-
Greetings Commander, want a more instant approach to your questions and need for help? Check out the Galactic Academy Discord server!
Feel free to join the Galactic Academy Discord server by clicking here!
Newcomer / Intro How to mine Opals?
- Thread starter samuelb
- Start date
TLDR : If you want simple advice, go to next post 
Hey !
Opals mining is not that complicated, but it will require a certain amount of dedication and, of course, equipment.
First off, here's what you need on the tech side. You can find perfect builds on google, but I would suggest crafting your own build : that's how you learn what's what
Next you'll want to find the mining spot, for that you can either use the ingame tools (tricky) or use this : https://eddb.io/body
On this page you'll want to set the Ring type on Icy, the System Reserve on Pristine and finally your reference system so that it can suggest you the closest systems with icy rings for you to mine (don't forget to sort out the results based on distance from your reference system). You can also edit the Max Distance to Arrival field if you don't want to fly for too long.
That's all I can think of right now, if you're on PC feel free to add me : Dsign. I'll gladly help you out in your first mining hours
Hey !
Opals mining is not that complicated, but it will require a certain amount of dedication and, of course, equipment.
First off, here's what you need on the tech side. You can find perfect builds on google, but I would suggest crafting your own build : that's how you learn what's what
- A mining ship : You don't necessarily need a large ship. If you're comfortable flying large ships, the more cargo space the faster the money (note that it can be difficult to maneuver large ships in mining situations, especially if you're a new player)
- Refinery : You don't need the largest A, 4 bins is well enough and 2 will work fine. (This will transform raw materials into valuable products)
- Limpets : (fill 75% of your cargo with limpets)
- Prospectors : they will simply analyse asteroids, so you don't need the best one either.
- Collectors : they will collect for you, so that you don't have to maneuver your ship (the best ones allow more limpets to collect at once)
- Scanners
- Discovery scanner : know what's where in a system
- Detailed Surface Scanner : Will allow you to scan rings around planets to find mining spots (You will be looking for Concentration of Void Opals)
- Pulse wave scanner : will display "hot" asteroids withing a ring, letting you know which rock to blow up or not.
- Mining tools : the important ones are the new Beyond tools
- Abrasion Blaster : needed to get the surface deposits
- Sub-surface Displacement Missile : needed to get the sub-surface deposits
- Seismic Charge Launcher : needed to blow up the good rocks
- Mining Laser : Optionnal, if you want to farm some extra materials
Next you'll want to find the mining spot, for that you can either use the ingame tools (tricky) or use this : https://eddb.io/body
On this page you'll want to set the Ring type on Icy, the System Reserve on Pristine and finally your reference system so that it can suggest you the closest systems with icy rings for you to mine (don't forget to sort out the results based on distance from your reference system). You can also edit the Max Distance to Arrival field if you don't want to fly for too long.
- Once you got the right system, go there, use Discovery scanner to find the planet with the icy ring
- Get close to it, send probes on the rings with the Detailed Surface Scanner and locate the hotspots : you are looking for Concentration of Void Opals (I thinks that's what they're called in english).
- Go in one of these hotspots
- Use pulse wave scanner to locate hot asteroids (you'll get used to it after a while, the good ones are usually really bright with intense red light).
- Send a prospector limpet on that glowing rock and hope for some Void Opals. The asteroids you want are the ones with fissures
- Blow them up and use Abrasion blaster to get every deposit.
- Then collect with collector limpets.
That's all I can think of right now, if you're on PC feel free to add me : Dsign. I'll gladly help you out in your first mining hours
Last edited:
First, don't stay close of the explosion, even when using shields. My advice would be, based on what happened to me, to take the time of mining other things aswell. Void opals sell good, but mining is fun now and there are plenty of valuable rocks out there ! You can also mine materials, which can be usefull if you visit engineers. Do yourself a favor and plan a good loop : find a good mining system with a CLOSE BY selling station, you don't want to fly for ages with 200M worth of cargo. Remember to keep an eye on your mining spot aswell, lots of people mine opals, you may not be the only one on that ring. But most important of all, enjoy mining. You don't want to turn these awesome features into something you don't want to do. And if you already don't want to do it, well... Money is money but please enjoy the game. Get some music playing, grab yourself a cold one and mine for a few hours, then change for a bit and come back later
Fly safe o7
Fly safe o7
Great post by Dsign, so no need to go over it again. I returned a while back and saw my friends all had made a killing on the Void Opal market and I wanted in. More than the money it would unlock Selene Jean and get Trade Elite, which were the real motivations
Made 725m in three nights of dedicated mining. I hated the old mining. I mined exactly one ton and then never mined again. But core mining is fun. It tests your ship control, and your aim. I like it. I also like the drill bang rockets , but those aren't used in core mining. Good stuff by Fdev. I chose the Krait II over the Python due to agility and view. But any ship that can mount all of the modules can do it. The rest determines how much you can carry back to the rock trader.
