Thought I'd try my hand at mining. Two questions...

[Arvel Yael]

So after finally getting back from my round-the-galaxy expedition, I decided that while I like my solitude, exploring isn't super duper lucrative. So I refitted my anaconda as a mining ship...

I've had mixed success, so far. I made about 2mil with the refined materials I had gathered by the time my last limpets went poof (they were dropping like flies at one point!) and I've started getting the hang of playing with those seismic space beatboxes that stopped obi wan kenobi chasing me that one time...

Ahem, anyway. Oh I've forgotten what one of my questions was.

The second oquestion though (or was it the first?) is: I'm sitting looking at surface deposits, They're on my scanner, they're targeted, I'm turning them and the area all around them red with my mining lasers, but no fragments are dropping. The asteroid isn't depleted, but for whatever reason, none of the surface deposits would give anything up.

Having forgotten my second question then, I suppose I'll ask about my limpets. Why, suddenly, did I end up with my limpets dropping like flies? It almost got as bad as a "programming limpet, limpet failed, programming limpet, limpet failed" type situation.

I've only ever done 5 minutes of mining before, a couple of years ago, so I'm very new to mining at the minute .

 

[[PS4] Filthymick420]

Imo an anaconda isnt the best choice in a mining ship just for how large it is. I used a python and still had suicidal limpets. I think a krait phantom or mk2 would have a decent cargo among room for a fair refinery and all the tools you need if you go with a smaller shield like a 3 or so. Plus fast enough to run off if you need to.

Ive also noticed that if you're holds are empty the first time a group of pirates scans you, they dont usually bug you again. Hope this helps

Oh also also, there are really good videos on youtube to help maximize your findings but if theyre mire than a month or so old they may be a little out dated since the nerf

 

[myothershipisacobraiv]

mining lasers are just for rocks. lasers were mining 1.0

mining was later expanded with the "deep core mining" update. then asteroids were given deposits which are exploitable with specific weapons. to get the surface deposits u need an abrasion blaster. to get the sub surface deposits you need a subsurface missile launcher, and to get at cores you need seismic charge launcher. to sanely exploit any subsurface deposits or cores you need a prospector controller to tag them for you.

and to find asteroids that have the new deposits from long range you need a pulse wave scanner.

asteroids with good cores shine a very bright yellow with black lines before turning red or black at close range.

 

[Lightspeed]

The new mining gives you two options: use the new mining techniques (abrasion blasters, scanners, deep core explosives) or stick with the previous 'old' technique of apply mining laser to rock and scoop the pieces.

The latter is lucrative enough and appears to be what you are trying to do. So forget targeting the surface deposits and just apply the laser to the rocks and see what comes off.

You can improve your yield with a prospector limpet applied to each 'roid before you start burning it with your laser, and also decide if it has minerals that you want to collect in the first place.

The collector limpets can be a bit of a problem, but a smaller ship such as a Phantom would help a lot (probably). They sometimes get stuck on an identical track that destroys one after the other. Sometimes manouver to give them a bit of space. Also, don't targt the rock pieces to collect, or they will collect that one piece then self destruct. Let them find the pieces automatically.

 

[Arvel Yael]

Thanks all, lots of very helpful advice there.
I was aware of abrasion blasters being a thing, but it never occured to me to actually investigate them.
To thank you all for the sage advice I'll give you something to giggle at:

I didn't want my anaconda to be defenceless, and since it has plenty of space for hardpoints and whatnot, I've ended up with the following mappable devices/hardpoints:

1x huge beam laser
2x large beam laser
2x small autocannon/multicannon whatever they're called
1x seismic charge launcher
2x mining lasers
1x prospector limpet controller
1x collector limpet controller
1x comp scanner
1x adv discovery scanner
1x pulse wave scanner
and (I think)
1x detailed surface scanner.

Yes. I have about six fire groups on my bloody ship and I need to get rid of about three of them

I've flown the anaconda non-stop for the last 14 months, I'm used to its size and handling now. Does its size cause problems with the drones?

Also, when I launch a limpet, why does my cargo scoop door cycle closed then open again?

Thanks!

 

[Lightspeed]

Watch this:

 

[Arvel Yael]

Watch this:

Lots of useful info there. I might head back to ShinDez and get myself a Krait Mk.2.

 

[Taifu]

I think the Conda has 2 cargo hatches and depending on what slot you put the refinery, changes which hatch is used by the limpets. Ideally you want to use the cargo hatch towards the nose of the ship.

I wish I could remember more about it but the brains not what it ...... Squirrel??

 

[Valorin]

I'm actually using a T10 for mining, and really love it. Also because the bridge is not in the back of the ship.
I rarely use lasers at all, actually, though there are a few ways, especially in a wing, to earn lots of credits with it.

Usually I find hotspots myself, often a few hundred lightyears away from the bubble (no pirates when out far enough as well), float through the ring, listening to good music and constantly pinging for good cores. I usually get about 4 or 5 fissuroids an hour, which translates to roughly 70t of LowTemps or whatever I'm mining. That's about 70+ Millions when sold at the right station.

