Mining: Difference between revisions

To quickly get into mining, all Eve University members are encouraged to take advantage, at no cost, of the [[Mining Loaner Fleet|mining loaner fleet]] program. The University will [[The Skillbook Program|provide the skillbook]] for you! All miners are encouraged to join the E-Uni Mining Ops mailing list and you will receive an email when a fleet commander has organized a mining op. Many miners in EVE University have come together and organized the [[Amarr Mining Campus]] where newer players are taught the basics of solo and fleet mining. It is highly encouraged that newer players interested in mining contact an AMC officer. All E-UNI members are invited and the campus has been active since March 2012. Also, ask about the campus specific mailing list when you arrive at the location.

* low entry cost - The dedicated mining frigate [[Venture]] is provided free as a mission reward from Career Agent - Industry mission 2. The dedicated skill, Mining Frigate, for commanding the Venture requires only 15 minutes of training time.

* relatively low risk - It is usually very safe to mine ''only in highsec''.

* low level of involvement needed - in most scenarios, miners only need to be active 5 seconds for every 3 minutes (to target new asteroids) and an extra 1 minute for every 30 minutes (to unload the full cargo of mined ore in station).  

* guaranteed income - mining products are ALWAYS in high demand because ships and structures which were blown up have to be replaced, and replacing ships and structures need materials.

* skill intensive - despite the low entry cost, it takes a lot of training time to become an efficient miner.   

* nontransferable skills - mining skills are useful only for mining.  

* questionable fun factor - the amount of fun that is involved in mining is usually very low for most people. People in EVE tend to find more fun in blowing up ships or being blown up.

* income ceiling - it is highly improbable to earn much more than 10m per hour as a high sec miner while other professions can be much more lucrative.

Before mining, it is best advised that players determine what is the most profitable way to mine. This involves determining what asteroids to mine, where to find these asteroids, which ships (and skills) are best suited and optimized to mine and (in most cases) how best to haul the ore to a [[Refining|refining]] station and then to the market. All miners should attempt to maximize their efficiency (and therefore their profitability) which is typically measured by the amount of m3 mined in a cycle of a mining laser. For example Veldspar is the most common and cheapest ore in EVE and has a volume of .1m3, Scordite is the next most common ore but has a volume of .15m3. Therefore, for every cycle, 3/2 more Veldspar is mined than Scordite. To be more profitable Scordite's market price must be in turn 3/2 greater than Veldspar. Since the market is player driven ore and mineral prices are ever changing, hence miners should always check the market for the most efficient ore/mineral to mine for.  

A good site that will help you determine the most profitable ores is [http://eve.grismar.net/ore/ Grismar's Ore Chart]. Look up the market prices of the minerals from your console, and input them in the top row. Hit Apply, and you'll see which ore will give you the most ISK per m3. There are a few sites that will do this for you - [http://gunfleet.org/igb/mining.php This IGB site] for example. [[Determine which ore to mine for most profit|This page]] explains how to use the second site. Remember to doublecheck the prices that any automated tools give you - they will often use regional averages to determine mineral prices, and if you plan to sell your goods at a specific station or hub then your priorities might come out differently.  

 

Asteroid belts can be found in most systems either on the overview window or by right clicking and using the Asteroid Belt section([http://www.ombeve.co.uk/ Ombey's 2D Maps] contains information on the number of asteroid belts in a system). Each asteroid belt has several properties: what asteroids compose the asteroid belt, what asteroids are present and the overall quantity and quality of the asteroids. In empire space there are six asteroids: Veldspar, Scordite, Pyroxeres, Plagioclase, Omber and Kernite. However only a subset of these six asteroids can be found any system depending on which faction controls the region. Low-sec and 0.0 space each have their own respective set of asteroids (which is compounded, so low-sec space contains all the empire space asteroids and 0.0 space contains both empire and low-sec asteroids). Keep in mind that asteroids only spawn after downtime so there will be belts that are devoid of a certain asteroid (or any asteroid in some cases) because other miners have already mined it out.  

Another important factor is the size of the asteroids in a belt: smaller asteroids will require more laser management and cause more wasted laser cycles. Using a survey scanner to scout belts is highly recommended; the difference between a belt freshly respawned after downtime and one that hasn't been touched in a few days is very noticable. Missions also often yield significant asteroid belts. Keep an eye out for those, and you may reap in more ore than a couple of belts combined.  

Hint: Set your overview to "default mining" (click the triangle next to overview -> load -> mining) to see asteroids other than veldspar. (Note that not all ores and other harvestable items will not be shown by using the default mining set.)  

 

The majority of miners do not need to use complicated maths. There are usually only 3 or 4 ore types in the asteroid belts in your area and if simply mining for cash it is easy to get a rough idea as to which ore is best by simply mining one ore type until you fill your hold and check the value of the rocks before you empty your hold. Repeat with a different ore type and you will quickly work out which ore type is best to mine in your area. If you would rather challenge your brain, then you can read this: [[More Mining Maths]]

There are three types of ships used in mining: a mining ship, a hauler and a mining support ship.  

*With the arrival of the new Venture mining frigate and the change of the old racial mining frigates to serve as combat ships, the best option for a new miner is to train into the Venture. A new player can fly it with only minutes of training. It's a mini mining barge with a substantial ore hold and about half the potential yield of a mining barge. After a weeks training miners should then step into mining barges, and after training mining barge to V plus some support skills, exhumers.

*A hauler's purpose is to take the ore that has been mined from a mining ship and transport it back to a refining station or to the market. [[Hauling]] is normally done in an industrial or a Freighter. Since the Retribution patch Freighters can access jetcans in space making them a viable alternative for mining setups.

*Finally, a mining support ship can either come in the form of a security detail against rats and players looking to steal ore or as a ship designed to provide mining efficiency bonuses. The ultimate mining support ships are the [[Orca]] and [[Rorqual]], of which only the [[Orca]] can enter high-security space and fit through normal stargates.

<br> More details can be found at [[Mining Ships]].