Newcomer / Intro Newbie tries his hand at deep core mining for Musgravite...

[CMDRQuainMarln]

After generating some credits with careful bounty hunting in a Sidewinder, a bit of exploring and surface scanning planets on a road to riches trail in a Hauler, I got myself into an ASP X outfitted for deep core mining.
Its an awesome ship for the money, but what possessed FDev to make its thrusters sound like a WW1 bi-plane? It breaks my suspension of disbelief - doesn't feel like I'm in a spaceship anymore. For general travel, I wish I was still in the Hauler, or could afford to get in a Krait Phantom (bit unsure about that engine sound too) or Python (which sounds sweet), but I only have 17 million credits in the bank after the ASP X purchase and outfitting.

I digress...

I made it out to an overlapping hotspot of Mugravite, and within an hour an a half had split a couple of asteroids in an amateurish non-optimal fashion but still netted 16 tons of Musgravite. Nice. Kept searching and never found any more. Decided to pop up out of the asteroids and supercruise to a different location in the hotspot to try my luck elsewhere. Pirates on the scanner - I've boosted back into the asteroids to escape them before, but I though, I'll try a bit of silent running for fun. What key was it?
'End' right?
Next thing I see is the entire contents of my cargo bay, Musgravite, limpets, the lot, flushed into space and the pirates crawl all over it. No chance of me flying back to pull any of it back into the cargo bay. There's three of them and all I'm armed with is an abrasion laser and seismic charges (where's Jango Fett and his seismic charges when you need him.... oh yeah, crawling over my jettisoned cargo if he was here)
Rebinds jettison cargo to ctrl-number pad * key - speedy access but well away from other keys like 'Home' for open cargo bay.

I shrug off this misfortune accepting the last couple of hours as a deep core mining training mission, the pay off is figuring out how to do it better for the future and avoiding mistakes like jettison cargo. None of the experts ever put that in their deep core mining tutorial video. Given some youtubers claim up to 200 million an hour deep core mining in a bigger ship than mine, the 16 tons of Musgravite should not take long to replace.
I jump a couple of systems away to a station, repair the ship (because slamming the ship into asteroids is a thing when your a newb), restock all the limpets etc. and head back to the Musgravite hot spot.
After 3 hours of pulse waving from the ships free camera view in two locations in the overlapping hot spot, I find nothing by Bauxite and the like which isn't worth the time to mine. I jump a few systems away where edmining.com tells me there are multiple hotspots for several high value minerals - Musgravite, Alexandrite etc. After 45 minutes of pinging the asteroid field I have found nothing but cheap rocks. I've watch at least 3 youtube videos on deep core mining and picked up tips like start well out from the hotspot centres in an area they overlap and work your way in, but its not working.

Is it possible the game tunes what asteroids you will find to your rank/experience/play time?
Maybe that's why all these youtubers can make 100 to 200 million an hour, all be it in a bigger ship than I have. They are already Elite in one or more professions so the game makes the rewards of mining higher.
Not sure this could be the case, as I did hit the jackpot early on in my mining trip.

Anyway, I'm bored and discouraged with mining if all I can find is cheap rocks. It would be entertaining/rewarding enough if there were asteroids worth putting seismic charges into. I can reliably make 15 to 20 million an hour exploring and surface scanning the right planets, but this activity has got stale now, and it will take too long to be worth it to raise the money for the Python which is meant to speed up mining which isn't working for me anyway.
I have other exploring objectives in Elite Dangerous longer term, but I plan to do it in either a Krait Phantom or Anaconda kitted out with Guardian tech and engineered components, but I cannot see how I will get there since playing ED 40 hours a week on missions etc. is not possible and I wouldn't want to spend that much of my time playing any game anyway.

Any ideas?
I hear Robigo Mines tourist passenger trips can make 100 million+ an hour.