 

[Ashnak]

Just reading your loadout - if you want to go core mining, you'll also want an abrasion blaster. The initial blast from the seismic charge will free up a number of chunks, depending on your skill with placing the charges, but there will also be approximately the same number of chunks still clinging to the fragments, which you'll need to hammer loose with the abrasion blaster.

My favourite core miner is the DBX. Just enough cargo space for a short run after high value ores, and small and nimble enough to squeeze in between the asteroid fragments after the detonation. Plus, the large tank means that I won't need a scoop (or refill stop) between mining and selling. Oh, and a great cockpit view in VR.

 

[MonochromeChaos]

I'm up to....I think 4 class 2 mining lasers and 2 class 1's on my mining Annie.....looking for the sweet spot between time it takes to drain the asteroid (currently around 20 seconds), time it takes for the limpets to collect the fragments (currently running 12 limpets - 4 off size 5 controllers) and the necessity to neither drain the capacitor nor overheat.

Possibly because my job often involves trying to optimise processes and I can't help myself.....

As to limpets exploding - in the ice belts (I'm pretty much only mining low temperature diamonds) one of the asteroid shapes - it's kind of a pillowy one - seems to have a somewhat buggy hitbox. I've had prospector limpets fly right through it, and hit the asteroid behind. I've also had suiciding collector limpets when trying to mine them. I suspect the bug with the hitbox (or surface mesh, or terrain map, or whatever it's called) causes them to try to path straight through the 'roid.

My solution - I don't mine those ones. I suspect there may be similarly bugged rocks in other ring types, although I don't have any evidence of that.

I don't bother with anything that is spinning very rapidly, either. If you're in a double or triple overlapping hotspot, you can afford to be picky, because 2 out of every 3 rocks seem to have a decent level of LTDs in them.

I haven't actually timed my collection rate overall (only had a stopwatch for individual rocks......and a spreadsheet.....) but 200 tonnes-ish in about an hour-ish feels about what I'm getting.

I may actually do a timed session tonight, just so I've got some data...

 

[Northpin]

Anaconda is quite ok-ish for mining.
I'm still using mine on alt, but i'm considering to transfer the internals to a Corvette - or even to move to a Cutter.
T10 would be nice if it's optional internals wouldn't be so crap

Mining is highly profitable only if done in Paininte double hotspots or in Low Temperature Diamonds triple hotspots.
Otherwise it is an extremely tedious, sleep inducing, venture
Deep Core is a lot more fun to do, but it requires a different set of tools - and currently it is less profitable than laser mining.
My usual performance is about cracking 4-5 cores per hour and each core yields an average of 13-14t

This is the build for my alt's Anaconda universal miner

Edit: you can safely ignore sub-surface mining. Extremely time consuming for the yield it gives

 

[Nadreck]

Your limpet issue could be due to positioning. They dive below your ship and then up through your cargo hatch from underneath. If there's another asteroid below your ship, they will all slam into it.

 

[MonochromeChaos]

Your limpet issue could be due to positioning. They dive below your ship and then up through your cargo hatch from underneath. If there's another asteroid below your ship, they will all slam into it.

If you can put the nose of the ship right up against the 'roid, then pitch down slightly, you'll eject the fragments underneath your ship, minimising flight time (and risk) for the limpets.

 

[Nerwan]

If you can put the nose of the ship right up against the 'roid, then pitch down slightly, you'll eject the fragments underneath your ship, minimising flight time (and risk) for the limpets.

Hardpoint choice helps too, you don't want lasers on your roof for example because the fragments will end up above you.

 

[CMDR Big Mike]

Thanks all, lots of very helpful advice there.
I was aware of abrasion blasters being a thing, but it never occured to me to actually investigate them.
To thank you all for the sage advice I'll give you something to giggle at:

I didn't want my anaconda to be defenceless, and since it has plenty of space for hardpoints and whatnot, I've ended up with the following mappable devices/hardpoints:

1x huge beam laser
2x large beam laser
2x small autocannon/multicannon whatever they're called
1x seismic charge launcher
2x mining lasers
1x prospector limpet controller
1x collector limpet controller
1x comp scanner
1x adv discovery scanner
1x pulse wave scanner
and (I think)
1x detailed surface scanner.

Yes. I have about six fire groups on my bloody ship and I need to get rid of about three of them

I've flown the anaconda non-stop for the last 14 months, I'm used to its size and handling now. Does its size cause problems with the drones?

Also, when I launch a limpet, why does my cargo scoop door cycle closed then open again?

Thanks!

Coriolis EDCD Edition

A ship builder, outfitting and comparison tool for Elite Dangerous

s.orbis.zone

This is a build I just threw together after reading the OP. This will let you do all the mining and still have some teeth, not super necessary once you learn to let the pirates scan you when you just have limpets

Then take this ship to Borann, planet A2, and mine LTDs in the triple hotspot. LTDs can be surface mined and they will appear in cores as well.

Use the abrasion blaster on surface deposits, use the seismic charge launcher on fissures, and laser the normal asteroids.

