Ships & Modules

There is no longer a distinction between ore and ice miners. Instead, the mining ships now fit into the following roles:

max ore bay (ice and gas count as ore): Mackinaw
Fastest miner: hulk
Best tank: skiff

T1 is the same.

As for best in fleet, it depends in how active you are and the support you have. A hulk out mines anything else, but has a small ore bay. If you have an orca or are willing to jetcan mine and have a dedicated hauler, the hulk is a good choice.

If, however, you are going solo use the Mac. It has the largest ore bay, so less trips to station. Many will use the mac simply because it's easier. A hulk can fill its ore bay rapidly, which may lead to waste if you aren't emptying it as fast.

Skiff is for tank.

Oh and the venture is the new mining frigate. It's a good starter ship, good at gas mining, and has +2 warp strength.

Yield is significantly dependent on how you fit the ship. If you fit a retriever for maximum survival while fitting a procurer for maximum yield the procurer will mine more than the retriever and still have more buffer.

Speaking solely for myself the "best" ships for fleet mining are:
Covetor/Hulk = active mining with "all hands on deck." IOW all "miners" are paying attention all the time
Retriever/Mackinaw = ice mining while nobody's really paying attention to the game and it's safe enough to do so
Procurer/Skiff = solo fleet (i.e. multi-boxing) ore/ice mining when you don't want to pay attention to the game until your ore holds are full

I might still use a retriever/mackinaw for ice mining in a quiet system, but otherwise I'll just slap a couple upgrades on a procurer and use that. It's cheaper, has more EHP, and it'll have the same yield as any retriever fitting fewer than three upgrades.

Looks like it's all been covered.

Procurer/Skiff - Ninja miner. Inherent warp stabs make for easier getaways. And can tank better than most BS.

Retriever/Mackinaw - Solo miner. Largest ore bay equal or exceeding a Jet Can of internal storage.

Covetor/Hulk - Fleet miner. Tiny internal storage, but best for mining speed. Dump into your nearby hauler and keep it moving.


If you're starting a new high sec mining op, and you don't have the numbers for miners, haulers, and support... focus on miners in Ret/Mack. Everyone mines until their full, hauls ass for the station, and comes back to do it again.

Once you have the numbers, swap to Cov/Hulk miners, with an Orca collecting and boosting. And with the recent changes, a Freighter could be your hauler to station... Poor Industrials, out of a job.

EDIT: Oh yeah, as for Ice mining... that's become a Rig. Plug into whatever ship you're using, and it suddenly becomes a better Ice miner.

Alright Thanks for all of the information!