Sell to a station paying 1.6m/ton. Interdiction is likely on the sell run, and you're heavy. So battle or skedaddle preparations should be made. I suggest a point defense on the underside of the ship to ward off NPC pirates. Over time I reduced the number of limpets I was carrying to closer to 50%. I found this to be plenty, but it depends on how many dud rocks you probe and how big your hold is I suppose. Once you get the hang of it you'll get around 15 Opals per asteroid average I would reckon. The key is to identify the pulse return you're looking for, and the shape of the Void Opal asteroids. Bright-brighter returns and a shape not unlike a squash are the way I would describe it. Watch a video or two.
I made all of that money in my home system, Dvorsi. Planet A9. A few weeks ago it was ripe, not sure how it is now. Multiple Void Opal and Low Temp Diamond hotspots too.
Made 725m in three nights of dedicated mining. I hated the old mining. I mined exactly one ton and then never mined again. But core mining is fun. It tests your ship control, and your aim. I like it. I also like the drill bang rockets , but those aren't used in core mining. Good stuff by Fdev. I chose the Krait II over the Python due to agility and view. But any ship that can mount all of the modules can do it. The rest determines how much you can carry back to the rock trader.
Sell to a station paying 1.6m/ton. Interdiction is likely on the sell run, and you're heavy. So battle or skedaddle preparations should be made. I suggest a point defense on the underside of the ship to ward off NPC pirates. Over time I reduced the number of limpets I was carrying to closer to 50%. I found this to be plenty, but it depends on how many dud rocks you probe and how big your hold is I suppose. Once you get the hang of it you'll get around 15 Opals per asteroid average I would reckon. The key is to identify the pulse return you're looking for, and the shape of the Void Opal asteroids. Bright-brighter returns and a shape not unlike a squash are the way I would describe it. Watch a video or two.
I made all of that money in my home system, Dvorsi. Planet A9. A few weeks ago it was ripe, not sure how it is now. Multiple Void Opal and Low Temp Diamond hotspots too.
Last edited:
I went all out and picked the Type 10 Defender for my deep core mining experience, the thing was getting dusty and it's actually pretty fun to fly around in rings
Surprisingly agile, for its size, way more so than it's little brother !I can respect that
A bit too robust for me. I really liked the Krait's ability to get in among the rock chunks. FA-off flips for firing charges. Zipping around the rocks to help out the poor little limpet minions who tend to get stuck/blocked by asteroids. I found it perfect for me. I actually commented to my friend who was with me that if I had indeed chosen the Python, I wouldn't be having as much fun. It would have been very effective, especially with the additional cargo slot. But it's not as agile. And it has much more restricted visibility along the lift line than the Krait. All-around visibility for that matter, but the vis along the lift line (overhead) is the best part of it.
Just about any ship that has enough module space will work. It comes down to quality of life issues. How much you can carry. How easy it is to get in position, how well you can see what's around you. How much you like that particular ship.
A bit too robust for me. I really liked the Krait's ability to get in among the rock chunks. FA-off flips for firing charges. Zipping around the rocks to help out the poor little limpet minions who tend to get stuck/blocked by asteroids. I found it perfect for me. I actually commented to my friend who was with me that if I had indeed chosen the Python, I wouldn't be having as much fun. It would have been very effective, especially with the additional cargo slot. But it's not as agile. And it has much more restricted visibility along the lift line than the Krait. All-around visibility for that matter, but the vis along the lift line (overhead) is the best part of it.
Just about any ship that has enough module space will work. It comes down to quality of life issues. How much you can carry. How easy it is to get in position, how well you can see what's around you. How much you like that particular ship.
For me I like the Python for this, mainly because I have never really felt that happy with it in the other things I have used it for. Just too sluggish for combat, felt under-utilised as a hauler and so on, but mining I can fit all the tools weapons are close to sight line and it manoeuvres well enough for the slow pace I mine at. The Krait MkII I like as a combat alternative with its handy fighter bay.