 

[Ashnak]

I heard the real money right now is in laser mining Platinum in a big ship. Problem then is to find a place to sell to, as most stations that offer both high price and high demand don't have large pads....

Oh, and check the date on those vids claiming core mining can make up to 200 MCr/Hr... there were a few changes in Core mining that affected profitability.

Since this issue comes up regularly: where were you? You need to look for the right mineral in the right type of ring, and preferably in an overlapping hotspot. We had the discussion (and link to the table) just now a few threads further down.

And no, payouts (or mineral probabilities) don't scale with player rank. What scales with player rank is the rank of random pirates interdicting you. Mission payout scales with your reputation at the mission giving faction and the mission rank - there's nothing keeping you from taking on a Elite level wing pirate lord kill mission when you're still Harmless. It's unlikely you'll complete it, though. Mining profits scale with your actual experience - especially on core mining. The cores have a specific look, both on the PWA return and their shape, and it takes some time to learn that one.

As for getting into a Phantom (or Python): it takes time. Half a year was not unusual in pre-2.0 times.

 

[CMDRQuainMarln]

I heard the real money right now is in laser mining Platinum in a big ship. Problem then is to find a place to sell to, as most stations that offer both high price and high demand don't have large pads....

Oh, and check the date on those vids claiming core mining can make up to 200 MCr/Hr... there were a few changes in Core mining that affected profitability.

Since this issue comes up regularly: where were you? You need to look for the right mineral in the right type of ring, and preferably in an overlapping hotspot. We had the discussion (and link to the table) just now a few threads further down.

And no, payouts (or mineral probabilities) don't scale with player rank. What scales with player rank is the rank of random pirates interdicting you. Mission payout scales with your reputation at the mission giving faction and the mission rank - there's nothing keeping you from taking on a Elite level wing pirate lord kill mission when you're still Harmless. It's unlikely you'll complete it, though. Mining profits scale with your actual experience - especially on core mining. The cores have a specific look, both on the PWA return and their shape, and it takes some time to learn that one.

As for getting into a Phantom (or Python): it takes time. Half a year was not unusual in pre-2.0 times.

I was at GCRV 375 (4th planet I think) first and initially found Musgravite.
The I moved to Algo - A1 that is has hotspots for some of the following: Alexandrite, Benitoite, Monazite, Musgravite, Painite, Rhodplumsite, Serendibite

 

[finglonger]

some simple tips

when mining makesure your cargo hold is empty before you approach a site, empty of anything except limpets - usually if your hold is empty pirates will leave you alone
if you need to logout with anything in your hold, boost away from the ring once you log back in, escape untill you loose radar contact and wait a minute or three then return to the ring using boost - dont enter super-cruise otherwise new pirates respawn when you exit super-cruise
dont mine around resource extraction sites, these are pirate hotspots, youll constantly get scanned

forget what you see in youtube videos unless you can find any which have been made within the last year or two or so- most of the old videos will be made before the mining nurf, you used to be able to make 100's of millions per hour without breaking a sweat.

Is it possible the game tunes what asteroids you will find to your rank/experience/play time?

not player age or time more of a game universe age. closer you are to the bubble the harder it can be to find resources to mine, especially if you use websites to find hotspots, these resources do respawn overtime. mining outside the bubble can be more lucrative but more of a PITA to find, get to and from

also iirc hotspots and overlapping spots now only give a sightly higher chance of finding more of the resource

 

[CMDRQuainMarln]

some simple tips

when mining makesure your cargo hold is empty before you approach a site, empty of anything except limpets - usually if your hold is empty pirates will leave you alone
if you need to logout with anything in your hold boost away from the ring once you log back in - dont enter super-cruise
dont mine around resource extraction sites, these are pirate hotspots youll constantly get scanned

forget what you see in youtube videos unless you can find any which have been made within the last year or two or so- most of the old videos will be made before the mining nurf, you used to be able to make 100's of millions per hour without breaking a sweat.


not player age or time more of a game universe age. closer you are to the bubble the harder it can be to find resources to mine, especially if you use websites to find hotspots, these resources do respawn overtime. mining outside the bubble can be more lucrative but more of a PITA to find, get to and from

also iirc hotspots and overlapping spots now only give a sightly higher chance of finding more of the resource

OK thanks. I seem to have pirate activity management sorted - empty cargo hold on approach. If I exit the game and come back later I've always been able to boost back into the asteroids and keep on boosting away from the pirates that arrive. After a minute or two, they seem to give up and disappear off the scope.

