go up in price quickly.
Fed. Drop Ship is the cheapest fast mining (2 medium laser) ship available. The Clipper and Python are mostly equivalent to it, but with double the cargo space.
T-7 carries a lot of cargo, but mines no quicker than the small ships because of its power distributor.
If you don't have Federal or Imperial rank, there is nothing between the AspX and Python in performance or price.
Most combat focused ships don't have enough internal slots for collector controllers to be effective miners. (FdL, Fed Gunship, Vulture, etc.)
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Also a table with the big 3 included (they squish the scale of the graphs too much). https://eddp.co/u/XAzdxSBr
I've made up mining builds on Coriolis for almost every ship, so I decided to complete it with EVERY SHIP!!!
Here's a table comparing every reasonable mining ship under 70M. Including the Orca! (using beta 2.3 stats)
Most outfittings are optimized somewhat
Small ships usually trade shields for extra cargo space
The number of mining lasers is maxed for the ships' Power Distributor capacity. Adding more lasers won't make mining any faster without engineering the PD with weapon focused.
At least 2 collector limpets per medium laser.
Core component outfitting is pretty basic and on the low-cost side. Thrusters, power plant and frame shift drive would be the first upgrades.
Observations from the table:
Power Distributor class and number of collector limpets are the biggest factor in mining speed. Class 3A can run 1 medium or 2 small lasers. Class 6A can keep 2 mediums going.
There are many cheap, small mining ships under 4M credits, but mostly limited to 32T of cargo. Almost all of the small ships have a class 3 distributor limiting them to medium speed mining (2 minutes per asteroid typically). The T-6 stands out for it's cargo capacity, but is no faster at mining.
Above this price range you get more cargo space and go up in price quickly.
Fed. Drop Ship is the cheapest fast mining (2 medium laser) ship available. The Clipper and Python are mostly equivalent to it, but with double the cargo space.
T-7 carries a lot of cargo, but mines no quicker than the small ships because of its power distributor.
If you don't have Federal or Imperial rank, there is nothing between the AspX and Python in performance or price.
Most combat focused ships don't have enough internal slots for collector controllers to be effective miners. (FdL, Fed Gunship, Vulture, etc.)
| Ship | Build | ARMOUR | SHIELDS | SPEED THRUSTERS | SPEED BOOST | CARGO | COST | EPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adder | miner | 162 [size=-2][/size] | 0 [size=-2]MJ[/size] | 229 [size=-2]m/s[/size] | 333 [size=-2]m/s[/size] | 12 [size=-2]T[/size] | 566,960 [size=-2]CR[/size] | 3 [size=-2][/size] |
| Cobra Mk III | miner | 216 [size=-2][/size] | 0 [size=-2]MJ[/size] | 290 [size=-2]m/s[/size] | 414 [size=-2]m/s[/size] | 32 [size=-2]T[/size] | 1,766,860 [size=-2]CR[/size] | 3 [size=-2][/size] |
| Viper Mk IV | miner | 530 [size=-2][/size] | 0 [size=-2]MJ[/size] | 279 [size=-2]m/s[/size] | 351 [size=-2]m/s[/size] | 32 [size=-2]T[/size] | 1,900,170 [size=-2]CR[/size] | 3 [size=-2][/size] |
| Dolphin | miner1 | 198 [size=-2][/size] | 113 [size=-2]MJ[/size] | 263 [size=-2]m/s[/size] | 368 [size=-2]m/s[/size] | 48 [size=-2]T[/size] | 2,202,990 [size=-2]CR[/size] | 3 [size=-2][/size] |
| Cobra Mk IV | minerEng2 | 216 [size=-2][/size] | 0 [size=-2]MJ[/size] | 205 [size=-2]m/s[/size] | 307 [size=-2]m/s[/size] | 64 [size=-2]T[/size] | 2,323,240 [size=-2]CR[/size] | 4.5 [size=-2][/size] |
