Mining Barges

This page should be updated due to game changes.
Reason: Review for December 2021, Version 19.11 changes (e.g. Ship changes, Yield information needs to be looked at. Also the part about tank in the #Retriever section needs to be looked at. The distribution over shield and armor differs, but the total HP value is the same.)

See also: ORE Basic Ship and Skill Overview

Mining barges are the next step up from the Venture, with much higher mining yields, larger mining holds and/or a stronger tank. Also, in contrast to the Venture, the mining barges can fit strip miners (with much higher yield than normal mining modules) and ice miners. There are three mining barges, each optimized for a different role: The Procurer has a strong tank, the Covetor a high mining yield, and the Retriever a large mining hold.

A long, long time ago...
The Procurer used to only have 1 high slot, while the Coveter would have 3. The Retriever still held 2 high slots. This was changed during the September 13th update in 2016, which overhauled the mining barges/exhumers.

Procurer

The Procurer is the toughest of the three mining barges, achieving battlecruiser-level EHP even with inexpensive modules. Its mining hold is 83% larger than a Covetor's (but about 60% of the size of a Retriever's) and can fit about 15 minutes' worth of mined ore. The Procurer's base mining yield is the the same as the Retriever's (and about 10-20% lower than a Covetor's), making it an excellent ship for mining in the lower-security (0.6 or 0.5) areas of high security space.

≡ Mining Barge: INFORMATION

RELATED UNI-WIKI REFERENCES EVE Online Ships Overview EXTERNAL LINKS Procurer on zKillboard Procurer on EVE Workbench Procurer on Janice Procurer on EVE Ref

Procurer fittings 2 highs 0 launchers 0 turrets 3 mediums 3 lows drones & cargo 100 m³ drones 50 Mbit/sec b/w 350 m³ cargo defense 6,000 HP 0 20 40 50 5,000 HP 60 35 25 10 target & nav 60 km tgt. range 200 m sig. radius 100 m/sec max. velocity S H I P   B O N U S E S Mining Barge bonuses (per skill level): 6% bonus to ship shield hitpoints 2% bonus to Strip Miner Yield 2% reduction in Ice Harvester Duration 2% reduction in Gas Harvester Duration Role Bonus: 50% bonus to drone damage and hitpoints The mining barge was designed by ORE to facilitate advancing the mining profession to a whole new level. Each barge was created to excel at a specific function, the Procurer's being durability and self-defense. Mining barges are equipped with electronic subsystems specifically designed to accommodate Strip Mining and Ice Harvesting modules.

Covetor

The Covetor has the greatest mining yield (about 10-20% more than a Retriever or a Procurer) out of the T1 mining barges, but has the smallest Mining hold (it holds only about 5-8 minutes' worth of mined ore) and the least tank. As a result, you need support from another pilot (either flying a hauler or an Orca) to be effective at your role, as you waste the time saved mining by hauling the ore back to a station.

As Covetors are extremely easy to destroy in suicide gank attacks, using this ship without protection (or the possibility of storing it in an Orca's Ship Maintenance Bay when attacked) is not recommended.

≡ Mining Barge: INFORMATION

RELATED UNI-WIKI REFERENCES EVE Online Ships Overview EXTERNAL LINKS Covetor on zKillboard Covetor on EVE Workbench Covetor on Janice Covetor on EVE Ref

Covetor fittings 2 highs 0 launchers 0 turrets 2 mediums 3 lows drones & cargo 50 m³ drones 50 Mbit/sec b/w 350 m³ cargo defense 3,000 HP 0 20 40 50 2,000 HP 60 35 25 10 target & nav 40 km tgt. range 200 m sig. radius 150 m/sec max. velocity S H I P   B O N U S E S Mining Barge bonuses (per skill level): 3% bonus to Strip Miner yield 3% reduction Ice and Gas Harvester duration 6% bonus to Strip Miner and Ice Harvester range Role Bonus: 30% reduction in Ice and Gas Harvester duration 25% reduction in Strip Miner duration and activation cost. The mining barge was designed by ORE to facilitate advancing the mining profession to a new level. Each barge was created to excel at a specific function, the Covetor's being mining yield. This additional yield comes at a price, as the Covetor has weaker defenses and a smaller ore bay than the other mining barges. Mining barges are equipped with electronic subsystems specifically designed to accommodate Strip Mining and Ice Harvesting modules.

Retriever

The Retriever has the largest mining hold out of the T1 mining barges (34,375 m³ at Mining Barge V, enough for almost half an hour's worth of mined ore), but has only the same base yield as the Procurer. If you are mining without support in higher-security areas (0.7 and above), the Retriever is a good ship to use, as its middling yield (about 10-20% lower than a Covetor) is more than compensated by its vast ore bay, reducing the number of ore drop-off runs that need to be made.

However, its tank, while about 40% stronger than a Covetor's, remains very weak and vulnerable to suicide ganking, therefore it may be worth flying a Procurer if you're worried about losing your ship to suicide gankers (the downside being that you will need to return to a station about twice as often to empty your mining hold).

≡ Mining Barge: INFORMATION

RELATED UNI-WIKI REFERENCES EVE Online Ships Overview EXTERNAL LINKS Retriever on zKillboard Retriever on EVE Workbench Retriever on Janice Retriever on EVE Ref

Retriever fittings 2 highs 0 launchers 0 turrets 2 mediums 3 lows drones & cargo 50 m³ drones 50 Mbit/sec b/w 450 m³ cargo defense 4,000 HP 0 20 40 50 3,000 HP 60 35 25 10 target & nav 40.00 km tgt. range 200 m sig. radius 125 m/sec max. velocity S H I P   B O N U S E S Mining Barge bonuses (per skill level): 3% bonus to Strip Miner yield 2% reduction in Ice and Gas Harvester duration 5% bonus to ship ore hold capacity Role Bonus: 10% bonus in Strip Miner yield 12.5% reduction in Ice and Gas Harvester duration The mining barge was designed by ORE to facilitate advancing the mining profession to a new level. Each barge was created to excel at a specific function, the Retriever's being storage. A massive ore hold allows the Retriever to operate for extended periods without requiring as much support as other barges. Mining barges are equipped with electronic subsystems specifically designed to accommodate Strip Mining and Ice Harvesting modules.