 

[WreckRoot]

200 million per hour was when Low Temp Diamonds cost 1.2 million a piece. Currently 100-150 million worth of rocks per hour of mining is about right if you're good.

My last two runs done yesterday, both 60 minutes in a rocky ring or less (I like to keep track of how I'm doing) in a double Monazite overlap (so theoretically more frequent monazite than other minerals, but in a rocky ring all cores are valuable, unlike in icy rings) were:
1. 79 Musgravite, 69 Monazite, 30 Serendibite
2. 14 Alexandrite, 17 Musgravite, 108 monazite, 14 Benitoite

Given that all of those minerals can be sold for well over 700k give or take (some 650k, some 750k, some 800k), this gives a very conservative estimate payout from both runs at 124mil and 107mil credits. My top result (from the ones I measured) was 144 million worth of cargo in 56 minutes in the ring (my python got filled up, 192 tons of minerals + filled up refinery, mostly Monazite).

However, core mining is somewhat difficult.
First, you have to get rid of the laser miner's mentality of looking up every rock - efficient core miner (unless they're following a map) will have a respectably fast ship to traverse the ring quickly and ping as many rocks as possible, as fast as possible.
Second, you have to learn how to read PWA results, and trust me, it takes a while to get used to it. PWA is erratic, does weird stuff a lot and you can ping a core asteroid looking straight at it and not have it light up at all, only on second use you will be blinded by the yellow-orange glow, brighter than the local star. Moreover, the same asteroid may look completely inconspicuous if viewed at a >20 degree angle (rule of thumb - outside of the middle 50% of your cockpit screen area), or from too far away or too close (!), while being an evident core if looked at directly from a ~2-8km range. That last point is the reason why I don't use the apparently cool trick of looking around with free camera - you lose many cores because PWA simply doesn't highlight rocks properly like that, at least for me. I get much better results just boosting through the middle of the ring, more or less towards some concrete target e,g, the planet to not run in circles, taking ~90 degree turn every couple of pings so I don't miss a core right next to me.
Lastly, if you fly through a ring for 10 minutes and you see no cores, and you know you can tell a core pretty well, chances are that this ring (or at least this particular part of it) has recently been mined. Core asteroids are shared across all players, if one player blows a core asteroid, it will vanish for others and respawn in 6 days (from what I heard, seems about right). Sometimes you will see clouds of dust from an explosion, that's a dead giveaway, but it's not granted.
You gotta get used to it.

Admittedly, laser mining platinum is probably easier and can potentially yield more money - just make sure you drop yourself into a large platinum hotspot in a METALLIC !!!! ring (not metal-rich, these only have platinum cores, no laser-minable platinum). Overlapping hotspots supposedly yield better results, but they're not necessary - I have mined platinum in a single big platinum hotspot on a thick metallic ring and roughly 80% of the asteroids had some platinum, most of those over 20% with every fifth in the 45-55% area, so plently of moneyz to be made.

Also, I suggest looking up youtube on both laser mining and core mining. Good stuff there, particularly by Down to Earth Astronomy, Hawkes Gaming (except his trick of using free camera that simply doesn't work for me) and EDtutorials by Exigeous.

One last thing - remember that efficient mining requires all steps to work.