 

[CMDR Big Mike]

Coriolis EDCD Edition

A ship builder, outfitting and comparison tool for Elite Dangerous

s.orbis.zone

This is a build I just threw together after reading the OP. This will let you do all the mining and still have some teeth, not super necessary once you learn to let the pirates scan you when you just have limpets

Then take this ship to Borann, planet A2, and mine LTDs in the triple hotspot. LTDs can be surface mined and they will appear in cores as well.

Use the abrasion blaster on surface deposits, use the seismic charge launcher on fissures, and laser the normal asteroids.

I FORGOT ONE THING

In your contacts page, make sure to ignore minerals that you are not actually mining for. That way your limpets will only pick up what you want, and your refinery wont clog up with nonsense!

 

[Requiem Mortis]

Don't forget your refinery bins are storage too - so you can completely fill your cargo space and fill your refinery bins, so that when you sell the cargo at a station the refinery will then give up a few more tonnes of cargo to sell.

It can be a bit of a balancing act to use up (or discard) limpets to make space for more cargo towards the end as you fill up the cargo bay.

After the latest tweak, the price you are offered depends on the quantity you have in your hold - so mining in a smaller ship can mean better prices.

 

[Boff'in]

Never done the filling up the refinery. That’s an awesome pro-tip! I shall have to give that a go.

I still love mining, although (suggestions forum post) things would be easier if we could use the pulse wave scanner to ping for a specific material. As the latest tools are geared up for surface,sub-surface and deep-core.

There is still decent mining to be had with the standard mining lasers. Especially for standard materials.

I still don’t see why mining(trading) isn’t part Of the looting and crafting system.

stuck with fuel scooping? synthesize some hydrogen fuel from the water you mined and refill your ships air at the same time.
but nope, we get subset of “materials” only crafting. And when commodities where involved, they had to be special commodities limited to a number of stations.

They just started to figure out that having alternative ways to meet the same goal, appeals to different caveats of players.

so crafting and looting =
materials
and/or
special commodities
and/or
general commodities.

sorry where was I?

As for the op.
Kraft MK2, small, nimble. Python, Cobra (ml4 preferably), Adder at a push

I haven’t tried many other vessels since the new mining update, but effectively you are looking for a ship 2 or more class 2’s and a slew
Of class 1’s. This isn’t too hard to come by, but balance that with decedent internal slot sizes for utilities (prospector,collector,refinery AND have decent slot sizes left over to create a decent cargo-hold to hold your booty.
Then the list of ship dwindles fast.

I tens to fly out to the rings at the end of one play through and leave the game for my next play.
So when I start off, I get the scan of an empty hold and the pirates leave you alone. If you have done some mining and you planned to do more, sometimes it’s worth giving them a few tones of cargo, the Kraft (phantom) will outrun most pirates, but then you loose your place.

Work you way towards the planet, with the sun behind you. (Don’t mine at night )

I stick to class3 collector with 2 limpets at a time.
And class5 prospector to keep better track of what I’ve scanned or not.
having 2 active limpets helps keep track when the limpets navigation system goes nuts, especially with deep ore when the path between the ship and the fragments can be blocked, or the AI tries to collect a fragment wedged into a geological feature and can’t get out.

So Fill the hold with 90% limpets.

the pulse wave scanners finds the “new” gameplay but does not help the old.
So check the system map for “rings” reserves, pristine? Common? Depleted? Signifies the rng drop rate.
even in the hotspots, depleted/common makes scarce the big rng loot-drops.

The wave scanner will herd you towards surface deposits (abrasion blaster),
sub-surface deposits (displacement missiles)
Fissures first Deep-core explosives.
For deep core, My advice is to pop a High capacity explosive into a weak fissure to get you in the same right area).
So then a high-charge in one of the strongest.
Then you can fiddle with high or low, medium charge in a medium strength fissure or high/medium in a strong fissure.

standard mining laser, (old school) a single class 2 will keep those 2 collectors busy, so take it in bursts.
blast the nearest rock, until you get a sample of 3 fragments check their compositions for the material you want, aim for 15% yield and above.
If you are content with your “sample” pop a prospector on it, double check if you are content with the yield.
Then location,location,location.
find the axis of he asteroid spins around. And use your mining lasers on the flattest point that doesn’t spin. (Some asteroid Spin on two axis, some just the one others not at all).
the more you can hit the surface at the same angle,the greater chance the fragments have at bunching together in a nice long line. (Pro-tip from the manual scooping days, and your collector love you for it as well )

You get too close to the asteroid, or you let the fragments group into the spinning pat, you might a lot of collector limpets.

 

[Arvel Yael]

Proudly Presenting the A.Y.S. Ruby Falcon, the latest addition to my fleet.

I don't really like multipurposing ships, I like keeping ships dedicated to one task. Well, meet my new mining ship.
Loadout is two abrasion blasters, one seismic charge launcher, and the biggest engines I could fit.
I've also given her military reinforced composite armor, A grade shields, some super duper thrusters.

I've only taken her out for a quick spin, but whoa, after 14 months of flying an Anaconda, this thing feels like flying a fighter!
Hopefully she and I will make back her 115 [edit: 155] million cost quickly!