The large majority of my mining returns -- my last sales run netted 2.2Bcr -- result from core and SSD methods. Laser is definitely a third choice and SD simply opportunistic. This is especially true since the PWA fix. I was not having serious probs with it but the fix did improve its productivity, always a good thing. After focusing mostly on Icy rings because of Tritium fuel needs, I've recently branched out into the Metallic and Metal Rich arenas and have so far found them comparable to Icies in terms of tools used. I'm still learning the ropes on the more successful mineral targets, and Monazite is my current prime target but since my 'Vette sports all mining tools I don't turn my nose up at anything that pays over circa 15k/T GalAverage. My FC has a lot of storage space so it's not uneconomical to include lesser price-tier minerals. In all types of rings I end up using SSD more than any other method, since it seems more minerals find their way into those veins than I originally thought. So far LTDs and Painite seem the only mineral that appears in all forms, and one of those per ring type is fine. But quite a handful can be found in SSDs. I laser mine sporadically, when shiny rocks in the PWA scan get slim, but since the fix that's not very often.
I don't see much need to drastically change current approaches to the different mining methods, and it's plenty lucrative as is from what I can tell. But I also take a perhaps unusally long-range approach to mining because it is an adjunct to Exploration, during which I spend months in the black. I mine for fuel as I go and that always yields small to medium amounts of money-minerals from all mining methods, but those modest yields add up over the time frame I play in, so I feel no pressure to get more faster. When fat on fuel I mine for the reward minerals. I just mine the way I find most enjoyable, and now and then come across a Nirvana rock -- 4-5 SSD deposits, intrinsic (laser) content, maybe a few SD scabs, and a lucrative core mineral. Zap, zip, pop, and boom, doesn't get any better. But I don't think every rock should be that rock.