• if you wait too long for limpets to collect the stuff, cause you have too few of them, your efficiency drops. No point having double the cargo hold if you can't fill it up in any reasonable time!
• if you take too long to extract the asteroid, your efficiency drops. In case of laser mining, this means a good amount of lasers and good power distributor to deplete the rock fast, so big fat ships work great. In case of core mining, it means the exact opposite, cause you need a moderately fast and maneuverable ship to quickly circle the asteroid to plant charges, get away before boom and back in after it's cracked, and then quickly blast off all chunks, circling arond the fragments for good angles.
• if you take too long to traverse from one mined asteroid to another, your efficiency drops. In case of laser mining, ship speed and maneuverability is borderline inconsequential, and from my experience knowing where to go by the time you're done with your current asteroid is the best thing to stay efficient. I make sure I have a class 3A prospector limpet controller to have two active prospectors available and as I approach one rock to mine it, I send out a prospector to the next candidate, so I already know where I'm going as soon as I'm done depleting my current rock. In case of core mining, again, it's the opposite. Big, slow ships that work great for laser mining fail miserably, slugging through the ring at 200m/s trying to find their first core, while I'm done mining my third core, simply because I zap through the ring at 450m/s, in a zigzag to properly observe all asteroids I pass.

 

[CMDRQuainMarln]

200 million per hour was when Low Temp Diamonds cost 1.2 million a piece. Currently 100-150 million worth of rocks per hour of mining is about right if you're good.

[snip...]

Super helpful, thanks. Glad to hear PWA ping straight ahead works best. Getting in and out of free camera mode to hit boost was a real bind. When I think about it, the rock ring I was in was absolutely clouded in dust - could be normal for that ring, might be signs of heavying core mining activity.
I've decided to go on a road to riches exploration tour with all the deep core mining kit on board. Cuts the jump range a fair bit but won't matter much in the bubble. This way I know I'm at least getting value from collected exploration data, I don't spend hours pinging the field which is dull and I can hope for the satisfaction of discovering my own rocky ring rich in something I can mine. I'll just remember to cut the exploration short and blast away to a station or outpost that wants to buy what I've mined before pirates jump on me.

 

[WreckRoot]

Super helpful, thanks.

Cool Added more info at the end, you might want to take a look.

When I think about it, the rock ring I was in was absolutely clouded in dust - could be normal for that ring, might be signs of heavying core mining activity.

Probably normal dust. When you blow up an asteroid and are done mining, fly 2km away and turn back - you will see a distinct, impossible to mistake, round cloud that is evidence of a recent detonation. That being said, they don't always show even if the cores themselves are gone.

I've decided to go on a road to riches exploration tour with all the deep core mining kit on board.

I strongly discourage you from that approach. There is no money in exploration close to the bubble, to start making money that way you need to start discovering unvisited systems and those you can reliably start finding about 1k LY from the bubble as long as you move in a nondescript direction (i.e. not towards a point of interest - the path towards Sgt A* or Colonia or any of the nearby nebulae are bound to be all explored thoroughly, tens of thousands of LY away from bubble). Exploration money comes from, primarily, being the first to discover and DSS a terraformable/water/earthlike/ammonia planet. See this chart ordered by last column descending.
I suggest you either pick mining or exploration as your goal - either works, mining gives more dough but exporation is arguably more exciting... at least for a time. For me it starts getting boring after a couple of days, so my trips usually wrap up in a week and go no further than 10k LY away from bubble, typically consisting of a dedicated couple of hours of travelling to some uncharted region (guesswork) using the neutron highway, then a couple of days scanning everything in the area and the trip back afterwards. Some folks spend years in the black, though I can't fathom why. Not my thing I guess.

 

[d8veh]

100 mil/hr is relatively easy to make doing the Robigo sightseeing missions using a shieldless Python. You can even make about 60 mil per hour in a T6 as an absolute beginner as long as you scan a few waterworlds on the way out there to get allied.

