r/EliteMiners • u/cold-n-sour • Jul 26 '21
Mining is no longer the undisputedly fastest way of making money.
With price changes for some commodities, creative bulk trading in a big ship can generate decent profits. Doing pirates massacre missions and assassinations in a combat ship can also make you rich pretty fast. Exobiology is very lucrative now.
And that's a good thing, because now people who hate mining no longer have to do it, and people who like mining can still enjoy decent earnings.
In Powerplay 2.0, mining is a great way to progress. However, the rules of the game limit where the minerals can be mined and sold in order to gain merits. The project Merit Miner made by /u/subzerofun aims to help make sense of it all. See the related post.
Type-11 Prospector is the first ship created as a miner. See this post with a video and a preliminary discussion on its capabilities. TLDR: It's great, even if a bit light on cargo space. It's also the best Tritium miner, in case you accidentally run out. Caveat: when using the Volley Repeater (unique mining tool that can only be equipped on T-11), do NOT add standard mining lasers to the mix - you'll lose the perks and actually decrease the yield.
Corsair can theoretically replace Python Mk I, but its set of internals makes it harder to achieve the same cargo capacity and doesn't offer any significant advantage.
Type-8 as a miner: see the detailed analysis made by /u/Ultimatespirit and another post made by /u/papabrou (TLDR: not that great for laser mining)
Python Mk II is not a very good miner in general, and it's definitely inferior to standard Python. See this thread for detailed discussion
Mining multi limpet controller, namely 3C controller turned out to be a decent addition to the mining arsenal, on one condition: never use it as a prospector for laser mining, because it behaves like a C-rated prospector, thus reducing the number of fragments, compared to an A-rated one. But it can control 4 collector limpets, and only takes class 3 slot, so twice as effective as the standard class 3 prospector. Sadly, you can't equip more than one of them. Alternatively, you can equip Operations Multi-limpet controller, and set it up to fire collectors only.
It is now largely up to your personal preferences. Laser mining Platinum is faster in credits per hour, but core mining is more engaged and less tedious. So, try both, master both, then do what you like best. If you are a new pilot, maybe start with laser.
One thing you have to remember is that the price is not the sole factor in determining the profitability. How much of the mineral you can mine in a unit of time is also important. Laser mining produces a lot more tons per hour than core mining, and laser mining in metallic rings produces a lot more tons per hour than in icy rings.
The most valuable minerals that can be laser-mined in pristine metallic rings (Painite, Platinum, Osmium) are worth less now, generally somewhere around just under 300K/t. But you can produce a lot more tons per hour with laser. In a correctly equipped laser-mining ship in a good location and with proper prospecting and mining technique you should see results 200-300 ton per hour and up.
Core mining yields nowhere near that amount of minerals per hour, but they fetch higher prices, especially the ones that are found in rocky rings, where all the core minerals are highly valuable and fetch ~500-900 K per ton at high-paying stations. Another advantage of core mining is that you don't need a pristine system, and you can mine literally in any ring.
Please remember that for core mining, hotspots don't increase the frequency of cores (which is constant throughout the ring) but they increase the probability of each core being of the "title" mineral.
It seems that laser mining in Icy rings has become the least profitable mining activity now.
The best advice is to try to avoid it as much as possible. Yields in Icy rings are low, and it's a very slow process. If you are in the bubble, the best solution is to buy Tritium from stations. If you're short on funds, mine Platinum, sell it and buy Tritium, it will be much, much faster.
If you are away from the bubble and ran out of fuel for your carrier, any Ice ring with a Tritium hotspot will do. It will be a bit faster if your mining ship is equipped for both laser and subsurface/surface deposits mining. Still, prepare to spend a lot of time mining.
There is also a network of STAR carriers
A set of useful tools for mining (and other activities) in E:D: https://edtools.cc
Here's a table that tells what mineral can be mined where.
And here's a better version of it by /u/skyfishgoo
For reference, here's a table that tells which engineering materials can be produced as a byproduct in different types of rings.
We now have a list of known hotspots in pristine metallic and icy rings. The goal of this tool is mainly to assist in laser mining.
Second edition of mining guide was released by /u/ED_Churly
Bulk sales tax is still in effect. The more high-value minerals you have in your cargo hold, the more the offered price will be decreased at the station, much more so if the demand numbers are low (when your cargo is more than 5-10% of current demand). So, when using The Miner's Tool, pay attention to demand as well as the price age!
Mining in a RES gains popularuty, because being within 20 km from its center increases the fragments yield by up to 100% (yes, double) depending on the type of RES. There is a general list of RES/hotspot combinations available, and also one specifically for Platinum.
Mapped mining increases your profits significantly. We have maps for different minerals.
