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Elite Dangerous is a space simulator in every sense of the word: even seemingly mundane tasks are given a lot of attention, and mining is no exception. There are multiple combinations of gear, several ships to try, and an ore variety that makes other game's mining mechanics look like 2009 Minecraft.
Heading out on a mining expedition is one of the more lucrative activities for newbie astronauts and experienced players alike. A successful mining trip in Elite Dangerous is all about the ship you use. Here's a guide to the best ships in the game.
Updated April 20, 2022 by William Quick: There are many ways that space games allow you to make a career while flying through the stars. In the universe of Elite Dangerous, there are tons of opportunities out there with mining being one of the most profitable. To have the most success, you consider the following ships for your mining operation.
Mining Fundamentals In Elite Dangerous
Like everything in Elite Dangerous, mining is pretty complicated. There are some key things you need to keep in mind before planning a mining run: the type of ship you're using, the installations on board said ship, and the type of ore you're going for.
Although mining might sound like a relatively peaceful activity, there are almost always pirates hunting for undefended mining ships that are carrying potentially hundreds of thousands of credits worth of ore. This means you shouldn't just be purchasing a ship for its cargo size and mining-ready hardpoints, but a ship that is also capable of either defending itself or zipping away as fast as possible.
There are also very different types of ore in the game, and different types of mining to match. You can spend your time blowing asteroids to pieces to harvest the ore inside or take a more refined path through laser mining. Different ships are suited to different mining activities, although generally most of the ships are versatile enough to kit out with different mining gear. We'll cover some of the best builds for the ships below.
You can read more about how to get started with mining in this comprehensive mining guide.
The Keelback - A Sturdy Ship Ready For Battle
Straight from Lakon Spaceways, the Keelback was mainly designed for carrying around soldiers while joining in the combat. It can be a bit pricey for beginners, but the specs it offers make it worth the investment since not only will it be able to protect you and your haul, but it'll also be able to hold quite a lot. It comes battle-ready with a good amount of Armour and a solid Armor Hardness.
It starts out with a lot of empty slots, so there are plenty of customization options. Not only can you give it far more weaponry and combat specs, but there's plenty of room to add more mining-friendly tools and cargo to haul as much as you can.
Here are some of its base attributes:
- It can cost more than 3,100,000 Credits
- Its base Top Speed is around 202 m/s
- It starts with a 38-tonne Carrying Capacity
- Its Shields have 98 MJ
It has a lot of Hardpoints and Internal Components slots available for sample builds such as this one:
- 2D Mining Lasers and a Detailed Surface Scanner
- 5E Cargo Racks and a 3A Collector Limpet Controller
- 3C Shield Generator, 1C Refinery, and 4C Fuel Tank
- 4C Power Plant, 1D Life Support, and 2D Sensors
- Lightweight Alloy, 3A Power Distributor, 4A Thrusters, and 4A Frame Ship Drive
The Adder - A Cheap And Cheerful Mining Ship
The Adder is one of the cheapest ships in Elite Dangerous and as a result is ideal for players who are embarking on their very first mining mission. Although the Adder is cheap, it does come with a Class 2 hardpoint and decent Armor (comparable to even the Cobra Mark 3, which is about 100x more expensive.) This Class 2 hardpoint means you can mount a Seismic Charge Launcher or Mining Laser onboard.
In the perfect world, you want to balance your Adder build with some rudimentary defenses, one Class 2 Mining Attachment, and enough cargo space, collector limpets, and prospector limpets to turn this rudimentary spaceship into an efficient mining machine.
Some details about the Adder:
- It costs just under 90,000 Credits
- The ship has a maximum top speed of 255 m/s with full upgrades
- It has an armor rating of 162 (not bad, not bad at all)
- It comes with a Class 2 hardpoint, the only ship of its class to have one
A sample mining Adder build might look like this:
- Lightweight Alloy, Power Plant, Thrusters, Frame Shift Drive, Life Support, Power Distributor, Sensors, Fuel Tank
- 3E Cargo Rack and 2E Cargo Rack
- Refinery, Collector Limpet Controller, Prospector Limpet Controller
- Class 2 Mining Laser, Pulse Laser, Pulse Laser
- Chaff Launcher and Heat Sink Launcher
The Imperial Clipper - A Fast And Smooth Mining Ship
Like something straight out of a classic sci-fi TV series, the Imperial Clipper from Gutamaya has got your bases covered. Not only because it's a multipurpose ship, but because its technical aspects make it a worthwhile option for exploration and mining. Its design gives it good handling and allows it to cut through the stars with tremendous speed and jump capacity.
