This is a basic mining guide for those looking to make a few (or many) ISK to fund their own intrests.
This guide is meant to teach the techniques for solo and group mining as well as different methods of selling the resources gathered. This guide only covers mining that can be done in high security space.
This guide does not cover Ice mining which I have no experience in yet except to say it requires a tremendous amount of cargo space per chunk and so would take a lot of hauling.
Resources
There are 4 basic Ore types found in the high security regions of EVE space. These are Veldspar, Scordite, Plagiaclaise and Omber.
Veldspar Is the most common ore found in every asteroid belt. Veldspar refines into a single mineral. Tritanium. Which is the most commonly used material in production of crafted goods.
Concetrated Veldspar provides 5% more yield when refined.
Dense Veldspar provides 10% more yield when refined.
An average Veldspar asteroid will have anywhere from 50k-150k units or more.
Scordite Is the next most common ore found in high sec. It contains some Tritanium and also some Pyerite.
Condensed Scordite provides 5% more yield when refined.
Dense Scordite provides 10% more yield when refined.
An average Scordite asteroid will have anywhere from 10k-30k units or more.
Plagiaclaise Is generally considered too massive (Takes up too much room in your hold) for the amount of ore you get. But it is the only source of Mexallon in High sec space. It also contains a good amount of Tritanium and Pyerite minerals.
Azure Plagiaclaise provides 5% more yield when refined.
Rich Plagiaclaise provides 10% more yield when refined.
An average Plagiaclaise asteroid will have anywhere from 10k-35k units or more.
Omber Is the rarest Ore in high sec space, but is by far the most profitable. It's also the only source of Isogen in high sec space. It also contains a fair amount of Tritanium and Pyerite.
Silvery Omber provides 5% more yield when refined.
Golden Omber provides 10% more yield when refined.
An average Omber asteroid will have anywhere from 1k-5k units or more.
Minerals
High security space ores provide 4 basic minerals used in construction. Tritanium, Pyerite, Mexallon and Isogen.
Tritanium is by far the most common and most used mineral. It will typically sell for 1IPU (ISK per unit) to 2IPU.
Pyerite is less common, but will generally sell for around 4IPU.
Mexallon is only found in Plagiaclaise, but can be sold at many stations for 16IPU
Isogen is only found in Omber, but will easily sell for 90-110IPU in most systems.
The dangers
There is really only one major danger in high sec space. Rats (NPC pirates there to kill you cause they didn't take thier medication today.)
Rats only enter asteroid belts in systems with .8 security or lower. The .9 and 1.0 systems do not get them and are generally considered "safe" for AFK mining. (AFK mining is rigging a haulers single high slot with a mining laser and picking a big asteroid to mine while you are AFK. Tho relativly safe, there is allways the remote chance of a suicide player killing you and then themselves getting killed by CONCORD. Not at all common, but possible. So AFK with caution.)
Because haulers can only have a single mining laser, it literally takes hours to fill thier holds. So this activity is best done when you are present to hear trouble (Like a player attacking you or your asteroid being depleted) but too busy doing other things to play activly at the keys.
The rats get more dangerous as you get lower in security rating with .5 space yielding the most dangerous rats in High sec space. ( .4 and lower is low sec space and will generally get you killed since other players can attack you in belts there without reprisal.) So the lower you go, the more protection you need.
Making a profit
Tho it may be tempting to refine ore yourself, until you actually have advanced refining skills it is generally more profitable to sell the unrefined ore.
Transporting the ore to a station with the best prices is a weighed option best left up to the individual. The time invested in transporting a great deal of ore might be worth it for a player if they have the time and the price difference is significant. For others it may be more valuable to sell for less near by and spend the extra time mining more ore.
Ore takes up around 10 times the space as minerals on average. So once you have the refining skills to make refining effecient, transporting more valuable materials becomes easier and thus more profitable.
For those who mine a great deal of ore and do not wish to sell it localy, transport it or refine it, there is allways the advanced selling option that allows you to place it up for sale on the market at a price you set. You are limited in the number of orders you may place for sale so if you plan to have many then you may wish to invest in the
Trading skill to allow you more orders at once.
The mining methodology
Mining consists of three basic activities.
1.Mining the ore.
2.Protecting yourself from Rats (NPC Pirates determined to ruin your day)
3.Transporting the Ore back to a station.
There are also 2 basic mining operation types.
Solo and Group.
Obviously group mining is more effecient, but a group is not allways available.
Solo mining involves doing it all yourself. You need to have a ship that can handle any rats as well as equip mining lasers for getting the ore from asteroids. You will also need a second ship with a large cargo capacity for hauling the ore back to the station. Unfortunatly there are no ships that are both good for mining and good for hauling.