| Type-6 Transporter | miner2 | 324 [size=-2][/size] | 121 [size=-2]MJ[/size] | 230 [size=-2]m/s[/size] | 366 [size=-2]m/s[/size] | 80 [size=-2]T[/size] | 2,611,990 [size=-2]CR[/size] | 3 [size=-2][/size] |
| Dolphin | miner2 | 198 [size=-2][/size] | 154 [size=-2]MJ[/size] | 262 [size=-2]m/s[/size] | 367 [size=-2]m/s[/size] | 48 [size=-2]T[/size] | 2,904,880 [size=-2]CR[/size] | 3 [size=-2][/size] |
| Type-6 Transporter | miner1 | 324 [size=-2][/size] | 121 [size=-2]MJ[/size] | 230 [size=-2]m/s[/size] | 366 [size=-2]m/s[/size] | 64 [size=-2]T[/size] | 3,058,540 [size=-2]CR[/size] | 3 [size=-2][/size] |
| Diamondback Explorer | miner | 270 [size=-2][/size] | 0 [size=-2]MJ[/size] | 259 [size=-2]m/s[/size] | 338 [size=-2]m/s[/size] | 32 [size=-2]T[/size] | 3,439,990 [size=-2]CR[/size] | 4.5 [size=-2][/size] |
| Type-6 Transporter | miner3 | 324 [size=-2][/size] | 121 [size=-2]MJ[/size] | 230 [size=-2]m/s[/size] | 366 [size=-2]m/s[/size] | 64 [size=-2]T[/size] | 3,580,020 [size=-2]CR[/size] | 3 [size=-2][/size] |
| Cobra Mk IV | minerEng | 216 [size=-2][/size] | 85 [size=-2]MJ[/size] | 204 [size=-2]m/s[/size] | 306 [size=-2]m/s[/size] | 48 [size=-2]T[/size] | 4,328,250 [size=-2]CR[/size] | 4.5 [size=-2][/size] |
| Asp Scout | miner2 | 324 [size=-2][/size] | 117 [size=-2]MJ[/size] | 230 [size=-2]m/s[/size] | 313 [size=-2]m/s[/size] | 48 [size=-2]T[/size] | 5,744,090 [size=-2]CR[/size] | 4.5 [size=-2][/size] |
| Asp Scout | miner1 | 324 [size=-2][/size] | 0 [size=-2]MJ[/size] | 230 [size=-2]m/s[/size] | 314 [size=-2]m/s[/size] | 48 [size=-2]T[/size] | 6,849,140 [size=-2]CR[/size] | 4.5 [size=-2][/size] |
| Asp Explorer | miner1 | 378 [size=-2][/size] | 71 [size=-2]MJ[/size] | 263 [size=-2]m/s[/size] | 357 [size=-2]m/s[/size] | 96 [size=-2]T[/size] | 8,924,180 [size=-2]CR[/size] | 4.5 [size=-2][/size] |
| Asp Explorer | miner2 | 378 [size=-2][/size] | 166 [size=-2]MJ[/size] | 263 [size=-2]m/s[/size] | 357 [size=-2]m/s[/size] | 68 [size=-2]T[/size] | 10,108,750 [size=-2]CR[/size] | 4.5 [size=-2][/size] |
| Federal Dropship | miner2 | 870 [size=-2][/size] | 0 [size=-2]MJ[/size] | 177 [size=-2]m/s[/size] | 295 [size=-2]m/s[/size] | 96 [size=-2]T[/size] | 20,173,200 [size=-2]CR[/size] | 6 [size=-2][/size] |
| Federal Dropship | miner | 870 [size=-2][/size] | 0 [size=-2]MJ[/size] | 177 [size=-2]m/s[/size] | 295 [size=-2]m/s[/size] | 128 [size=-2]T[/size] | 20,187,570 [size=-2]CR[/size] | 6 [size=-2][/size] |
| Type-7 Transporter | miner | 612 [size=-2][/size] | 135 [size=-2]MJ[/size] | 185 [size=-2]m/s[/size] | 308 [size=-2]m/s[/size] | 224 [size=-2]T[/size] | 21,369,410 [size=-2]CR[/size] | 3 [size=-2][/size] |
| Imperial Clipper | miner | 486 [size=-2][/size] | 114 [size=-2]MJ[/size] | 318 [size=-2]m/s[/size] | 403 [size=-2]m/s[/size] | 192 [size=-2]T[/size] | 29,279,350 [size=-2]CR[/size] | 6 [size=-2][/size] |
| Orca | minerEng | 396 [size=-2][/size] | 108 [size=-2]MJ[/size] | 314 [size=-2]m/s[/size] | 397 [size=-2]m/s[/size] | 128 [size=-2]T[/size] | 52,195,430 [size=-2]CR[/size] | 6 [size=-2][/size] |
| Python | miner | 468 [size=-2][/size] | 264 [size=-2]MJ[/size] | 244 [size=-2]m/s[/size] | 318 [size=-2]m/s[/size] | 224 [size=-2]T[/size] | 63,316,040 [size=-2]CR[/size] | 6 [size=-2][/size] |
| Python | minerEng | 468 [size=-2][/size] | 264 [size=-2]MJ[/size] | 244 [size=-2]m/s[/size] | 318 [size=-2]m/s[/size] | 192 [size=-2]T[/size] | 69,580,490 [size=-2]CR[/size] | 9 [size=-2][/size] |
| [size=-3] Interactive Comparison at Coriolis.io |
[/size]
Also a table with the big 3 included (they squish the scale of the graphs too much). https://eddp.co/u/XAzdxSBr
Commanders o7
Many thanks for all your advice..... Fantastic
I managed to make a bit of money in Lidpar and bought myself a Python. Named "The Reality Disfunction".
