Science & Industry

Another one? I prefer http://ore.cerlestes.de/index.html#site:ore .

I've always liked your ore value overview page, but some months ago, it stopped updating, so I stopped using it. I'm glad you've resumed regular updates!

The main difference beetwen celestes and mine is that I have one page showing best ore to mine, no calculations need. The one on top of the table is the best.

that implies that you think people there are miners. i bet you are wrong.

Yes, they were miners. Some people don't quite get the concept that ISK per m3 is what matters.

^ Exactly this!

Isk per m3 is meaningless if you are wasting time specifically trying to only mine high yielding ores. If you are flying belt to belt looking only for Kernite while passing up pyro and scord there is a point where the time lost mining will surpass the value of only mining Kernite.

For example:

Mackinaw 1339 m3 per minute (no boosts, no implant, no drones, etc etc)

kernite 269.15 isk/m3 = 360,391isk / minute
pyro 227.62 isk/m3 = 304,783isk / minute

55,608isk /minute difference

60 minutes mining pyro: 18,286,990
50 minutes mining kernite: 18,019,592

This means if you are spending more then 10 minutes per hour searching for the highest isk/m3 ore in highsec surpassing pyro and scordite you will have actually made less isk/hour.

In case you can't figure it out,


ISK_per_hour = ISK_per_m3 * Your_mining_rate.



Therefore, ISK per m3 is a better metric to use since due to skills everyone has a different mining rate.

ISK per m3 is the only way to comapre the various ore. This metric is independent of the individual mining rate, which makes it the best metric to COMPARE ores.


If you don't have the skills then it is time you get them for the top ore. ISK per m3 will guide you as to what skills to train.


Best of all, is one place to check the best ore to mine. Nothing to download and can be view IGB.

really? easier than going "the one at the top is the best isk/m3?"
it doesn't get easier than that, in addition you can filter it in to best isk/m3 for each sec, high, low and null. etc.

ISk/m3 is the ONLY way to effectively compare ores.

Where many miners fail is determining their actual m3/minute rather than the max yield of their ship.

You need to consider how much time is wasted looking for the high value rocks. You need to consider how much time is wasted on small rocks that pop after 1-2 cycles.

Some large ores refine into much smaller amounts, like Arknor as already stated. But how much volume you need to move after refining does not in any way affect how many m3 you bring in. only how easy it is to get it to market.

The belief that the value pre m3 after refining is more important is a major factor in why Omber was so under valued for so long. Now nobody mines it, and the price is going up fast.

Now I am not saying refining yields are not a major factor, but this is far more variable so can not be used in a direct comparison. For example; comparing m3 of material to be moved between raw ore and refined minerals makes a far larger difference to a miner mining in a system with a station they can get 100% refine at, than it does for a miner that has to travel several jumps to reach a refinery. Again there is a huge difference depending on how far your refinery is to the nearest trade hub.

A good rule of thumb I have seen across many different corps, is a good miner should be able to pull in at least 1500m3/minute before boosts. You do not need max skills for this, but fairly close. I also use a jet can volume of raw ore when comparing price. Although I have not jet can mined in two years it seems to be a good volume for comparison. The profits and what ores are close in value. A good miner with good skills and paying attention should pull in close to 3 jetcans worth of ore per hour unboosted, and about 5 jetcans worth with a good boost. This is actual yield not theoretical maximum.

Veldspar is again one of the lower value ores but is also most abundant so you can pull more of it per minute in actual yield per hour, once considering the extra time switching rocks, and moving belts, to cherrypick. So that makes it worth mining as if you avoid it your actual m3/minute will drop. According to Cerlestes.de the current average value of high sec ore per jetcan (27500m3) is about 5.9 million. Omber has actually risen to be right on par at 5.6 mil per Jetcan while Veldspar is back at the bottom at 5.1 mil. Only a half mil spread is not bad for such a volume. So an good miner that knows how to mine, should pull in on average over 17 mil per hour unboosted or up to 30 mil with good boosts in high sec.

30 mil per hour is indeed about the max a miner can pull in from high sec. But for those aspiring miners out there, keep in mind you need near max skills, and a near max boost to get even close to that. Max skills with no boost will still put you under 20 mil per hour. Mining without a booster will not give you near the max returns.

Low sec ores are currently averaging 7.8 mil per jetcan, while null sec ores(excluding SPOD and mercoxit) are averaging about 5.6 but rising quickly. And SPOD is still down at 2.3 while mercoxit is at 12.2. I expect it will not be much longer before the balance returns and null sec ores return to the top of the stack where they should be.