Newcomer / Intro HOW do I find specific material to mine?

[Psybernaut]

I have a mission to mine 2 samarium.

I have spent hours upon hours flying around mining random rocks and aside from the odd piece here and there, can not find anything substantial. I've spent even more hours outside the game, watching videos, reading posts etc. and I can not find an answer anywhere. Everyone always just shows you how to mine by flying to a random rock and mining whatever it gives them. But how do I find a very specific material, like the one above? There surely must be an easy way to tell whats in a rock or belt? I tried using prospect limpets in case I was simply not mining the rock long enough, but that didn't help and I can only carry two so not exactly very useful for checking an entire belt or ring. I also tried a wave scanner thing, but that doesn't tell you what is in the rock, just which ones are more likely to be good for mining. Sure they do, but none of them had what I need. The I saw a post about trying a different system, but since I have no system data for anything outside the stating system and I think the one next door that I did a delivery mission to, I can't see what systems have belts and rings without going there. Well that ended up in me jumping into a system I couldn't jump out of because I didn't know there wasn't a station and so lost the ship and the tiny percentage of samarium I managed to find over the course of 2-3 days. Surely there must be a way to find this stuff in an organised and deliberate way. Surely it can not be random? If it is then why give them as rookie missions in starter systems where the player has no experience or equipment?

So, HOW do I find very specific types of materials to complete these missions?

 

[Para Handy]

Samarium is found in metallic rings (maybe less so in metal-rich?) - so find a pristine metallic ring (use http://edtools.ddns.net/ to find one). If you are doing it in the starter zone then forget looking for a pristine ring (as the nearest is over 50ly away), just find a metallic one.

By using prospector limpets fired-off as you move through the ring you will come across asteroids containing more or less % of samarium - go fetch.

BTW - you carry as many prospector limpets as you have limpets in your hold - your controller might only be able to control 2 at a time - so when you fire off a third, the first one expires, and so on.

EDIT - one other thing - if you are doing this in a ship with low cargo space then you can save on limpets by "nibbling" at asteroids before using any prospectors - just knock-out one or two fragments, see if they contain samarium, if they do then stick in in a prospector and then harvest the rest.

 

[Chris Simon]

Many things in Elite are like this. Third party tools can be great if you're the type that gets frustrated, but the game is designed to be explored by trial and error, basically.
You have to look at it as an adventure, not a chore.

That being said - mining missions can be frustrating.
I think the best way to approach them is after you've returned to the station with a ship full of mined ore, look through the mission board and see if somebody wants something you have and then sell the rest on the market. Accepting the mission and THEN trying to find the thing is... inefficient. Just something to think about in the future.

Samarium is a metal, so first place to search for is a Metallic ring. It's a good idea to have a Detailed Surface Scanner on board, because it can tell you the level of reserves in the ring (depleted ring will have less good stuff, while major reserves or pristine will have more) and you can even find a samarium hotspot, where you can be sure you are going to find a lot of the stuff.
But in general, yes, it's about flying around and looking for the right type of planet, right type of ring, etc.

Like I said, don't get frustrated. If you fail a mission, nothing happens, space is big, try something else. Don't get hung up on one thing. You know, Murphy's laws - if something can go wrong, it will go wrong. If you are searching for one thing, you will find every other thing except the one you need. That's kinda it.

 

[Para Handy]

......... It's a good idea to have a Detailed Surface Scanner on board, because it can tell you the level of reserves in the ring (depleted ring will have less good stuff, while major reserves or pristine will have more) and you can even find a samarium hotspot, where you can be sure you are going to find a lot of the stuff.
.........

Just to save @Psybernaut from wasting time searching the stations, you cannot buy a Detailed Surface Scanner in the newcomer's zone. For sure it is good advice to use one but if staying in the noob-zone for now, don't bother trying to find one.

 

[Chris Simon]

Just to save @Psybernaut from wasting time searching the stations, you cannot buy a Detailed Surface Scanner in the newcomer's zone. For sure it is good advice to use one but if staying in the noob-zone for now, don't bother trying to find one.