If you're strapped for cash, you can d opal mining in a cheap asp explorer (I have a few of them scattered about the galaxy for this purpose). Has 96 cargo after you get the required gear, which is a nice haul of 150 or so mil credits if its full of void opals (and is just about as long as I want to mine before moving on to something else for variety's sake).
A couple more comments.... If you've changed HUD colors things will look different. Dsign mentioned to look for red, but HUD color edits will change this, which is why I said look for bright-brighter returns. It will make sense once you've seen it.
Another thing to look for is how hazy the asteroid belt is. The more people that have been there recently, the more hazy it will be, and presumably the more depleted it will be as a result. Look for crystal clear ones for best results I would reckon. Thanks to CMDR Wingnuts for this advice. He took the time to show me the ropes when I first started. He also gave great advice on setting up firegroups, which when done right will make the process more enjoyable.
The very first Void Opal rock I exploded actually yielded 17 Opals and I was pleased. It was all luck, as I didn't yet know what to look for on the charge meter thing. Just happened to get it right. And time was almost out when I planted the final charge, so I missed seeing it as I was running for my life. It all worked out though. Beginner's luck.
I imagine that blowing these things up never gets old. This is actually the second one I blew up.
Kaboom!
This is what you are looking for by probing the rings. Each bright spot is a hotspot. Fly in to one and start raking in the cash. I did so on the assumption that entering a hotspot at the outer edge, and then scanning toward the hotspot marker would be the best bet. Seemed to work well as I found plenty of Opals in a fairly short time.
Another thing to look for is how hazy the asteroid belt is. The more people that have been there recently, the more hazy it will be, and presumably the more depleted it will be as a result. Look for crystal clear ones for best results I would reckon. Thanks to CMDR Wingnuts for this advice. He took the time to show me the ropes when I first started. He also gave great advice on setting up firegroups, which when done right will make the process more enjoyable.
The very first Void Opal rock I exploded actually yielded 17 Opals and I was pleased. It was all luck, as I didn't yet know what to look for on the charge meter thing. Just happened to get it right. And time was almost out when I planted the final charge, so I missed seeing it as I was running for my life. It all worked out though. Beginner's luck.
I imagine that blowing these things up never gets old. This is actually the second one I blew up.
Kaboom!
This is what you are looking for by probing the rings. Each bright spot is a hotspot. Fly in to one and start raking in the cash. I did so on the assumption that entering a hotspot at the outer edge, and then scanning toward the hotspot marker would be the best bet. Seemed to work well as I found plenty of Opals in a fairly short time.
What type of damage is it if you are too close when you blow the asteroid? i.e. does something like kinetic resistance help, or just overall shield strength like when you crash into ram something?
Not that I regularly am too close when I blow my charges....but sometimes I get careless because what is on Netflix got interesting.
Not that I regularly am too close when I blow my charges....but sometimes I get careless because what is on Netflix got interesting.
Well, I think it's true haha. About the HUD colors I mean.
Not sure what type of protection is best. Actually, I do. It's distance
I overcooked my first run for my life and flew 2 km away. The boys were laughing at me, but I didn't die so all's good. I think you'd be safe anywhere over a half a klick. If you do manage to get caught in the blast, I reckon it won't be enough to kill your ship unless it's got crap shields. Any decent build should withstand it OK.
Not sure what type of protection is best. Actually, I do. It's distance
I overcooked my first run for my life and flew 2 km away. The boys were laughing at me, but I didn't die so all's good. I think you'd be safe anywhere over a half a klick. If you do manage to get caught in the blast, I reckon it won't be enough to kill your ship unless it's got crap shields. Any decent build should withstand it OK.
I hadn't played for ~4 years so this core mining thing was all new to me. I made a few hundred mill a couple of days ago and then started dipping my toe into Engineers. I thought I might do a bit more mining tonight but eddb etc. are showing nowhere buying Void Opals (or any metals/minerals) (and I even went to my last buyer to confirm). Is this a thing that happens or has something changed?
Mining in this game is awesome, finding the hot rich asteroids can be frustrating at first but hang in there. Flying through a ring is an incredible experience, just me and my Krait MkII The Rock Hopper. One thing that i didn't realise at first is that the material you are mining begins to degrade as soon as its blown free As soon as I crack an asteroid I release my collectors and follow them to where the loose chunks are located, only after all the loose material is collected do I start using the abrasion blaster on remainder. This way of doing it is a lot of extra work but its so much fun and i saw a real increase in my yield as a result
How'd ya do?