There are many Internal Compartments and Hardpoints to fill with all the mining equipment you need, so start saving up for this ship and its attachments. Feel like a high-ranking pirate or imperial noble as you fly through the stars in this sleek ride.
Some of the Imperial Clipper's specs include:
- A price stage of over 22,295,000 Credits
- A base Top Speed of 306 m/s
- A starting 74-tonne Cargo Capacity
- Shields that support 186 MJ
You can outfit an upgraded Clipper with the following sample build:
- 2D Mining Lasers and 1A Prospector Limpet Controller
- 7E Cargo Rack, 6E Cargo Rack, and 3A Collector Limpet Controllers
- 4A Shield Generator, 2A Refinery, and 4C Fuel Tank
- 6B Power Plant, 5D Life Support, and 5D Sensors
- Lightweight Alloy, 6A Power Distributor, 6C Thrusters, and 5A Frame Ship Drive
Cobra Mark 3 - The Best Beginner Mining Ship
The Cobra Mark 3 is a jack-of-all-trades kind of ship. It's suitable for traders, explorers, pirates, and for the purposes of this guide, as a mining ship. The Cobra costs just under 400,000 credits, which is very reasonable for a beginner ship. Here are a few of the specifics:
- The Cobra Mark 3 has a default cargo capacity of 18 tonnes, plenty for a good amount of ore
- It has a default max speed of 282 m/s, which is ideal if you find yourself in a run-in with miner-hunting pirates
- The Cobra has 2 Utility Mounts, 2 Small hardpoints, and 2 Medium hardpoints, which means you can stock it with the gear you need for a mining run
Cobra Mark 3 Laser Mining Starter Build
The first thing you should do once purchasing this ship is to replace the E-rated modules with better gear. Laser mining focuses on two key resources: Painite or Low-Temperature Diamonds. To find these hotspots you're going to need a scanner, a mining laser, and enough collector limpets to make the hoarding process a bit easier. An example build looks like this:
- Lightweight Alloy, Life Support, Thrusters (these are the core internal parts of your ship)
- Mining Laser
- Cargo Rack, add in an extra rack if you've got the space
- Detailed Surface Scanner — this is the only way to find ore
- Refinery (so you can refine the ore onboard the ship)
- Collector Limpets scoop up the ore, so you don't have to
- Heat Sink Launcher — the Cobra has the capability to fire back, so why not?
Cobra Mark 3 Core Mining Starter Build
Core mining is all about blasting apart asteroids and harvesting the minerals inside. There are a lot of technical algorithms and complicated graphs as to which asteroids are worth mining, but as a newbie miner you probably just want to go for the glowing ones and hope for the best. Glowing? Yes, the core mining method relies heavily on the Surface Scanner and Pulse Wave Scanner to find ores. They're highlighted with a bright color.
To successfully core mine in a Cobra Mark 3 you need:
- Pulse Wave Scanner (used to scan entire asteroid belts)
- Detailed Surface Scanner (scans specific asteroids)
- Abrasion Blaster and a Seismic Charge Launcher to destroy the asteroids
- Refinery (so you can refine your ore onboard)
- Collector and Prospector Limpet Charges (to collect ore and check the mineral content)
- Cargo racks to carry all your yummy ore back to a station
The Krait Mk II - A Mobile Ship With Lots Of Holding
There's something about flat plate-like ships that just makes sense and looking at the Krait Mk II by Faulcon DeLacy supports that idea. This is another ship that is tailored more towards combat but can easily be adapted for mining and whatever else you have planned. It may not be as protected as the other ships but makes up for it with decent movement, strong shields, and lots of space.
Due to its combat leanings, it starts with standard gear made for fighting, but you can easily change all that. Fill in the slots of the Hardpoints and Internal Components with all the right stuff, and you'll be ready to start mining with the best of them and defend yourself if it comes to it.
Familiarize yourself with some of this ship's specs:
- It can cost over 45,814,000 Credits
- It has a base Top Speed of 245 m/s
- It has a starting Cargo Capacity of 82-tonnes
- Its Shields reach 262 MJ
Invest enough in this ship, and you can get a build like this one:
- 2B Seismic Charge Launcher and 1A Prospector Limpet Controller
- 6E and 5E Cargo Racks, and 3A Collector Limpet Controller
- 6C Shield Generator, 4D Refinery, and 5C Fuel Tank
- 7A Power Plant, 4D Life Support, and 6A Sensors
- Military Grade Composite, 6A Power Distributor, 6A Thrusters, and 5A Frame Ship Drive
Asp Explorer - A Mid-tier Ship That Excels At Deep Core Mining
The Asp Explorer is an extremely versatile ship that excels in a variety of roles, though it is most commonly known as an Explorer ship (hence the name). Its long jump range and large cockpit window guarantee its place in the hearts of space explorers, but its surprisingly large cargo capacity of 130 tonnes also makes it a capable freighter, and along with the other ships in this guide, a worthwhile mining ship.
