Newcomer / Intro Tips for mining materials

sjs1968

S
I'd like some tips for mining materials whether this by mining asteroid belts, planetary rings or on a planet surface. Which is best? Mining asteroids or scavenging on planet surfaces?

I've kitted out a python with mining lasers, limpets (prospectors & collectors), cargo racks & SRV. I've deliberately left out a refinery as I'm currently not interested in collecting & refining fragments off asteroids....I only want to collect certain materials for engineering. I'm particularly interested in obtaining cadmium, chromium & selenium.

I've done some research and it seems the best places to mine for most materials is pristine ring types - which best? Icy, metal rich, metallic or rocky? I'm assuming metal rich & metallic would be good for cadmium & chromium as these are in reality metals. What about selenium as it is a non-metal?

Any help & tips would be much appreciated as I'm fairly new to all this.

PS: I know about material traders but would like to embark on collecting the stuff myself unless I have no choice but to go to a trader for some of the rare materials.
 

Solsticide

Solsticide
I usually use planet surfaces when I need to restock on mats, gives me an excuse to get in the SRV and do a bit of stunt jumping. I go to https://eddb.io/body to find the nearest planet with the materials I need then mosey on over in the Cobra. The best thing about surface prospecting is that you only need a SRV to do it.
 

Chris Simon

Chris Simon
This^^

Mats from asteroid mining are a nice bonus if you're already mining. But setting up a mining ship just for mats is crazy.

(Unless you want to go crazy, then go for it. :D)
 

Speedcuffs

Speedcuffs
Chris Simon said:
This^^

Mats from asteroid mining are a nice bonus if you're already mining. But setting up a mining ship just for mats is crazy.

(Unless you want to go crazy, then go for it. :D)
Click to expand...

This^^.

I'm not an SRV person.
But if you want mats...

(I'm crazy. I have fully engineered Python just for mining mats. Tbh it's only for when the future mining stuff drops ):p
 

Limoncello Lizard

Limoncello Lizard
sjs1968 said:
I've done some research and it seems the best places to mine for most materials is pristine ring types - which best? Icy, metal rich, metallic or rocky?
Click to expand...
Your "research" is incorrect. For materials, it makes no difference what the resource level is. Depleted rings have the same material content as pristine ones.

But the ring type matters. Metallic > Metal rich > Rocky > Icy.

Since FD aren't giving us ring material compositions, there is a list in the OP of this thread: testing of mining for materials. However it's no longer accurate, as some mats were removed in an upgrade.
 

Azreh Helas

Azreh Helas
sjs1968 said:
I'd like some tips for mining materials whether this by mining asteroid belts, planetary rings or on a planet surface. Which is best? Mining asteroids or scavenging on planet surfaces?

I've kitted out a python with mining lasers, limpets (prospectors & collectors), cargo racks & SRV. I've deliberately left out a refinery as I'm currently not interested in collecting & refining fragments off asteroids....I only want to collect certain materials for engineering. I'm particularly interested in obtaining cadmium, chromium & selenium.

I've done some research and it seems the best places to mine for most materials is pristine ring types - which best? Icy, metal rich, metallic or rocky? I'm assuming metal rich & metallic would be good for cadmium & chromium as these are in reality metals. What about selenium as it is a non-metal?

Any help & tips would be much appreciated as I'm fairly new to all this.

PS: I know about material traders but would like to embark on collecting the stuff myself unless I have no choice but to go to a trader for some of the rare materials.
Click to expand...

all the mats you mentioned are planetary only. I'm 80%sure of it.

iron, sulphur an the common ones you can get in rocky rings.
 

racer1

racer1
I did a bit of mining recently and the drop rate for mats was very low compared to using an SRV on planet.

If you need mats quick you can go visit the "Bug Killer" anaconda out near the Pleiades, google it.
 

mistohise

mistohise
Return rates for mats during asteroid mining are stupidly low.
However, if you refine some rocks as you go, then those will go towards your 500 total for unlocking Selene.
Otherwise, just stick to planets or the crash sites.
 

Sylow

Sylow
Limoncello Lizard said:
Your advice is completely wrong. Cadmium, chromium and selenium can be easily mined in rings.
Click to expand...
.
Hmm, interesting. I collected all but the most basic materials on surface. How about molybdenum, arsenic and the likes? They also can be found on rings? (Yea, it shows how little mining I do... )
.
 