You can make 100 mil per hour mining platinum in an engineered Cutter, and slightly more if you have a fleet carrier. I would guess at about 50 mil per hor in an unengineered Python and maybe 60 mil/hr using an Anaconda.

If you have access to your computer when not playing, so you can log on occasionally to check the mission board, you can stack pitate massacre missions for well over 100 mil per hour using something like an unengineered Vulture or FDL. The trick is to find targets in a system with a low RES, where they're dead easy to kill. They're not too hard even in a medium RES, and the police will help you in a high RES too.

A to B trading using an Anaconda can get over 50 mil per hour. The trick is to use a tool to find a route that has stations near the star at both ends; however, after a number of runs, the selling price goes down, then you have to spend ages finding a new route. If you do it all the time, you learn where the best routes are, so you can go from one route to the next as soon as profits go down too far.

These earnings rates are based on total playing time. When you see estimates for mining, they're often talking about the rate at which they mine. One hour of core mining can get you 100T of mixed minerals, but to sell them all for a good price would take maybe 2 hours or more unless you have a fleet carrier. That's why it's such an advantage to mine platinum.

 

[WreckRoot]

100 mil/hr is relatively easy to make doing the Robigo sightseeing missions using a shieldless Python. You can even make about 60 mil per hour in a T6 as an absolute beginner as long as you scan a few waterworlds on the way out there to get allied.

You can make 100 mil per hour mining platinum in an engineered Cutter, and slightly more if you have a fleet carrier. I would guess at about 50 mil per hor in an unengineered Python and maybe 60 mil/hr using an Anaconda.

If you have access to your computer when not playing, so you can log on occasionally to check the mission board, you can stack pitate massacre missions for well over 100 mil per hour using something like an unengineered Vulture or FDL. The trick is to find targets in a system with a low RES, where they're dead easy to kill. They're not too hard even in a medium RES, and the police will help you in a high RES too.

A to B trading using an Anaconda can get over 50 mil per hour. The trick is to use a tool to find a route that has stations near the star at both ends; however, after a number of runs, the selling price goes down, then you have to spend ages finding a new route. If you do it all the time, you learn where the best routes are, so you can go from one route to the next as soon as profits go down too far.

These earnings rates are based on total playing time. When you see estimates for mining, they're often talking about the rate at which they mine. One hour of core mining can get you 100T of mixed minerals, but to sell them all for a good price would take maybe 2 hours or more unless you have a fleet carrier. That's why it's such an advantage to mine platinum.

Those are rather modest estimates, you can get noticeably more if you do any of those things well enough, even including travel to sell.
For example the estimate of "One hour of core mining can get you 100T of mixed minerals".... I never score that low these days. I regularly get 160t or more, often I manage to fill up 200t of cargo+refinery within an hour, of mixed minerals. If I were to focus on a single mineral (depending on the hotspot) which I agree is preferable if you don't have a carrier nearby, I would still be easily able to get 100t of it in an hour average, perhaps closer to 140t, cause I wouldn't spend time blowing up and collecting other cores.

But the overall message is correct, there's a lot of things you can do for lots of money in the game.
Pick one that's fun (for me - it's core mining) and have at it.

 

[CMDRQuainMarln]

I strongly discourage you from that approach. There is no money in exploration close to the bubble...

Its relative and depends on your level in the game. Not having figured out deep core mining results in hours of aimless of dull PWA pinging for no return for me. It makes me want to quit playing the game. In bubble exploration nets me about 10 million an hour, holds some interest for me but is rubbish when you want to buy the next ship after an Anaconda. When you want an upgrade from an ASP X, 10 million an hour plus any surprise mining success is getting somewhere. I'd prioritize a good mining spot when I found one above exploration. My idea is I at least get some return on my travels and grab more valuable mining minerals when I can find them. If I start getting reliable results at mining, I'll focus 100% on that. Longer term I want to explore way out of the bubble, but I have ship build ideas (you know the drill - guardian FSD booster etc.) that need much more money, engineering and Guardian tech which is going to take a while.

