Guide / Tutorial The popular guide to mining.

[ChopperGreg]

I went out and thoroughly re-explored that system, with my Cobra, and then took a mission that went 40LY the other way and turned in the scan results there, before returning to my BoO, then did a another mining run with my T6...so far everything looks ok, but I need another 12-15M to upgrade my new AspEx so I'll be returning to do some more mining. I should know by the middle of next week if it's a persistent bug or just a random glitch.

@ Spacecat:
Thanks for putting together the the mining guide.
It's been very helpful, and for someone that cut his teeth with Data deliveries then moved on to some risky Black Box missions, I find it to be, as someone previously mentioned, Zen like ( and still earn profit ).

Question:
Most of what is covered in the guide, deals with mining rings. Are there any benifets to mining the asteroid belts vs. the rings of gas ( i.e. commodities of particular or unusual value )?

 

[Lance 'Spacecat' D.]

That's an excellent question.

You'll find the same materials in a belt as you do in a ring, there's just a lot fewer asteroids.
One useful tidbit is that since the rocks are persistent, you can make a screenshot-and-notes and easily find that rock again. For instance if you find a decent praseodynium rock in a belt, you can return to it to cover praseodynium-required missions... Of course they take a while to 'refresh', I don't know how long but my wager is two hours.

 

[Gavin Burke]

Sorry if this has been covered before, but I've looked around the web and the link in this original post about mining and the static layout of asteroids, how you can find the exact same asteroid the next time etc., but even with me taking screenshots, arriving from the same direction etc., I cannot just find a way to visually identify the same asteroid once I come back again

Does anyone have any further tips on how I can "map" an asteroid field I'd frequently visit?

 

[ChopperGreg]

Sorry if this has been covered before, but I've looked around the web and the link in this original post about mining and the static layout of asteroids, how you can find the exact same asteroid the next time etc., but even with me taking screenshots, arriving from the same direction etc., I cannot just find a way to visually identify the same asteroid once I come back again

Does anyone have any further tips on how I can "map" an asteroid field I'd frequently visit?

Good question.

 

[Lance 'Spacecat' D.]

I haven't tried it myself, but I wager 'triangulation' is key.

Aka you take a picture that shows both the planet, the res site and some easily-recognizable stellar points, and try to get the same angle/distances next time you want to return.
Too much of a hassle for me, I leave that to the pros. XD

You can ask around on the 'elite miners' reddit, the pros are there more than here.

 

[Jacob Marshall]

Just want to pop in and say thanks for this guide, helped me to painlessly unlock one of the Engies and, at the same time, realise that mining is fun...in a relaxing 'chill, enjoy the view and watch a film' kind of way.

One thing, not sure if it's been covered, but for the initial Pirate when you drop from SC thing, I've found that just boosting away until they drop from the radar works well; handy if you disconnect and have to reload with some cargo.

 

[PEREGRINUS19]

I went out and thoroughly re-explored that system, with my Cobra, and then took a mission that went 40LY the other way and turned in the scan results there, before returning to my BoO, then did a another mining run with my T6...so far everything looks ok, but I need another 12-15M to upgrade my new AspEx so I'll be returning to do some more mining. I should know by the middle of next week if it's a persistent bug or just a random glitch.

@ Spacecat:
Thanks for putting together the the mining guide.
It's been very helpful, and for someone that cut his teeth with Data deliveries then moved on to some risky Black Box missions, I find it to be, as someone previously mentioned, Zen like ( and still earn profit ).

Question:
Most of what is covered in the guide, deals with mining rings. Are there any benifets to mining the asteroid belts vs. the rings of gas ( i.e. commodities of particular or unusual value )?

That's an excellent question.

You'll find the same materials in a belt as you do in a ring, there's just a lot fewer asteroids.
One useful tidbit is that since the rocks are persistent, you can make a screenshot-and-notes and easily find that rock again. For instance if you find a decent praseodynium rock in a belt, you can return to it to cover praseodynium-required missions... Of course they take a while to 'refresh', I don't know how long but my wager is two hours.

Sorry if this has been covered before, but I've looked around the web and the link in this original post about mining and the static layout of asteroids, how you can find the exact same asteroid the next time etc., but even with me taking screenshots, arriving from the same direction etc., I cannot just find a way to visually identify the same asteroid once I come back again

Does anyone have any further tips on how I can "map" an asteroid field I'd frequently visit?

Good question.

I haven't tried it myself, but I wager 'triangulation' is key.

Aka you take a picture that shows both the planet, the res site and some easily-recognizable stellar points, and try to get the same angle/distances next time you want to return.
Too much of a hassle for me, I leave that to the pros. XD

You can ask around on the 'elite miners' reddit, the pros are there more than here.

F.Y.I.
I saw that CMDR YinYin had made a thread about asteroid belt mining...
"[mining] game changer":

Spoiler

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/295694-mining-game-changer

...hope this helps

 

[Lance 'Spacecat' D.]