The best method for mining effectivly is mining into containers. Either secure or jetcans. Then hauling from those containers back to a station. You just need enough cargo space in your mining ship to hold the ore you mine immediatly then transfer it to the container you are using to store the ore before you haul it away.
To use a container you must be within 1500m of it. This limits the range you can mine with each container. Even the most basic mining lasers can typically reach 10km. So a container near enough to a belt can allow a single miner to reach many asteroids.
Jetcans are created when cargo is ejected from a ship either on purpse or because it's blown to smithereens. You see these in your overview as "cargo containers". But they have a mining value as well. They can hold up to 27,500m3 of cargo. You can rename a cargo container you create when you jettison cargo into space.
Warning Jetcans are accessible by anyone. So using one involves some risk. Some one can come along and take items from your jetcan. Jetcans also only last 2 hours and 15 minutes from the time of their creation. SO care must be taken in their use.
Secure containers are smaller jetcans that can be placed in space and anchored in place. They can be set with a password to keep ore theives out and also be renamed. Giant secure containers take up 3000m3 in your hold, but can themselves hold 3900m3 making them sort of like cargo extenders if you keep them in the hold of your hauler.
To anchor a secure container in space you will need the first box in the
Anchoring skill.
Anchored containers will stay where you place them until you pick them up again. Secure containers may not be placed in space within 5km of another object in space. So you need to spread them out a bit if you plan to place several in a belt.
A giant secure container will generally cost you about 550,000 ISK.
Group mining is just like solo mining except the resposibilities are split up. You have some people mining and other hauling the ore away and might even have people dedicated to blocking the rats and cleaning up the lootcans they drop.
The ships & equipment
The ships and the equipment you use for mining make a world of difference. Depending on the style of mining you intend to take part in, you will need to outfit your ship(s) differently.
Mining loadouts are going to require mining lasers. This requires the mining skill. More skill in mining allows you to use better lasers with higher yields and better range. The more advanced mining lasers like strip miners and deep core miners require you to get into the astrogeology skill which also increases the yield of your lasers.
Ships that will be doing the mining will need protection. Either self provided or provided by another player. Some players also like drones for this purpose, tho there are others who also like to use mining drones to increase thier yield. Either way drones require investment in more skills.
The mining ships do not need much in the way of cargo capacity, but they do need enough to hold at the very least a single yield from a single laser so they can transfer that yield to the container they are mining into. More cargo capacity on the mining ships means less frequent mouse clicking to transfer the ore from the hold to the container.
Shield boosters and armor repairers are allways a good idea on any ship and a mining ship is no exception. Protect yourself with equipment that goes in the medium and low slots even if you use all your high slots to equip mining lasers.
If you have the space in the medium slots, a survey scanner is also a good option. This allows you to pick out the asteroids that hold more ore.
Haulers most important asset is cargo capacity. Industrial ships are the best suited noobie ships for this. They will require your races industrial ship skill to fly, but are well worth the investment. They typically have a single high power slot best used to equip a defensive weapon to help fend off rats in the case they are not well protected by other players. The low power slots are best suited for cargo extenders to give you more cargo space. Using Giant secure containers in your hold will also give you an extra 900m3 space for each one you can fit. After Burners are almost a must for an industrial ship as they are sssssslowwwwwww. Shield boosters can't hurt either if you have the power and CPU for it.
Blockers are really brute force there to kill rats and clean up loot cans. If you are running blocker duty for a mining op then rig your ship for bloody combat. If it's red then it's threatening your mining ships and haulers so chase it down and kill it.
Then clean up the loot cans and dump the loot in one of the mining containers for the haulers to take away.
Mining Lasers are the methos in which ore is extracted from asteroids. Advancing in the
Mining skill will allow you to use the basic mining lasers, mining laser2s and the basic strip mining lasers. Aquiring the
Astrogeology skill will also allow you to get better strip mining lasers and deep core lasers.
Note: Strip mining lasers use up tremendous amounts of ship resources to operate and are really only suited for mounting on a
Mining Barge which will require you to also gain the
Mining Barge ship skill.
Cargo Expanders are a must for any hauler. They go in the low power slots and extend the shp's cargo capacity. They also slow the ship down a bit.
Afterburners, also known as AB, are almost as essential to a hauler as cargo expanders. Afterburners come in handy for boosting the speed of the ship to get to their destination in short order. Most Haulers can mount a decent weapon and still have resources left to mount a shield booster and an Afterburner.
Shield boosters are for regenerating your shields. They drain your capacitor and replenish the ships first line of defense. Shield boosters are a great idea for any ship and standard equipment on most.
However you choose to mine, whatever you choose to mine, you can make money. Just be careful not to get blown up.
-LA
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