The Mining Process
Before a mineral is sold to the market, it must first undergo a four-stage process which includes: Prospecting, Fracturing, Extraction, and Refinement.
Prospecting
The first step to any mining operation requires the discovery of minerals to occur. Using a ship’s dedicated scanner, a mining crew would search by “pinging” the area for any mineral deposits. If sub-surface mining, this stage is done without the use of any equipment other than a miners’ observation and knowledge of harvestable minerals. Once a mineral deposit has been discovered, a further in-depth scan is done to determine the composition of the deposit. Once minerals are confirmed and merited, the next stage begins.
Fracturing
Mineral deposits consist of very dense rock and are often large in mass. Before a rock is able to be extracted, it must first be broken down into smaller fragments. This stage is done by using a dedicated ship’s mining laser or hand-tool to emit a powerful laser into the rock to increase its energy level high enough to cause the rock to fracture. This process is very delicate for emitting too high of a laser’s energy into the rock will cause an explosion that can seriously harm or cause death to the mining crew. Once the rock is successfully broken into smaller fragments, the next stage can occur.
Extraction
This process is when a mining crew, after a rocks fracture, breaks down the fragments for transport. This is done by using a dedicated ship’s extraction beam which will automatically breakdown the fragment and simultaneously moves the rubble to its storage bay. If the FPS mining technique was used, this process is done by simply moving the mineral into a miner’s storage compartment. The extract raw minerals are then usually sold after this stage to various landing zones.
Refinement
The final stage in a mining operation is to remove the impurities and unwanted elements from the extracted rock in order to be sold. This stage is often done by major landing zones but can be done in the future by the mining crew for greater returns using an integrated refinery.