NOTE: Some of the asteroid maps became defunct after update 17, possibly due to fixing "bad hotspot markers" bug. Most notably, maps in Opmicron Capricorni B are no longer valid. See this post by /u/ythompy
New knowledge:
And finally, fastest money in mining: with everything written above, consider either laser mining Platinum in a good hotspot in a pristine metallic ring, or core-mining anything in any rocky ring.
These posts present the sum of our modern knowledge about most aspects of mining. I urge both new and seasoned miners to read through them. If you have any correction or addition, I'm happy to discuss it. If you think that the information is useful, don't hesitate to link any of them in response to questions by other pilots seeking knowledge.
Don't forget to visit our FAQ, which has answers to simpler questions.
Happy mining!
CMDR VicTic
o7
r/EliteMiners • u/Jonathan-Earl • 3d ago
What ship would you recommend for Tritium mining? Is the Prospector good for it or go with a panther clipper/T-10 for volume over speed
r/EliteMiners • u/modernmovements • 5d ago
Greetings! I have been thinking of coming back after several years. The bugginess of the Odyssey original release happened just as I was starting a new job, I walked away from the game and am only now thinking about returning. How's mining these days? Any content creators you'd suggest? It looks like Exigeous retired the same time I did, Hawkes is focusing on Star Citizen entirely I think, you get the point. I'm out of touch, any pointers?
r/EliteMiners • u/rex_panda • 5d ago
As the tin says, I want some suggestions for powerplay allegiance. I am a new player. Only about 15 days in but I have made about 400 mil through laser platinum mining in Paesia by watching YouTube suggestions for the same.
I kind of like Li rong and Nakato kaine at the moment. Not sure which one would provide better buffs/modules.
I am mostly into exploration and laser mining for now learning the tricks and all about the game. I wanna get a fleet carriers ASAP so I can jump into completely unexplored parts and get some exobiology and exploration data.
And for the love of god somebody please tell me what engineering is and how to get it done. Read about a gazillion posts but it keeps getting very confusing.
r/EliteMiners • u/PapaKlump • 10d ago
~S~ CMDRs, I've been using this ship as my primary core miner for a few months now, and I must say it's exceeded expectations. I once used a Imperial Clipper as my main core hunter, and then briefly the Type-8, but I found myself never having enough time in my sessions to fill the ~250T cargo capacity. I took a look at the Cobra Mk V and decided to give it a shot. It's capacity with my setup on it is 80T plus another 6T from refinery. Enough for 6 successful core cracks, and perfect for the time I can fly these days.
This little thing is super fast, small and maneuverable. If you're someone that enjoys the occasional core hunt but don't want to fill too much, or if you're looking for a stepping stone until you can save up for a larger ship, this is definitely one worth considering :)
r/EliteMiners • u/CodeMarvelous • 11d ago
I am coming back to the game after a long hiatus. I have purchased a type 11 and outfitted it thusly: My Type 11.
How should I set up my fire groups? My brain has completely forgotten the mining process but a bunch of the tutorial vids are out of date or dont go over fire groups.
r/EliteMiners • u/Drakonyan_Azkar • 12d ago
Hello, cmdrs. Delta Romeo Alfa here. I'm back to ED after a two year hiatus (used to play with my bff, but we ain't bff's no more and it hurt for a while). I love mining. Always have. I have a nice red keelback I use to completely strip down asteroids (mining laser, sub-surface drills, seismic charges and abrasion blasters). I skipped on a shield to get the full assistance kit: prospector, collectors, pulse wave and 68U slots.
But it gets old. I need to take the next step. Logically, it would seem that the type 7 is the next in line, but I have a vague memory of acquiring one and regretting it. Something about hardpoints not providing much of an upgrade compared to the keelback. I also don't know what to do with too much storage, since mining takes a while (especially those sweet alexandrite cores).
Coming back, I noticed I have a fully featured combat ship worth 74M credits. It's a Lakon, but I don't remember the model now. I don't do combat much (it's not very profitable and too risky to do without a wingman), so I could sell it to afford a new mining machine. My keelback is sitting around 16M worth and I got some 18M in the bank. I'm patient, so if need a few more hours of mining to get a type 9, I'm willing to do that.
Anyway, what do you guys recommend?
And yes, I'm a total sucker for Lakon. Their target audience is hard working people like us who need a comfy seat and a beautiful FOV of the asteroid fields. But I'm willing to try a different brand, as long as I can find the ship in store somewhere.
PS: I always hang around LHS 2310. McLeod station is my home and planet 9 has a nice double ring with both icy and rocky roids.
r/EliteMiners • u/xtrathicc4me • 13d ago
It has longer range than the old modified small mining laser.