Right, I didn't realize he still may be in the starter area. IMO these kinds of missions shouldn't even be offered there. They are like a newbie repellant.

 

[Para Handy]

I have just noticed that you cannot buy a prospector limpet controller in the noob-zone either.

I just experimented trying to mine 2t of Samarium in metal rich ring - lord it was boring with a 1D mining laser and nibbling asteroids to see composition of fragments - very poor percentage of Samarium - don't know if I was just unlucky but not impressed. This must really discourage newcomers - it is so much easier outside the noob zone.

... a short section:

 

[Crimson foxx]

How can you tell what ring is metal or ice etc? is there any system charts? i am very new to this too and want to learn mining.

 

[Para Handy]

How can you tell what ring is metal or ice etc? is there any system charts? i am very new to this too and want to learn mining.

It tells you in the system map - info tab - select the body and the ring type(s) is(are) listed - the type of reserves are shown too, further up the list.

 

[Psybernaut]

Thank you all for the feedback and information...

Samarium is found in metallic rings (maybe less so in metal-rich?) - so find a pristine metallic ring (use http://edtools.ddns.net/ to find one). If you are doing it in the starter zone then forget looking for a pristine ring (as the nearest is over 50ly away), just find a metallic one.

Thanks for the link. I'm not entirely sure what I'm looking at, but I've bookmarked it, as it certainly seems like it could be useful in the future.

By using prospector limpets fired-off as you move through the ring you will come across asteroids containing more or less % of samarium - go fetch.

BTW - you carry as many prospector limpets as you have limpets in your hold - your controller might only be able to control 2 at a time - so when you fire off a third, the first one expires, and so on.

I'll have another look at the limpet things, but I'm pretty sure it said I could only take two (the controller could only use 1 at a time) and they are one use only per asteroid. After I used those up, I decided to drop the prospector in lieu of cargo space so I could take 2 extra collector limpets and still have space for the 2 units of Samarium. From what I understand, limpits are 1 ton each, so one unit of cargo space.

EDIT - one other thing - if you are doing this in a ship with low cargo space then you can save on limpets by "nibbling" at asteroids before using any prospectors - just knock-out one or two fragments, see if they contain samarium, if they do then stick in in a prospector and then harvest the rest.

I'm in a sidewinder. After dumping the prospector and keeping the collector limpets, I was "nibbling" the asteroid (although I didn't know it had a name) with the intention that once I did find some, I could leave the collecting to the limpets while I mine them instead of keep having to stop and chase down the chunks before they disappear but that time I didn't find any, which is when I decided to go find another system, which didn't end too well.

Many things in Elite are like this. Third party tools can be great if you're the type that gets frustrated, but the game is designed to be explored by trial and error, basically.
You have to look at it as an adventure, not a chore.

That being said - mining missions can be frustrating.

Frustrating is an understatement. I'm all for discovering by trial and error, but it seems this game goes out of it way to not give you any clues that you are on the right track or what you need to be anywhere near the right track. Trial and error requires some basic understanding of what the right and wrong results should be expected and to some degree, the mechanics. I've sunk hours into trying to finish this mission and despite everything I've done, seen and read, I am still no closer to knowing if I'm even mining the correct rock, type of rock or even if there are different types besides belts and rings. There seems to be no visible reference that any one rock is different from another and thus provide some indication that I'm in the right place for the thing I'm looking for.

Just to save @Psybernaut from wasting time searching the stations, you cannot buy a Detailed Surface Scanner in the newcomer's zone. For sure it is good advice to use one but if staying in the noob-zone for now, don't bother trying to find one.

I can buy one in the system I re-spawned in. Its were I bought the limpets etc, one jump from where I got the mission. The barrier is the 250k price tag.

I just experimented trying to mine 2t of Samarium in metal rich ring - lord it was boring with a 1D mining laser and nibbling asteroids to see composition of fragments - very poor percentage of Samarium - don't know if I was just unlucky but not impressed. This must really discourage newcomers - it is so much easier outside the noob zone.