Down to Earth Astronomy, Hawkes Gaming - I don't think you can avoid these two youtube channels when you get into Elite Dangerous.
Hawkes Gaming How to Have the Best Start Elite Dangerous for New Player - 2021 Elite Dangerous Beginners Guide has got me into the ASK X mining build with 17 million to spare quite quickly, but the deep core mining is not as easy as he makes it look.

 

[WreckRoot]

Its relative and depends on your level in the game. Not having figured out deep core mining results in hours of aimless of dull PWA pinging for no return for me. It makes me want to quit playing the game. In bubble exploration nets me about 10 million an hour, holds some interest for me but is rubbish when you want to buy the next ship after an Anaconda. When you want an upgrade from an ASP X, 10 million an hour plus any surprise mining success is getting somewhere. I'd prioritize a good mining spot when I found one above exploration. My idea is I at least get some return on my travels and grab more valuable mining minerals when I can find them. If I start getting reliable results at mining, I'll focus 100% on that.

I can't say that I see much sense in that approach, but hey - whatever floats your boat

Longer term I want to explore way out of the bubble, but I have ship build ideas (you know the drill - guardian FSD booster etc.) that need much more money, engineering and Guardian tech which is going to take a while.

Yeah, unlocking the FSD v1 and Guardian FSD booster on my Asp were the first two things I did after noob zone. Definitely well worth it.

Down to Earth Astronomy, Hawkes Gaming - I don't think you can avoid these two youtube channels when you get into Elite Dangerous.
Hawkes Gaming How to Have the Best Start Elite Dangerous for New Player - 2021 Elite Dangerous Beginners Guide has got me into the ASK X mining build with 17 million to spare quite quickly, but the deep core mining is not as easy as he makes it look.

Well, that's the one video I wouldn't take too much to heart. The journey can be fun, you don't have to race to the goal (conda).
I certainly benefitted a lot from every single video on concrete subjects, e.g. mining, exploration, or general tips and tricks. But a video on how to get the best ship ASAP? That makes you spend 40 minutes in a lowres exploiting wanted ship tagging while security kills them as your first experience in Elite Dangerous?
Thanks, but no thanks.
Learning == good.
Being led to think that the game begins with a conda = not good.

I got my conda after 2 months of playing and, to be frank, I almost never use it.
I core-mine in my Python (after Asp), I fight in my Krait (after Cobra) and the rest of the time I spend in my exploration Asp.

 

[CMDRQuainMarln]

I can't say that I see much sense in that approach, but hey - whatever floats your boat

If mining starts to pay off well enough I'll drop the explorations
Just tired of ping rocks to see if they glow bright enough orange, when none are.
To be honest I'm not in a rush to get a 'conda or make it to Jameson Memorial. I didn't like the Sidewinder much, but in those first few days of exploring I did like the Hauler for what it is. I should be able to do all medium/longish term goals I want in the game using a Krait Phantom outfitted for whichever task I'm doing. Python maybe after and in addition to Krait if Python extra cargo space makes core mining or passenger missions more efficient.

 

[Para Handy]

......
Just tired of ping rocks to see if they glow bright enough orange, when none are.
.......

Remember, it is the shape of the 'roid which shows if it has a core, the brilliance just means how many non-laser mining features it has.

 

[WreckRoot]

Just tired of ping rocks to see if they glow bright enough orange, when none are.

Matter of practice and/or getting it right a few times to learn the pattern.
My advice is to just keep an open mind, never get hung up on thinking that you know how it works and there simply are no cores. While it's possible, the more likely explanations is that you only think you know how it works, when in fact you just didn't figure it out properly yet.

