Star Citizen: Basic Mining Guide

by Mike Alexander / Articles, Misc. Guides, Trending / 24 May 2022

Star Citizen is a massive game with a ton of things to see and do. In this world, you can do just about anything you want, from exploring the outer reaches of space to just being a humble trader. However, if you want to make good money to buy better ships and equipment, then you’re going to want to take a look at mining.

Mining is probably the most profitable way to make money in Star Citizen, and it’s something every player should at least dabble in to see if it jives with their playstyle. If you’re just getting into Star Citizen though, trying to learn a brand new system on top of the already complex web of mechanics that make up Star Citizen can be quite daunting. Thankfully, I have a few tips in this Star Citizen: Basic Mining Guide. If you’re ready to start raking in the big bucks, then fire up your mining laser, and let’s get started!

Your First Tool

When you start exploring the world of mining in Star Citizen, you’ll notice that there is an array of different tools you can purchase and use depending on your skill. There are multiple levels of mining equipment you can buy, but if you’re just starting out, you’re going to want to start out at level 1. That’s going to be the GreyCat Multitool and the OreBit Mining Attachment, which can both be purchased on any L1 station at its refinery, or the Hurston L2 station. With this low-cost mining tool in hand, you can begin to build up your cash reserves by breaking down mineral deposits on the surface of the planets you visit as well as in caves.

Moving On Up

With your mining business beginning its path to success, you will be able to purchase better equipment to mine more profitable deposits. Your first step up from the Multitool and Mining Attachment will be a GreyCat ROC. This is a 4-wheeled, all-terrain vehicle that makes it possible to mine even larger mining deposits than your wimpy multitool. With planet surfaces mastered, you can now set your sights on the stars. To break down asteroids for all of their awesome goodies, you can first use a MISC Prospector, which is a single-seat spaceship, and later an Argo Mole, which is a much larger spaceship meant to be used by a full crew.

Types of Mineable Resources

To better understand the mining industry in Star Citizen, you’ll need to know what you’re actually getting! Your planetary mining operations, meaning on the surface and in caves, will yield you gems including Hadanite, Aphrodite, and Dolivine. These gems are worth 275, 152.50, and 130 respectively. As for ores, the list of possible materials and their worths is much longer. However, to get the most value from ore, it must be refined, which is an additional process but worth it for the boost in sale price.

Mining Locations

There certainly isn’t a lack of places to do your mining in Star Citizen, but each resource has differing spawn rates depending on where you’re mining. The best way to find exactly what you’re looking for is to reference mining location tables on the internet, preferably ones that are updated frequently as spawn rates and locations can change between major updates. Keeping track of where you can find the best resources will make you a Star Citizen millionaire in no time, and maybe you’ll be able to afford a few of the game’s exorbitantly priced spaceships!

Getting Down to Business

With all of that information, you are now ready to do some actual mining! Regardless of the tool you use, mining is all about managing the level of charge you are pumping into a deposit. You’ll do this by carefully managing the intensity of the mining laser, making sure to not overcharge the rock or deposit so that it explodes and you lose all of the resources and take damage on top of that. That’s the process for gem deposits on planet surfaces, but the process for mining asteroids is slightly different.

You’ll need to complete the fracturing process with the laser several times in order to break down the asteroid and get everything. This of course makes sense as asteroids are much much larger than the deposits you will encounter on any planet’s surface. To make this process faster, the Argo Mole has multiple laser turrets that can be manned by a crew and used simultaneously, greatly cutting down on time spent mining.

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Mike Alexander

Mike has been playing video games since he was able to hold a controller, having been fascinated by Sonic 2 on his mom’s Sega Genesis. That fascination and passion for the art form has grown exponentially nearly 30 years later, and he doesn’t see that fading away anytime soon.
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