I get about 2-3% in a chunk. But I only get about 1 in every 10-15 chunks that has Samarium. Assuming of course that I'm in the right place and that the lack of Sumarium in every chunk, is not because I'm in the wrong place or mining the wrong type of rock. But I have no way to know, because I have no basis for comparison and know way to know what the expected outcome should be.

One thing I do know.... I will never take on a mining mission ever again

 

[Ashnak]

....
One thing I do know.... I will never take on a mining mission ever again

Never say never... wait until you read about the unlocking requirements for Selene Jean

INARA

The community site for Elite: Dangerous, Starfield, Kingdom Come: Deliverance with the game databases, information, gaming news and other handy content...

inara.cz

 

[Codger]

I wouldn't put too much stock in the experience of mining in a Sidewinder. No matter how you do it, in that ship it's going to be a pain. Mining can be fun and profitable, but you do need a better ship to optimize the experience a bit.

Anyway, you're actually off to a very good start, I'd say. You're asking intelligent questions, and you seem to be motivated enough to persevere through the very steep learning curve this game has.

It's not a fast game to learn. But that gives it longevity. I'm at 4000+ hours and still enjoying the game.

So don't feel like you're wasting time or anything. There's no end goal, just enjoy the learning and earning

 

[Chris Simon]

From reading your second reply, yeah, I'd say you focus on earning your first million and getting into something more comfortable (like Cobra Mk.III) first by doing some easy data courier missions and so on.

Also I think you may not understand limpets correctly.
You load up blank limpets into your cargo hold and the type of job they can do is then determine by which limpet controller you fire them with. As for the number, you don't really need more than one prospector limpet as you are only inspecting one asteroid at a time anyway, but you DO need them, because they will tell you the asteroid composition beforehand so you don't have to shoot it up to find out (so searching for one specific mineral is much easier if you're in the right type of ring) and more importantly, the prospector limpet attached to the asteroid will raise the yields considerably.

In any case, you are right - focus on other things than mining at least until you have bigger ships and more opportunities to fit it out right.

And most importantly - Don't give up! Elite is a dauning, overwhelming experience in the fist couple of days, but it does get much better.

 

[Psybernaut]

Never say never... wait until you read about the unlocking requirements for Selene Jean

Oh, damn
Now you mention it, I do recall seeing stuff about engineer missions

I wouldn't put too much stock in the experience of mining in a Sidewinder. No matter how you do it, in that ship it's going to be a pain. Mining can be fun and profitable, but you do need a better ship to optimize the experience a bit.

I have no doubt this is the case. Not only have I heard as much, but in another galaxy far far away I have two highly skilled characters that perform this exact task with great efficiency and reward However, I'm thinking this is not what I want to do here.

From reading your second reply, yeah, I'd say you focus on earning your first million and getting into something more comfortable (like Cobra Mk.III) first by doing some easy data courier missions and so on.

In hind sight, I realise this was the mistake I made. I should have just stuck to doing transport and data missions... but, not for want of a silver lining, at least I may have learnt some stuff that I other wise might not have, if it wasn't for the frustrating hell hole I found myself in

Also I think you may not understand limpets correctly.
You load up blank limpets into your cargo hold and the type of job they can do is then determine by which limpet controller you fire them with.

You are quite correct. I didn't understand that that is how it works. Thank you, that is very helpful to know.

As for the number, you don't really need more than one prospector limpet as you are only inspecting one asteroid at a time anyway,

But here is the rub... I did that yesterday and both asteroids I fired prospects at, didn't contain Samarium. So they were wasted. I guess what I should do is "nibble" them until I find one, then shoot a prospect at it to get the bonus and use the collectors to catch them

In any case, you are right - focus on other things than mining at least until you have bigger ships and more opportunities to fit it out right.