I was going to buy a Python anyway, so it seemed a good choice.
Kitted and set up along the lines of Commander Lizard.
First couple of runs completed and already have 150 tonnes collected.
Took a gamble and have now sold my shield genny for more cargo!
And...... Mining, I'm actually enjoying it!
Couple of things still not making sense. There's fragments to collect, but my limpets just sit there. I've
Found "venting" seems to get em going again...but am I actual discarding stuff I want into the void?
Many thanks for all your advice..... Fantastic
I managed to make a bit of money in Lidpar and bought myself a Python. Named "The Reality Disfunction".
I was going to buy a Python anyway, so it seemed a good choice.
Kitted and set up along the lines of Commander Lizard.
First couple of runs completed and already have 150 tonnes collected.
Took a gamble and have now sold my shield genny for more cargo!
And...... Mining, I'm actually enjoying it!
Couple of things still not making sense. There's fragments to collect, but my limpets just sit there. I've
Found "venting" seems to get em going again...but am I actual discarding stuff I want into the void?
There is a bug where your refinery locks up. Did you have available cargo space and empty bins/partially filled bins of the same material? If you had space in both, collection should have continued.
Your refinery can only process as many types of ore as it has bins. Once those fill up, you should vent the less valuable stuff like indite or bertrandite.
Thanks Commander. My bins were full. Repped
O7
O7
I've done a lot of mining in my Orca. It's my favorite ship for mining, even though it's not as efficient as the Python.
Charged enhanced is a pretty good distributor mod as well, provided you get a good weapon recharge rate.
I recommend at least 4 collectors per medium laser. But I like limpets. 20 active limpets on an Anaconda is my record.
Nice table.
My Python usually mines with 128 tons of cargo, because limpets.
I hope you didn't use the latest example Python I posted. It doesn't have a refinery, so won't be any use to you.
What size refinery are you using?
Ideally, you should have at least a 4B - especially in a metallic ring. Otherwise you can waste a lot of time clearing bins of the worthless ores. You want these for now as they count for Selene just as much as platinum.
Like NascentChemist says, there is a bug that stops limpets collecting. Fortunately I don't get this one often. However, the info panel always tells me I have 'Refinery Full", when I know I don't.
Another thing to keep an eye on is how many materials you have collected. You get all too many while mining, and if it reaches 1,000 your limpets will stop until you make some space.
Got myself a 4A refinery per your recommendation Commander.
Good tip re the Mats limit.
Most of the roids I'm mining are low or medium yield... Is the good stuff in the "pristine" rings?
Good tip re the Mats limit.
Most of the roids I'm mining are low or medium yield... Is the good stuff in the "pristine" rings?
The materials (iron, arsenic, sulphur, etc) are dependent on the ring type. You'll find sulphur in icy, iron in metallic, etc. That is what the material yield tells you: not what ore you can extract, but what mineral materials. Actually, things like arsenic are more common in poorer ring types, like rocky.
The best ores percentages are found in pristine rings. Some ores are only found in pristine metallic, like painite.
You shoot the laser, which knocks off fragments.
Your collectors grab the fragments, and bring them to your ship.
The fragments go through the cargo hatch into the hopper.
The refinery sorts the contents of the hopper into the bins. Each bin can hold one thing (gold, painite, bauxite...) at a time.
When a bin is full, you've got 1 tonne that is automatically put into your hold leaving an empty bin.