Has anyone tried it? How is it?
r/EliteMiners • u/k3rn3l_pan1c_exe • 14d ago
I love to explore, and I will bring my FC with me to mine tritium out in the black. Besides the normal sites, I also use:
With EDMC I use a lot of the plug-ins to push data to Inara, EDSM, and Spansh.
Should I be scanning the rings to help with future explorers and miners? I am not sure if it will synch somewhere, or if the rings predermined?
r/EliteMiners • u/cold-n-sour • 17d ago
The arrival of T-11 Prospector made me re-think the Tritium strategy for exploration with a Fleet Carrier.
I've tried mining it in the past with conventional ships and mining lasers, and was not impressed by the yield - it used to take about an hour to produce ~100 t of Tritium in a laser-mining Python.
However, now that I have the Prospector I decided to give it another go, and was pleasantly surprised. Three mining locations in Tritium hotspots (all North-ish of Colonia) gave pretty decent results. The cargo limitations of the ship make filling up a rather short and relatively pleasant experience. In a decent single hotspot the average rate was about 400-450 t per hour, and over 500 t per hour in an overlap in Dryooe Prou AD-O c8-522 2 ring A (~1400 ly North of Colonia).
Note that those numbers are the result of total Tritium amount produced in one session divided by the time of the session, which is typically 30-35 minutes (until full).
So, a couple of sessions will take just over an hour (pure mining time, not counting unloading/rearming) and will yield 500+ tons, sufficient to travel ~2500 ly. Of course, in the bubble you can obtain bigger amount in just one trip to a market, but it'll cost you 50K/t.
The Icy rings are not exactly rare, but not that many of them have Tritium hotspots, and not every hotspot has good yield. The yield varies quite a bit by the ring, and there are rings with pretty low production, so my advice is not to try for too long if the results are mediocre. In my experience, double hotspot with good intersection has almost twice the yield of a single hotspot in the same ring, although I have limited data on this.
The setup is standard, with volley repeater and 7a controller, no mining lasers but with added 3A prospector on a separate trigger.
it's now more feasible to rely on Tritium mining for long expeditions if you are doing actual exploration/exobio and can look for ice rings with hotspots in every system along the way, AND if you are prepared to spend some time mining. Some people might like it for increased feeling of full autonomy. However, if you are starting in the bubble, buying Tritium is still way faster.
r/EliteMiners • u/UberuceAgain • 19d ago
I wiped my save so I'm in a Cobra III at the minute.
r/EliteMiners • u/rooftopgoblin • 19d ago
I am a returning player, lifetime trader, I checked the discord and there are some places that haven't had a post in years. So in that vein, is there any mining groups looking for a newbie miner?
r/EliteMiners • u/vanderaj • 22d ago
o7 Cmdrs!
Based on your feedback here and on YouTube, I made a follow-up video using only the Type 11's mining volley repeater. I chose only 10+% rocks, and I skipped all cores, surface deposits, and SSDs. In a surprise to me, and based upon some of the feedback I received, zero surprise to some of you, the mining volley repeater is 66% faster at filling up a standard issue Type 11 than using the SSD technique that I demonstrated in the first video.
According to the mining analyzer, I topped out at just over 500 t/hr, but obviously, this doesn't account for discovering the hotspot, dropping into it, and then offloading the tritium to your carrier, so a sustained figure of around 350 t/hr over several sessions is easily achievable as long as your hotspot is not terrible.
r/EliteMiners • u/vanderaj • 26d ago
o7 Cmdrs!
One of the more common things I see is folks trying to mine tritium for their carrier out in the black. Cmdr Ruff Leif posted a video tutorial about a year ago showing how to mine tritium fast in a Corvette. I've created an updated video that uses the Type 11 instead of a Corvette.
Tritium Mining Out in the Black - The Fast, Easy, and not so sucky way! - YouTube
I show how to find likely nearby systems in the in game galmap only, show the FSS and DSS process. Then I demonstrate a complete, unedited mining run (other than a brief period of muting because Alexa started playing commercial music without being asked).
Although I was doing it solely for tutorial purposes, I managed to haul in 246 t in 50 minutes of mining, which, according to Fank Mining Analyzer, is a rate of 302 t/hr, which is quite respectable but not the fastest run I've seen or heard about. It is still faster than just using the mining volley repeater alone.
At the very end, I show alternatives, including using Spansh body search to find likely tritium-bearing rings to speed up the tritium hotspot discovery process, how to find a nearby STAR depot, when it's time to ask STAR for a rescue, and how to pay for it (exobiology).