I remember when I switched from Void Opals (in icy rings) to Monazite in (in rocky ring) when I wanted to show a guy in another thread how it's done. His position was similar to yours, i.e. core mining doesn't work, even after I explained to him how to do it. As I jumped in, I was immediately surprised to see the colors of everything significantly different. I kept thinking that everything is a core lol, cause the regular junk rocky asteroid looked to me like a core would in an icy ring. But I just kept learning and I quickly figured out how to find what I'm looking for.
It's there, most likely. Just adapt a scout's mindset, rather than "it's broken, screw it" mindset

Remember, it is the shape of the 'roid which shows if it has a core, the brilliance just means how many non-laser mining features it has.

View attachment 227090

To be specific:

• every ring type has exactly one asteroid model (shape+size) that can has a core, but AFAIK it doesn't have to have a core.
• every ring type has some rocks that glow very similarly to a core asteroid, but they are clearly smaller. Rocks that are of similar size to a core, but aren't cores, will glow differently.

I can always tell a core by hue/size alone, but you can always confirm by looking for fissures, best visible in night vision.

 

[CMDRQuainMarln]

I've been in two different metallic rings cracking open the potatoes shaped asteroids that glow orange (few did), and other than that early success there has been nothing of much worth in them. I guess I've been in fields that are tapped out right now.

 

[WreckRoot]

I've been in two different metallic rings cracking open the potatoes shaped asteroids that glow orange (few did), and other than that early success there has been nothing of much worth in them. I guess I've been in fields that are tapped out right now.

While not the most profitable, void opals in icy rings are a good start. I always found icy cores easiest to identify.

 

[CMDRQuainMarln]

Been to https://edmining.com/mining-location/hip-16572/ today and pinged around in 5 different hot spots. Bit of a trek from the star to get to it.
Same old result - lots of asteroids the right shape, some quite bright orange, none with the real tell tale signs of something good.
I'm about ready to give up on mining. I did make another 14 million selling exploration data - 10 systems visited. Some passenger missions at Rodigo mines might be in order. Or just strap a load of guns and shields on the ASP X and go and shoot pirates. Will take too long to get credits in doing that, but it will be a bit of fun.

 

[d8veh]

Its relative and depends on your level in the game. Not having figured out deep core mining results in hours of aimless of dull PWA pinging for no return for me. It makes me want to quit playing the game. In bubble exploration nets me about 10 million an hour, holds some interest for me but is rubbish when you want to buy the next ship after an Anaconda. When you want an upgrade from an ASP X, 10 million an hour plus any surprise mining success is getting somewhere. I'd prioritize a good mining spot when I found one above exploration. My idea is I at least get some return on my travels and grab more valuable mining minerals when I can find them. If I start getting reliable results at mining, I'll focus 100% on that. Longer term I want to explore way out of the bubble, but I have ship build ideas (you know the drill - guardian FSD booster etc.) that need much more money, engineering and Guardian tech which is going to take a while.

Down to Earth Astronomy, Hawkes Gaming - I don't think you can avoid these two youtube channels when you get into Elite Dangerous.
Hawkes Gaming How to Have the Best Start Elite Dangerous for New Player - 2021 Elite Dangerous Beginners Guide has got me into the ASK X mining build with 17 million to spare quite quickly, but the deep core mining is not as easy as he makes it look.

If you surface scan the high value planets, you can get up to 30 mil per hour, then you can do the level 5 powerplay with Li Yong Rui to get triple payouts, which takes it to 90 mil per hour.

 

[CMDRQuainMarln]

If you surface scan the high value planets, you can get up to 30 mil per hour, then you can do the level 5 powerplay with Li Yong Rui to get triple payouts, which takes it to 90 mil per hour.

Ah, that's useful to know. I've been surface scanning high value planets all along and I do get around 30 million an hour, which is incredible when you're just starting in the game. I'm in Li Yong Rui space and allied with them for the cut price ships and modules you get in Diaguandri. I'll have to look into the power play and triple pay outs. 90 million an hour beats Rodigo mine passenger missions.