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'''Ice Mining''' is the process of mining ice | '''Ice Mining''' is the process of mining ice fields (commonly called "ice belts"). This mined ice can then [[refining|refined]] and used to fuel capital ship [[jump drive]]s, manufacture fuel for [[POS|player-owned starbases (POS)]], and light [[cyno|cynosural fields]]. Ice mining can only be done with specialized modules (ice miners) which can only be fit to [[ORE Basic Ship and Skill Guide|Mining Barges and Exhumers]]. Unlike [[Mining|ore mining]], ice miners mine one block of ice (with a volume of 1000 m<sup>3</sup>) per cycle; as it's not possible to increase this yield, the only way to mine ice more efficiently is to decrease the ice miners' cycle times. | ||
Note: the [[Eve_Online_Expansions#Odyssey|Odyssey expansion]] (June 2013) changed ice mining considerably. Before the expansion, ice belts were permanent features in a system, with thousands of ice asteroids spread over hundreds of kilometers. This was changed to much smaller (10-20 ice asteroids each with 50-200 units of ice) dynamic belts which disappear once mined out, and then respawn four hours later. | Note: the [[Eve_Online_Expansions#Odyssey|Odyssey expansion]] (June 2013) changed ice mining considerably. Before the expansion, ice belts were permanent features in a system, with thousands of ice asteroids spread over hundreds of kilometers. This was changed to much smaller (10-20 ice asteroids each with 50-200 units of ice) dynamic belts which disappear once mined out, and then respawn four hours later. | ||
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=== Ice Asteroids === | === Ice Asteroids === | ||
There are twelve different types of ice asteroids, split into three categories: faction asteroids, enriched faction asteroids, and standard asteroids. | As with ore asteroids, each ice asteroid contains one type of ice (so, for instance, an asteroid called "Blue Ice asteroid" will contain nothing but Blue Ice). There are twelve different types of ice asteroids, split into three categories: faction asteroids, enriched faction asteroids, and standard asteroids. | ||
* | * The ice from faction asteroids (which contain {{co|slateblue|Clear Icicle}}, {{co|slateblue|Glacial Mass}}, {{co|slateblue|Blue Ice}}, or {{co|slateblue|White Glaze}}) refine to small quantities of Heavy Water, Liquid Ozone and Strontium Clathrates, but large amounts of their respective faction's isotope (Helium Isotopes, Hydrogen Isotopes, Oxygen Isotopes, and Nitrogen Isotopes). Each of these asteroid types is only found in the regions of space controlled by their respective faction (so, for instance, Blue Ice asteroids only spawns in Gallente space, and refine to (amongst others) Oxygen Isotopes, which are used to fuel the [[jump drive]]s on Gallente ships and to manufacture fuel for Gallente [[POS]]es). | ||
* | * The ice from enriched faction asteroids (which contain {{co|slateblue|Enriched Clear Icicle}}, {{co|slateblue|Smooth Glacial Mass}}, {{co|slateblue|Thick Blue Ice}}, or {{co|slateblue|Pristine White Glaze}}) works the same way as regular faction asteroids, but contain more of the same materials. These asteroids are only found in [[nullsec]] (in [[Asteroids_and_Ore#Asteroid_distribution|systems controlled by their respective factions]]). | ||
* | * The ice from standard asteroids (which contain {{co|slateblue|Glare Crust}}, {{co|slateblue|Dark Glitter}}, {{co|slateblue|Gelidus}}, and {{co|slateblue|Krystallos}}) contains large quantities of Heavy Water, Liquid Ozone and Strontium Clathrates, but no faction isotopes. These asteroids are only found in [[low-sec]] and [[nullsec]]. | ||
Assuming perfect [[refining]] skills, ice asteroids refine to the following: | Assuming perfect [[refining]] skills (0% waste), ice asteroids refine to the following: | ||
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Like asteroid ore, unrefined ice takes up a large amount of space and can therefore be time-consuming to transport. The best sub-capital ship for transporting ice (and ore) is the [[Miasmos]], a Gallente industrial which can transport up to 63,000 m<sup>3</sup> (63 blocks, or about | Like asteroid ore, unrefined ice takes up a large amount of space and can therefore be time-consuming to transport. The best sub-capital ship for transporting ice (and ore) is the [[Miasmos]], a Gallente industrial which can transport up to 63,000 m<sup>3</sup> (63 blocks, or about two loads from a [[Mackinaw]]) of ice. If you need to haul even larger quantities, it may be worth training to fly a [[freighter]] (which can hold over ten times as much), or to ship the ice by courier contract. | ||
== Ice Mining Mechanics == | == Ice Mining Mechanics == | ||
{{main|Mining}} | {{main|Mining}} | ||
Ice mining works in much the same way as [[mining|ore mining]]: equip a ship with ice mining modules, approach and target an ice asteroid, and activate the mining module. At the ''end'' of each cycle, one unit of ice will be deposited in your ship's cargo or ore ( | Ice mining works in much the same way as [[mining|ore mining]]: equip a ship with ice mining modules, approach and target an ice asteroid, and activate the mining module. At the ''end'' of each cycle, one unit of ice will be deposited in your ship's cargo or ore hold (despite its name, the ore hold can hold ice too). However (unlike ore mining) ice mining modules and only be fit on [[Mining Barges]] and [[Exhumers]], and [[Drones#Mining_Drones|mining drones]] cannot be used. | ||
=== Skills === | === Skills === | ||
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She then upgrades her ship to a [[Hulk]] (with some training to {{sk|Exhumers|IV}}), and installs an Ice Harvester Accelerator rig for good measure, which brings her cycle time down to 2 minutes 40 seconds. Going for broke, she upgrades all her modules to their Tech 2 variants and trains her skills to level V, dropping her cycle time down to 1 minute 49 seconds, for a total reduction of 60%.}} | She then upgrades her ship to a [[Hulk]] (with some training to {{sk|Exhumers|IV}}), and installs an Ice Harvester Accelerator rig for good measure, which brings her cycle time down to 2 minutes 40 seconds. Going for broke, she upgrades all her modules to their Tech 2 variants and trains her skills to level V, dropping her cycle time down to 1 minute 49 seconds, for a total reduction of 60%.}} | ||
As mining ice often turns into a race, with large number of miners competing to mine as much ice before the belt is emptied, having short cycle times can be an advantage beyond simply mining more ice in a given period of time. This allows you to beat your competition to those last few pieces of ice in a belt (as, if two miners are attempting to mine the same asteroid with only one unit of ice left, whoever finishes their cycle first gets that block of ice, and the other gets nothings). | As mining ice often turns into a race, with large number of miners competing to mine as much ice before the belt is emptied, having short cycle times can be an advantage beyond simply mining more ice in a given period of time. This allows you to beat your competition to those last few pieces of ice in a belt (as, if two miners are attempting to mine the same asteroid with only one unit of ice left, whoever finishes their cycle first gets that block of ice, and the other gets nothings). [[Mining#Survey_scanner|Using a survey scanner]] can be very helpful, as you can see how much ice is left in each asteroid. | ||
== See also == | == See also == | ||