1. 📍 What is Low-Sec Mining?
- Low-sec (0.1–0.4 security status) has no CONCORD protection. Pirates and gankers are common.
- Gate guns provide some protection at gates/stations, but once you’re in an asteroid belt, anomaly, or moon belt, you’re on your own.
- In exchange for danger, you get access to valuable ores and moon mining that are unavailable in high-sec.
2. ⛏️ What Can You Mine in Low-Sec?
Standard Ore
Low-sec has all high-sec ores plus low-sec exclusives:
- Kernite → Isogen, Mexallon
- Jaspet → Mexallon, Nocxium, Zydrine
These ores refine into mid-tier minerals critical for shipbuilding, usually more profitable than Veldspar or Scordite.
Ice
- Ice belts spawn in certain constellations.
- In low-sec, ice types often include Dark Glitter, Gelidus, Krystallos → useful for jump fuel & reactions.
- More valuable than high-sec ice, but belts are heavily contested.
Moon Ores
- Unlike high-sec, low-sec moons can spawn R8 and R16 ores (e.g. Cobaltite, Euxenite, Titanite, Chromite).
- These refine into materials needed for Tech II and advanced reactions.
- ISK potential is significantly higher than high-sec moons.
Anomalies
- These can spawn in LS and can have some much valued ore
- Dark Ochre → Tritanium, Nocxium, Zydrine
- Crokite → Tritanium, Nocxium, Zydrine
- Gneiss → Pyerite, Mexallon, Isogen, Zydrine
- Hemorphite → Tritanium, Isogen, Nocxium, Zydrine
- Hedbergite → Pyerite, Isogen, Nocxium
- The type of ores will change based on the anomaly some are worth more then others
3. 🚢 Ships for Low-Sec Mining
Solo Survival Mining
- Venture → cheap, built-in warp core stab, disposable.
- Prospect (Expedition Frigate) → covert ops cloak, can slip through camps.
- Endurance (Expedition Frigate) → cloak, bonuses to ice mining.
Fleet Mining
- Procurer / Skiff → tanky barges/exhumers, best survival chance.
- Covetor / Hulk → very high yield, but suicide targets without support.
- Orca → can enter low-sec but is extremely vulnerable to gangs — risky to field without strong support.
4. ⚙️ Fittings & Tactics
Tank First, Yield Second
- Fit Warp Core Stabilizers, Shield Extenders, Damage Control.
- Use Inertial Stabilizers or Nanofibers to reduce align time.
- Always carry combat drones for defense vs rats.
Cloaky Mining
- Prospect & Endurance can cloak while warping.
- Warp to safespots or cloaked bookmarks if hostile players appear.
Survival Rules
- Always align to a safe station or celestial while mining.
- Use d-scan constantly (set range to 1 AU for belt checks).
- Create safe spots in system and bounce between them.
- Don’t mine near gates/stations — too easy to catch.
5. 💰 ISK Potential
Ore Mining
- Regular low-sec ores: ~15–25m ISK/hour solo, depending on skills & ship.
- With boosts / fleet: 30–50m ISK/hour.
Ice Mining
- Profits: ~30–60m ISK/hour depending on type & market demand.
- More profitable than high-sec ice, but belts are often camped.
Moon Mining
- R8–R16 ores much more valuable than R4 high-sec ores.
- A single well-run Athanor pull can yield 1–5 billion ISK/month, depending on moon quality and corp organization.
- Requires corp structure, fuel, and defense — solo players won’t realistically hold moons.
6. ⚖️ Pros & Cons
✅ Advantages
- Access to better ores than high-sec.
- Entry to moon ores R8–R16.
- Good stepping stone into null-sec industry.
- Lower competition than high-sec belts.
❌ Disadvantages
- High PvP risk — pirates hunt miners constantly.
- Expensive ships are risky unless defended.
- Requires constant vigilance — no AFK mining.
- Corps must defend structures.
7. 🛡️ Best Practices
- Mine in a group → safety in numbers.
- Use a scout or cloaky alt to watch gates.
- Join an industrial corp with low-sec presence.
- Don’t fly what you can’t afford to lose.
- If mining solo → stick to Venture / Prospect to reduce loss impact.
8. 🚀 Path Forward
- Start by ninja-mining in a Venture or Prospect to learn survival.
- Join a corp that runs low-sec moon mining Athanors.
- Train into Skiff for survivability, then later into fleet roles (Orca/Rorqual in null-sec).
- Use low-sec mining as a bridge into null-sec industry, where profits scale massively but risks escalate.
✅ Summary:
Low-sec mining is dangerous but rewarding. Regular ores are richer than high-sec, ice is valuable, and moons can yield billions if you’re in the right corp. Survival skills — cloaking, scouting, d-scan discipline, and tanky fits — are mandatory. For most solo players, low-sec mining is about hit-and-run operations with Ventures or Prospects, while corps can profit heavily from moon mining operations.