Thank you Peregrinus, looks like we have a pro here after all!

So with a friend staying on the planet-ressite line, it's easier to get a 'Y-coordinate' besides the distance to Res site. Smart!
And of course spot-a-nebula to be able to tell up from down.

 

[ChopperGreg]

F.Y.I.
I saw that CMDR YinYin had made a thread about asteroid belt mining...
"[mining] game changer":

Spoiler

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/295694-mining-game-changer

...hope this helps

Interesting...

As a solo, it's going to be a little more difficult to implement.
That said, I just picked up a Dropship, that I'm converting to mining - that armor will stand a bit better to bumps among the rocks ( even without a shield ), compared to the T6 I have been using up til now.

 

[Spacecat]

Oh, there's another "Spacecat"? Didn't know. Maybe we were from the same litter...

 

[Lance 'Spacecat' D.]

So YOU'RE the one that got the nickname I wanted!
I've been Spacecat since 1993! Playing Elite II in fact. I was inspired back then by both my love of space and an old Disney movie called 'The cat from outer Space'.


Bit off topic, but hah!

 

[Strangepork]

Greetings commanders

A long time ago, a player friend of mine (Hanako) wrote a popular guide aimed at players unused with powerplay, it's been well received as a beginner's guide to a complex subject. And a few months ago I kept up the tradition and wrote three further guides.

Introducing the Popular guide to mining!

Mining is just complex enough that it warrants having a guide to explain the ins and outs. This guide's purpose is to help out commanders unused to space mining, and there's a tiny bit of of humor thrown in for good measure.

I have a thread with this stuck in the main forums, but it really belongs here...

I seriously recommend getting a hardened T9 with fighter support and mining in VR, you can pick up a dk2 second hand now for 180 pounds, and run it on a laptop even with 980m. Just wow, turns out those rocks are 20 stories tall...

One wee tip, if you exit to the camera in 2.2 with the mining laser trigger held, it continues the mining and you can chill in the camera view for a minute or two.

 

[DAZ UK 74]

Thanks so much for this detailed but simple to follow guide, as I cannot give you a saucer of milk have some rep instead.

 

[Anton234219]

Thanks for the guide, got me into mining and its quite fun.
Jus tone thing: Im flying the "Asp Explorer" now, and after this one there is a long way it seems, to get the next bigger mining vessel. I have no whatsoever-standing with the big factions, so I cant get the faction ships (imperial cutter/clipper and federal dropship), so next ship would be Python which is quite a long grind until I am there, using the aspX as Miner.
Im not going for the Type 6 or Type 7 as Id like to keep away from such uglyness :x

So, until I can afford the Python, is there another less expensive mining ship I could switch to?

Cheers

 

[Lance 'Spacecat' D.]

After the Asp... Well the fed dropship costs a bit much for what it can achieve.
Below the python and above the Asp, would be the Imperial clipper and T7 (and out of the two the clipper's better, I believe)

Sorry Anton, if you won't fly a T7, I fear your other options are to work imperial until you get the clipper rank (the grind isn't that bad), or gradually make money till the python.

Me I loved flying a clipper miner, it was a fun kind of weird 'mining in styyyle!'

 

[Auterion]

Greetings commanders

A long time ago, a player friend of mine (Hanako) wrote a popular guide aimed at players unused with powerplay, it's been well received as a beginner's guide to a complex subject. And a few months ago I kept up the tradition and wrote three further guides.

Introducing the Popular guide to mining!

Mining is just complex enough that it warrants having a guide to explain the ins and outs. This guide's purpose is to help out commanders unused to space mining, and there's a tiny bit of of humor thrown in for good measure.

I have a thread with this stuck in the main forums, but it really belongs here...

Outstanding guide sire!!!!

 

[CLG 6]

Greetings commanders

A long time ago, a player friend of mine (Hanako) wrote a popular guide aimed at players unused with powerplay, it's been well received as a beginner's guide to a complex subject. And a few months ago I kept up the tradition and wrote three further guides.

Introducing the Popular guide to mining!

Mining is just complex enough that it warrants having a guide to explain the ins and outs. This guide's purpose is to help out commanders unused to space mining, and there's a tiny bit of of humor thrown in for good measure.

I have a thread with this stuck in the main forums, but it really belongs here...

Thanks, interesting website.

 

[Kimosabe_X]

Just stumbled across the mentioned music and especially the miners song "learn to mine"... Simply great, I love it ! "Palladium gives me the bone..." :O [haha][haha]


Edit: "The great explorer" is also a brilliant song... uhuu uhuu ...

Edit 2: "Hotel Dalgarno"... The Fuel Rat song...

 

[Lance 'Spacecat' D.]

Glad you like my musical taste. For a mining guide it would've been too obvious to recommend Motorhead or other 'Hard Rock' (Da-dum tsshh)

 

[Merimek Onogushi]

Thank you for this guide
+1Rep