Mining

• Four ways to mine: Laser, Core, Subsurface, and new Surface Mining with the Rhino SRV.
• Best mainstream pick: laser mine Platinum in a Pristine Metallic ring hotspot. Not Metal-Rich. Not Rocky.
• Best core rings: Rocky. Monazite, Musgravite, Alexandrite, and Benitoite live there.
• Best time to money ratio for big engineered ships: laser mining inside a Hazardous RES, which boosts fragment yield.
• The Type-11 Prospector can do every kind of mining without a refit.
• The September 2, 2026 patch changed mining time, yield, density, and recharge rates. Old numbers may be off. ⚠️

Check the ring type in the system map before you fly in. It is the most common beginner mistake.

Galactic average prices from an October 2025 snapshot. Real sell prices swing hard. A Platinum crash can cut profit by 5 times. Always check Inara before selling. ⚠️

Why Platinum wins anyway: it is the easiest to find in high yields and you can fill a big hold fast. Core gems pay more per ton but take far longer per ton. Core miner tier list from one veteran: Musgravite, then Monazite, then Benitoite, then Alexandrite. Skip Low Temperature Diamond cores.

Overlaps: a double or triple overlap of the same hotspot means more high percentage rocks. One player reported 60% Platinum rocks at a double overlap. RES bonus: Resource Extraction Sites boost fragments per rock. Higher danger means a bigger boost. A mapped Hazardous RES gives the best time to money ratio, but only in a well defended "big 3" ship. Pirates show up.

1. 1Find a Platinum hotspot in a Pristine Metallic ring. Use the DSS on the ring, or a hotspot tool.
2. 2Buy limpets before you leave. You will forget. Everyone does.
3. 3Drop into the hotspot.
4. 4Fire a prospector limpet at every rock. It shows what is inside, and it also increases yield.
5. 5Mine only rocks with a high Platinum percentage. Skip the rest.
6. 6Put all pips to weapons while firing mining lasers.
7. 7Launch lots of collectors. Many players fill almost every free slot with collector controllers.
8. 8Refinery fills bins. Bins turn into cargo. Repeat until full.
9. 9Sell where price and demand are high.

Cores respawn after about 3 to 4 days. Dust clouds mean someone already cracked that rock. Hotspot does not mean guaranteed. It raises the odds. Bad luck streaks happen.

1. 1Go to a Pristine hotspot for the gem you want. Rocky rings are best.
2. 2Use the Pulse Wave Analyser. Rocks with cores light up bright yellow.
3. 3Prospect the bright ones. Look for "Motherlode" or "Core detected."
4. 4Find the fissures on the rock's surface.
5. 5Place seismic charges in the fissures. Match the charge strength to the rock.
6. 6Detonate. The core splits open.
7. 7Scoop the chunks with collectors.

• Surface deposits: shoot the glowing bits on a rock with an Abrasion Blaster. Scoop what falls.
• Buried deposits: hit them with Sub-surface Displacement Missiles. Time the detonation.
• Good as an add-on. Fit a laser, an abrasion blaster, and displacement missiles to your core miner and you can do everything in one trip.

Nobody has published reliable profit numbers yet. This card will be updated.

Type-11 engineering priority: Power Distributor first, then Power Plant. Bi-weave shields give more total shield over a long mining run. Great for "lithobraking," which means bouncing off rocks to stop.

• Fleet Carriers often park at popular mining spots and buy what you mine. No long, risky haul home.
• Otherwise, use Inara's commodity search. Check price, demand, pad size, and market age.
• Refinery and busy starter systems get flooded. Prices drop.
• Heading far? Store a big fuel scoop and Guardian FSD Booster before mining, then swap them back in for the trip.
• Pirates love full holds. Do not wander around with cargo.

• Mining missions often want Osmium and Praseodymium. One player reported missions paying up to 50M for small amounts. Keep some banked on a carrier.
• Wing Mining Missions pay big for large deliveries. PTN runs organized ones.
• Tritium fuels Fleet Carriers. Carrier owners pay well for it. Found in Icy rings.
• Powerplay: mining in a Power's systems earns merits. Module 12.

• Metallic vs. Metal-Rich. Laser Platinum only lives in Metallic rings.
• Pick Pristine reserves. Depleted rings have far fewer good rocks.
• Buy limpets. Every. Single. Time.
• A hotspot is not a guarantee. It just raises the odds.
• Prices crash. Never trust an old price. Check before you haul.
• Mining lasers make you a poor fighter. Carry shields and run from trouble.