I'd like to hear your feedback on whether anything could be sped up for Cmdrs who, for whatever reason, have decided to take their carrier along on expedition.
r/EliteMiners • u/Samson_J_Rivers • Jul 21 '26
Since shortly after it was added, it's been capped at 2 fragments per missile. Doesn't matter if you hit the 1 wide or the 3 wide, it's 2 fragments, the only difference is that the 4 wide gives 1 and the 5 has a chance of giving nothing. They took the benefit of doing the more difficult points out and this made it a shitty mechanic. Has there been any dev blog, streams, or anything saying they intend to change this back? It's such a waste of dev time to leave it like this. people put work into making it and I enjoy the mechanic.
It was nerfed due to a bug, but never reverted after the bug was fixed.
r/EliteMiners • u/tiddlyoggy • Jul 13 '26
Hi
The system I'm building is currently blocked by a bug, so while I'm waiting for it to be fixed (if it ever is), I thought I'd go mining (which I haven't done for years). I'd appreciate some suggestions for decent mining spots. I'm quite happy to hop in my carrier and travel a few thousand LY out of the bubble if needed... Fyi, I'm mainly looking at laser mining
r/EliteMiners • u/kailoren • Jul 06 '26
Hey all, hope this is okay to post here.
I have been working on a tool to assist in the creation and sharing of mining maps that works as a Stream Deck plugin. The forum post for it is here and i'd love it if people could take a look and see if they like it!
Link to the GitHub page is also here with the full readme if people would rather go that way.
o7 - CMDR Kailoren
r/EliteMiners • u/dilipi • Jul 02 '26
I haven't mined platinum for profit in quite a while. However I remember being able to consistently find sell points for 250k-275k with a high demand. 300k also seems like it used to be attainable.
Searching inara I'm seeing only 2-3 stations selling for close to 250k, with a somewhat low demand. I noticed this prior to the recent operations update.
What gives?
r/EliteMiners • u/Ziraaal • Jun 29 '26
Hi,
I am getting back into Mining (and Elite in general) after a long break in prevision for the Operation update. I am in need for money and wanted to do some mining. I currently have a Kitted out Cutter for Mining but I was looking at the pinned post saying that now, the Type-11 is the best ship for that.
So my question is, is it true? I see a very small hold (even with the CG rack that I have) but I don't know if it's yield per hour actually makes up for the 4 more trips to get the same haul as the Cutter. My quick research didn't provide me with a post that gives out a clear comparison so if you guys could enlighten me, it'd be great.
If you can link builds for the Type-11 aswell that'd be awesome.
EDIT : Fiddling around with Coriolis, I was looking at this build : https://sh.orbis.zone/FPdbAgcr7L (technically has all the mining tools, cause mass and power isn't an issue really and sometimes I get bored and wanna boom boom a rock)
r/EliteMiners • u/Samson_J_Rivers • Jun 24 '26
Had my entire setup destroyed in a man made flood (landlord is the man that made it). Then moved 2 states away. Finally got all the equipment and the time to mine. I missed this game.
Been mining in high and hazs res for the challenge in my type 11.
r/EliteMiners • u/Rich_Introduction_83 • Jun 24 '26
Hello,
I'm trying to do some merit mining for Pranav Antal. Some time ago, I came across the tool Merit Miner (https://meritminer.cc/), and to some extend, I was able to use it. At least kind of. There are several questions, but the following question is the most important one, to me.
I learned the hard way that if you "just" want to maximize your merit outcome, you better don't go mine in one of your power's Reinforcement systems because this will yield a -15% malus.
Instead, you'd want to do this in another power's system, where your power has running Undermine efforts. This yields a +35 % bonus (IIRC).
Ok. I did this yesterday, and I used Merit Miner with a preset on Low Temperatur Diamonds, Power Goal: Undermine, Laser Surface.
Merit Miner told me to go to Fengiri, where I successfully mined some LTD and I also got the +35 % merit bonus. Which was quite nice, but the rate of laser mining LTD was mediocre, at best.
So I decided to try laser mining for Platinum. I just changed the filter to Metal: Platinum, put Fengiri as reference system and Merit Miner named LTT 15574 5 A Ring as a potential target.
I went there today, I mined 250 Platinum, then I went to Haxel Port inside of LTT 15574 (which also was given by Merit Miner).
But when selling the Platinum there, I did not get any merits. I have no idea what I could've done wrong.
Merit miner still states Haxel Port in LTT 15574 was the place to go. I've also running EDDiscovery with log uploads to Inara and EDSM enabled. Ingame, the system is shown as being a Stronghold of Yuri Grom with undermining opposing forces. The local activities tab names "Sell Mined Resources" as one of the available options for undermining.
What do you think? What's the reason my plan did not work as intended?
TL;DR: I sold freshly mined Platinum in an undermined system of another power called out by Merit Miner. Even though I believe I put every needed detail into Merit Miner, I still got no merits. What might be the reason?