I'll do that. But first I'm going to finish this mission one way or another. I'm too far down the rabbit hole now, that its a matter of principle

 

[Chris Simon]

But here is the rub... I did that yesterday and both asteroids I fired prospects at, didn't contain Samarium. So they were wasted. I guess what I should do is "nibble" them until I find one, then shoot a prospect at it to get the bonus and use the collectors to catch them

Yes, that is the main reason why mining in small ships is not efficient at least and frustrating at most.
When you have a bigger ship, you will have much bigger cargo hold. That means you can bring a lot of limpets and use them as collectors and fire them as prospectors, slowly "exchanging" limpets in your cargo hold for ore and you can stay in the ring for a long time, returning with a hefty load.
When you have only a couple tons of cargo capacity, this just doesn't work. You use up all your limpets in a couple of minutes, often not finding anything worthwhile and return empty handed.
One day, you will try mining again and you will find it to be 1) very profitable (at the moment it's a no.1 way of getting rich quickly) and 2) very relaxing job. You'll see.

 

[Psybernaut]

When you have a bigger ship, you will have much bigger cargo hold. That means you can bring a lot of limpets and use them as collectors and fire them as prospectors, slowly "exchanging" limpets in your cargo hold for ore and you can stay in the ring for a long time, returning with a hefty load.

That is essentially what I did last night and it does sort of work on a small scale. I nibbled rocks until one produced a fragment with Samarium in it. Then launched a prospect at it, released a collector, put all my power to weapons and mined like a demon possessed.... albeit slowly In not too much time I had the 2 units I needed for the mission and more.... and just as I was about to leave, it was stolen . So, armed with the knowledge that this worked, I decided to try a different belt. Unfortunately, I chose one in the wrong direction and ended up leaving the new player area, so after all that time, effort and hours of frustration.... the mission was rescinded because I can't get back there to hand it in, even if I did go and mine it again. So I refit for courier/data missions.

 

[aRJay]

That is essentially what I did last night and it does sort of work on a small scale. I nibbled rocks until one produced a fragment with Samarium in it. Then launched a prospect at it, released a collector, put all my power to weapons and mined like a demon possessed.... albeit slowly In not too much time I had the 2 units I needed for the mission and more.... and just as I was about to leave, it was stolen . So, armed with the knowledge that this worked, I decided to try a different belt. Unfortunately, I chose one in the wrong direction and ended up leaving the new player area, so after all that time, effort and hours of frustration.... the mission was rescinded because I can't get back there to hand it in, even if I did go and mine it again. So I refit for courier/data missions.

I thought you actually had to dock outside the area to get your permit revoked.

 

[Chris Simon]

retracted

 

[Psybernaut]

Bit of side question..... how do I find my ship if it doesn't show up on the map?

I've just completed a mission where I had to land and use the SRV to get some data. Now I can't find my ship and I'm pretty sure I'm in the right place. I made a mental note of the direction I came from when I got to the Observatory and back tracked the same way, but nothing.

 

[Chris Simon]

Bit of side question..... how do I find my ship if it doesn't show up on the map?

I've just completed a mission where I had to land and use the SRV to get some data. Now I can't find my ship and I'm pretty sure I'm in the right place. I made a mental note of the direction I came from when I got to the Observatory and back tracked the same way, but nothing.

If you get more than 2km away from your ship, she's gonna take off and hide in orbit.
You can bind a button for recalling her, or recall her from your lap screen.

Also, don't leave your ship on the ground. It's safer to dismiss her right away.

 

[Codger]

That is essentially what I did last night and it does sort of work on a small scale. I nibbled rocks until one produced a fragment with Samarium in it. Then launched a prospect at it, released a collector, put all my power to weapons and mined like a demon possessed.... albeit slowly In not too much time I had the 2 units I needed for the mission and more.... and just as I was about to leave, it was stolen . So, armed with the knowledge that this worked, I decided to try a different belt. Unfortunately, I chose one in the wrong direction and ended up leaving the new player area, so after all that time, effort and hours of frustration.... the mission was rescinded because I can't get back there to hand it in, even if I did go and mine it again. So I refit for courier/data missions.

Now this sounds to me like a classic Elite Dangerous experience. Congrats on joining the galaxy at large! The learning never ends