Mines are special stations that are founded from a claimed asteroid.
Types
Below is a list of every foundable mine.
Data assumes all goods are sold for their base prices in the sector the mine is founded in.
Higher prices for results will increase the profit made per cycle, but will also increase the station's founding cost.
| Name | Founding Cost | Results | Required PC | Profit/Cycle | ROI Cycles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Silicon Mine | 9,500,000 | 4 Silicon | 134 | 2,000 | 4,750 |
| Ore Mine | 9,850,000 | 30 Ore | 140 | 2,100 | 4,691 |
| Coal Mine | 5,300,000 | 4 Coal | 54 | 800 | 6,625 |
| Oil Rig | 5,125,000 | 5 Raw Oil | 50 | 750 | 6,834 |
| Noble Metal Mine | 7,225,000 | 1 Gold, 1 Platinum | 90 | 1,350 | 5,352 |
| Noble Metal Mine | 6,175,000 | 1 Silver, 1 Platinum | 70 | 1,050 | 5,881 |
| Noble Metal Mine | 5,650,000 | 1 Silver, 1 Gold | 60 | 900 | 6,278 |
| Zinc Mine | 11,250,000 | 10 Zinc | 167 | 2,500 | 4,500 |
| Copper Mine | 8,625,000 | 5 Copper | 117 | 1,750 | 4,929 |
| Lead Mine | 9,500,000 | 10 Lead | 134 | 2,000 | 4,750 |
| Aluminum Mine | 9,500,000 | 10 Aluminum | 134 | 2,000 | 4,750 |
| Ice Mine | 7,750,000 | 75 Water | 100 | 1,500 | 5,167 |
Founding a mine
Mines can be founded by the player from a claimed big asteroid.
The cost of founding a mine depends on its type.
A mine only needs a cargo bay to store mined goods. A mine will not produce goods unless its cargo bay is big enough to hold one full cycle of production - if you upgrade a mine it may stop working if the cargo bay is not big enough! Note attached cargo bays (such as via docking) do not count. No other blocks are needed; however, a mine may only have a maximum cargo bay size of 485 units until it requires at least one mechanic (and associated crew quarters). Since this cargo bay is likely to fill quickly (an upgraded Coal Mine for example would fill this cargo bay in only 15 minutes), it is recommended to include a larger cargo bay and also the required crew quarters.
Each mine has a default time per production cycle, seen above. Adding Assembly blocks will reduce the production cycle time, however the minimum production cycle time for all stations is 15 seconds and many mines are already at this limit, meaning that they will not benefit from the addition of assembly blocks.