Snarlups happen when the hopper can't transfer its contents into a bin. Either the bins are all full (and can't transfer into the hold because that is full too) or they're all occupied by something else. In the first case, either fire off a few more limpets to make room or RTB and sell. In the second, you need to decide what to sacrifice, or get a bigger refinery. A 4A refinery has ten bins, which means you can collect ten different commodities at once.
It's also possible that the collectors are carrying materials, and your mats inventory is full. Dump some worn shield emitters or iron and you're good to go.
Good to know Commander, thanks o7
It doesn't appear to matter to materials whether the system is pristine or depleted.
Approximate roid material distribution (these are very rough estimates):
Approximate roid material distribution (these are very rough estimates):
- Icy - mostly low, occasional medium (about 5% I think)
- Metallic - mostly low, occasional medium (about 15% I think)
- Rocky - low 72%, medium 25%, high 3%
- Metal Rich - low 47%, medium 47%, high 6%
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That is the moment when you go pro.
I use a Python which is built permanently as a miner; 3 x class 6 cargo racks, 2 x 5A and 1 x 3A collectors, 4A refinery, 3A prospector with 3 mining lasers. No shield, although it does have engineered military armour. Also has level 5 dirty drives though, along with a rake of other engineering mods, so npc interdictions when flying back to sell up aren't really a problem. For just mining whatever's there and not being picky about what you collect you can fill its 192 tons of cargo space in no time at all and even when mining for just painite, platinum and palladium it's very very efficient.
Mining is quite enjoyable as you say. Not something I'd want to spend all my time doing but it's a nice change of pace and also handy for getting your trade ranking up since the full value of what you sell is profit.
I didn't do a lot of mining in my first account. But I think I'll focus on that for a while in this one.
I spent a couple hours in a metallic belt, and ended up with about 100 tons of Palladium, 30 Painite, and a mix of other things (gold/silver/platinum). If made for a pretty could cash out.
Except for the relentlessly persistent NPC interdicting me. The run to the station was 1000ls, I got interdicted by the same NPC 23 times. One was within 2Mm of the station ("safe disengage) at 1Mm).... Interdicted, and I found myself 20ls back from where I was when SC started up again.
Completely frustrating.
Now when I see the "you have what I want" message, I try to full stop and get out of SC as fast as I can, then re-SC. Sometimes it throws off the sequence, and you're not bothered again. Other times, you're interdicted almost immediately. As in the case above, I think I was back in SC for a whole 5 seconds before getting interdicted again... One of the infuriating game mechanics.
As an aside, I even had an NPC follow me through 7 systems interdicting me in each one multiple times. Somehow, he always "knew" where I was at, and would magically appear "ahead" of me on my journey. Good times.
I spent a couple hours in a metallic belt, and ended up with about 100 tons of Palladium, 30 Painite, and a mix of other things (gold/silver/platinum). If made for a pretty could cash out.
Except for the relentlessly persistent NPC interdicting me. The run to the station was 1000ls, I got interdicted by the same NPC 23 times. One was within 2Mm of the station ("safe disengage) at 1Mm).... Interdicted, and I found myself 20ls back from where I was when SC started up again.
Completely frustrating.
Now when I see the "you have what I want" message, I try to full stop and get out of SC as fast as I can, then re-SC. Sometimes it throws off the sequence, and you're not bothered again. Other times, you're interdicted almost immediately. As in the case above, I think I was back in SC for a whole 5 seconds before getting interdicted again... One of the infuriating game mechanics.
As an aside, I even had an NPC follow me through 7 systems interdicting me in each one multiple times. Somehow, he always "knew" where I was at, and would magically appear "ahead" of me on my journey. Good times.
Just jump out of the system and back in. Unless it's one of the super-aggro mission related npcs that should rid you of him.
I used to look for mining systems with good places to sell in that system. Now I look at near-by systems too. Getting out of the gravity of the gas giant that has the ring (usual case) takes a very long time. Some times jumping to another system and jumping back can be faster to get you to the station.
There's some cool places like Omicron Ursae Majoris 3 where the ring is around a landable planet and the station orbits between the ring and the planet. It doesn't take long to get to the station from the ring.
It's been both. The mission target ones are just ridiculous. But I've encountered the persistent "random" NPC wanting my cargo. More so lately than I remember previously. It's just frustrating you have to jump out of a system and back in, just to travel 500ls from your original start point. If my ship had shields/armor upgrades, I'd have just rammed them.