Simon Templar

Simon Templar
This might look like laziness but actually it is incompetence - can anyone point me in the direction of an idiot's guide to mining anywhere in here, please? I am experienced at exploring and trading (T9 is my regular ship), but would like to try mining (an idea started by needing sulphur for engineering). I have this crazy idea to kit out a bright yellow keelback as a miner with a fight bay, so I can mine the rings in my home system. Thing is, I know nothing whatsoever about mining and can't find how to find out how it works.

Sorry, and thanks in advance.

o7
 

Whitehair

W
You need a mining laser, a refinery and (optional but recommended) prospecting limpets and collection limpets (with controllers). Cargo space is pretty useful to store the mined material too.

Thats it. Go.
 

Simon Templar

Simon Templar
Whitehair said:
You need a mining laser, a refinery and (optional but recommended) prospecting limpets and collection limpets (with controllers). Cargo space is pretty useful to store the mined material too.

Thats it. Go.
Click to expand...

Thank you. Sounds as though the Keelback can handle that (have been looking for a role for one as I love the T series ships, so am sure there are better budget miners out there but still). So then without sounding daft, do I just shoot the rock with my mining laser, send out my limpets and hoover up the bits? That's the plan for tonight's session, so if I'm missing something obvious do please shout!

Thank you so much for the response.

o7
 

Whitehair

W
You should consider pirates .... they will turn up, usually when you have just found a good asteroid to mine.

Move away from the main mining sites and lose the pirates that come to visit. Other than that your plan sounds good!
 

Simon Templar

Simon Templar
Whitehair said:
You should consider pirates .... they will turn up, usually when you have just found a good asteroid to mine.

Move away from the main mining sites and lose the pirates that come to visit. Other than that your plan sounds good!
Click to expand...

Excellent, thank you once again. And I had wondered about pirates - hence my crazy vision of using the fighter hangar. My young hotshoe fighter pilot can fend them off while I calmly complete my mining. Although I expect that the reality will prove somewhat more stressful than that. Will be good to give him a change of scene, as usually he's riding shotgun in my T9, fending off interdictions in deep space. I thought that some home system mining might be a good tonic for us both, as well as helping with my engineering requirements. If it gets too hot then I'll seek out somewhere a little more out of the way.

Thank you so much again for your assistance.

o7
 

JetsonRING

JetsonRING
Regarding Asteroid and Ring mining:
Some materials are only available from asteroid and ring mining but most materials can be found on planetary surfaces. For mining rings, the type of pristine ring would be dictated by the material being mined, whether a rocky material or a metallic material. Stay away from RES as pirates frequent them. Usually the "inner-most" ring of the appropriate type yields the most material. Prospector and collector limpets greatly speed up the process. A prospector limpet doubles the materials yield of any rock it is attached to and multiple collector limpets, combined with a refinery can gather a lot of material, fast. If using limpets, completely fill the cargo racks with limpets before setting out. It is better to have to discard some limpets to make room for more materials than it is to have to make a trip for more limpets.

Never carry any cargo or ores into a mining area! Pirates will ignore freshly mined ores, limpets and data but once you enter SC for any reason, fresh ores become cargo and subject to piracy. Another reason to carry plenty of limpets, so you do not have to make a trip, carrying ores to go and get more limpets.

Regarding prospecting on planetary surfaces:
In the SRV, turn Drive Assist OFF. Pick a compass direction and drive fairly fast in a roughly straight line, around 16-19 m/sec. Slower and it takes forever to find anything, faster and you spend a lot of time recovering from spin-outs. Drive toward any rocky or metallic signal you discover. Often, while you are driving toward a lower grade signal like a bronzite chondrite a higher grade signal, like a group of metallic meteorites will show up on your scanner. I ignore other signals like dropped cargo caches, crashed NAV beacons, bases and etc. because they distract me from my main goal and invite trouble. Stock up on materials to synthesize SRV fuel and SRV ammo. It is annoying to have to recall the ship, leave and go to a space station to refuel and re-arm the SRV. Also, always DISMISS THE SHIP while you are puttering around on the surface in the SRV. If you do not, the ship will just sit there until someone, even an NPC comes along and destroys it.
 

Limoncello Lizard

Limoncello Lizard
Sylow said:
.
Hmm, interesting. I collected all but the most basic materials on surface. How about molybdenum, arsenic and the likes? They also can be found on rings? (Yea, it shows how little mining I do... )
.
Click to expand...
Antimony, Polonium, Ruthenium, Technetium, Tellurium, and Yttrium are only available from planet surfaces.

Rhenium, Lead and Boron are only available via mining.

All other raw materials are available in both rings and planet surfaces. Just like on planets, you get a specific set of raw materials per ring. However, this list of mats isn't displayed anywhere.



 
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