In terms of hardpoints, the ship has four utility mounts, four small hardpoints, and two medium hardpoints. It's more than capable of kitting itself out with the necessary mining gear for deep core mining and can even equip various mounted weaponry to defend against pirates.
The Asp Explorer has:
- A top speed of 290 m/s with full upgrades
- 130 tonnes of cargo capacity with max upgrades
- An armor rating of 378
- Two Class 2 hardpoints and four Class 1 hardpoints
A sample Asp mining build might look like this:
- Lightweight Alloy, Power Plant, Thrusters, Frame Shift Drive, Life Support, Power Distributor, Sensors, Fuel Tank
- Cargo Rack (5E = 32 tonnes)
- Collector Limpet and Prospector Limpet controllers
- Refinery, 3a Shield Generator
- Class 2 Pulse Laser, Class 2 Mining Laser
- Class 1 Mining Laser and Class 1 Pulse Laser
- 2 x Missile Racks
- Shield Booster, Chaff Launcher
The Python - A Mining Ship Upgrade
With all the ore you've just mined with the Cobra, it's time to start thinking about an upgrade. The Python is the next logical step. This multipurpose ship is a straight upgrade to the Cobra in many ways, including its defensive and offensive stats, cargo size, and extra hardpoints. It costs 55 million credits, so it's quite a jump from the Cobra. Here are some of the specifics:
- The Python has a default cargo capacity of 82 tonnes, although it can reach close to 300 tonnes when maxed out
- It sees a Top speed of 235 m/s as a default
- There are 4 Utility Mounts, 2 Medium hardpoints, and 3 Large hardpoints
Core and Laser Mining with the Python
The basics are similar to the builds for the Cobra, although, due to the size of the Python, you can include a lot more of what you need. It's a good idea to specify your ship for each mining trip — so ditch the core gear if you are laser mining and vice versa. It's also important to balance cargo racks with overall speed and maneuverability – you're going to be a target for pirates. Here's a sample build:
- Thrusters, Lightweight Alloy, Frame Shift Drive (the core internals of your ship, should be decently rated)
- 2 x Cargo Rack, 3 Limpet Collectors, and a Fuel Scoop
- Shield Generator – essential if you want to survive pirate attacks
- Refinery, Detailed Surface Scanner, Prospector Limpet
- 4 x Mining Laser (reduce to 2 if you find you're having power problems)
As an aside, the Python is ideal for speedy mining trips. Get in and out quickly and keep efficiency to a maximum. Give up extra cargo racks for faster jump time and quicker refueling speed.
Imperial Cutter - The Top-tier Mining Ship
The Imperial Cutter can provide optimal mining performance. It has the largest cargo capacity of any ship in the game currently, enough hardpoints and defenses to pack a punch against pirates, and is speedy enough to carry out several mining trips in quick succession. It's considered one of the best combat ships, although there are a lot of other ships to choose from. However, it also costs over 200 million credits, so it's typically used by experienced Elite Dangerous players. Here are some of the specifics:
- The Cutter has a cargo capacity of 164 tonnes but can hit close to 800 if you max it out
- Top speed of 202 m/s, plenty for navigating between asteroids
- 8 Utility Mounts, 4 Medium hardpoints, 2 Large hardpoints, 1 Huge hardpoint
Core Mining and Laser Mining Build for the Cutter
The Cutter is suitable for both core and laser mining. It has plenty of available space for cargo fitting while also providing enough for weapons, making it capable of going toe-to-toe with pirates. Chuck in a Shield Generator, and you've got a very tanky ship that can mine freely, even with a full cargo hold. Here's a sample build:
- Lightweight Alloy, Power Plant, Thrusters (and other general core internals of any ship)
- 3 x Cargo Rack — one of the biggest benefits of a ship the size of the Cutter
- Prismatic Shield Generator (top-tier shield for pirate combat)
- 2 x Collector Limpet, Prospector Limpet Controller
- Refinery and Detailed Surface Scanner
In terms of weaponry and shields, this is where the Cutter really excels. A recommended fit might be a Multi-Cannon, 2 x Beam Laser, and up to 3 Mining Lasers. You can also fit several Shield Boosters onboard.
In Summary:
Mining in Elite Dangerous is complex, very rewarding, and can provide a solid income of credits to progress through ships and upgrades. There are a lot of meta techniques to maximize profit, such as the types of ore and minerals that provide the most money, monitoring the market onboard Fleet carriers and stations to find best-selling prices, and even fitting out a ship as a pirate to take down other miners.