Best Mining Ships in Star Citizen

The best mining ship in Star Citizen depends mainly on whether you mine alone or with a crew.

For Alpha 4.10, the MISC Prospector is our best overall mining ship for most players. It is built around a single operator, carries 32 SCU of ore, supports configurable Size 1 mining equipment, and avoids the station-switching workload that comes with larger multicrew platforms.

The Drake Golem is the best budget entry into ship mining. It is also single-seat and carries 32 SCU, but costs barely over one million aUEC in Stanton. The ARGO MOLE is the strongest current production platform when you actually have people to crew it, combining three independent Size 2 mining stations with 96 SCU of active ore capacity.

Unlike combat or cargo, mining currently has a very small pool of dedicated flight-ready ships. That makes choosing between them less about finding a hidden fourth option and more about choosing the right operating scale.

Best Mining Ships in Alpha 4.10

CategoryOur PickOre CapacityMining SetupCurrent Lowest In-Game Price*Main Limitation
Best Overall / Solo	MISC Prospector	32 SCU	1 × Size 1 mining arm	2,783,020 aUEC	Less raw mining power than the MOLE
Best Budget Mining Ship	Drake Golem	32 SCU	1 × Size 1 mining arm	1,005,480 aUEC	Entry-level mining platform
Best Multicrew Mining Ship	ARGO MOLE	96 SCU	3 × independent Size 2 mining stations	8,483,740 aUEC	Inefficient station workflow when flown alone

*Current Alpha 4.10 shop listings reviewed for this article. In-game prices can change with later economy updates.

The short version is simple:

• Buy the Golem if you want the cheapest serious entry into ship mining.

• Buy the Prospector if you expect to mine solo regularly.

• Buy the MOLE if mining is a crew activity and you want the highest current mining ceiling.

MISC Prospector — Best Mining Ship for Most Players

The MISC Prospector remains the easiest mining ship to recommend because its workflow was built around one player.

Current Alpha 4.10 vehicle data lists a crew of one, 32 SCU of ore capacity, and a Size 1 mining arm fitted with an Arbor MH1 in the current stock loadout. The ship also carries detachable ore pods and includes a bed inside its compact interior.

The 32-SCU figure comes from the Alpha 4.10 version-locked Prospector vehicle data. Some community summary pages still display an older 48-SCU figure, so those pages should not be used as the source for current ore capacity.

Its biggest advantage is not capacity.

The Drake Golem also carries 32 SCU, so moving from the Golem to the Prospector does not automatically increase the amount of ore you can bring home. The Prospector earns its higher price through a more developed mining platform, including interchangeable mining-head support and a design centered on independent prospecting.

For solo mining, keeping the flight and mining workflow centered around one station is especially valuable. You can scan, position the ship, fracture the deposit, and extract material without leaving the ship's primary operating position to occupy a separate manned mining turret.

That becomes more important over a full mining session than headline laser power suggests. Searching for profitable deposits already consumes time; adding repeated seat changes to every useful rock makes the loop slower.

Prospector Price in Alpha 4.10

The lowest current purchase listing is 2,783,020 aUEC at New Deal in Lorville. Current Alpha 4.10 records also list rental options starting at 69,575 aUEC, depending on location.

Renting is therefore one of the better ways to decide whether ship mining appeals to you before spending almost three million aUEC.

Who Should Buy the Prospector?

The Prospector is the strongest fit for:

• solo players who want mining as a regular profession;

• miners who want more flexibility than the entry-level Golem;

• players who do not have a dependable MOLE crew;

• anyone who values an efficient one-person workflow over maximum theoretical mining output.

The MOLE becomes more attractive once additional mining operators are consistently available.

Drake Golem — Best Budget Mining Ship

The Drake Golem lowers the cost of entry into ship mining dramatically.

Current Alpha 4.10 data gives it a single-person crew, a Size 1 mining arm with its stock Pitman Mining Laser, and 32 SCU of ore capacity. Its ore storage is arranged around two detachable 16-SCU containers.

Those current values are available directly in the Alpha 4.10 version-locked Golem vehicle data.

That last number is important because it puts the Golem level with the Prospector on nominal ore capacity.

You are not buying the Prospector simply to gain more SCU. The Golem already lets a new miner bring home a meaningful load without paying Prospector money.

Its strongest advantage is price.

The Golem currently starts at 1,005,480 aUEC at New Deal in Lorville and is also available through current rental listings.

For someone learning how scanning, fracture resistance, extraction, ore quality, and refining fit together, that price difference is substantial.

You can learn the profession in a dedicated ship without committing several million aUEC before you know whether mining is an activity you want to repeat.

Golem vs Prospector

The Golem wins on entry cost.

The Prospector wins on being the more complete long-term solo mining platform.

Both currently carry 32 SCU, which means the upgrade decision should not be based on capacity alone. A player satisfied with the deposits and workflow the Golem handles may have little reason to rush the upgrade.

The Prospector becomes easier to justify when mining is no longer an experiment and equipment flexibility starts to matter more than the initial purchase price.

ARGO MOLE — Best Multicrew Mining Ship

The ARGO MOLE is the highest-capability mining ship currently available in Alpha 4.10, provided its mining stations actually have people in them.

Current Alpha 4.10 version-locked MOLE data gives it 96 SCU of ore capacity and three manned mining stations built around Size 2 mining equipment. The current stock configuration uses three Arbor MH2 mining heads.

This is what separates the MOLE from the two solo miners.

A Golem or Prospector gives one player one mining position. The MOLE gives a crew several mining operators working from the same platform, allowing larger or more resistant deposits to become practical targets.

CIG's official ARGO MOLE Q&A confirms that the three mining lasers are independently controlled, require operators in their mining seats, and cannot simply be controlled by the pilot.

That is why the MOLE's multicrew advantage is more than a paper specification.

For a deeper breakdown of its cargo layout, crew requirements, and current solo workflow, see our Star Citizen MOLE Guide.

MOLE Ore Capacity: 96 SCU vs 288 SCU

The MOLE's storage figures can be confusing.

Current Alpha 4.10 vehicle data explicitly lists 96 SCU of ore capacity. Community documentation also describes 24 collapsed 12-SCU mineral pods while explaining that only eight full pods are carried at one time.

That produces the normal active onboard capacity of:

8 × 12 SCU = 96 SCU.

The existence of 24 collapsed pods should therefore not be presented as a simple 288-SCU simultaneously filled ore hold.

Those additional pods are relevant to a broader mining logistics workflow in which filled pods can be dropped or transferred and replacements brought into use.

For ordinary ship comparison, 96 SCU is the useful current capacity figure.

Can You Solo the MOLE?

You can operate a MOLE alone, but it is not designed as an efficient solo mining ship.

The pilot seat and three mining stations are separate. A solo operator therefore has to position the ship, leave the controls, move to a mining station, operate the laser, then return to the pilot position whenever repositioning is necessary.

CIG's official MOLE Q&A supports this distinction: solo use is possible, but the pilot cannot directly operate the mining lasers from the flight seat.

That may be tolerable for carefully chosen deposits, but the inconvenience repeats throughout the session.

A Prospector keeps that workload centered on one operator. The MOLE earns its advantage when additional players remove the station-switching problem.

MOLE Price in Alpha 4.10

The current lowest in-game purchase price is 8,483,740 aUEC, with rental listings starting around 223,256 aUEC.

Renting before buying is particularly sensible here because the MOLE changes the mining workflow far more dramatically than moving from one solo ship to another.

Which Mining Ship Makes the Most Sense?

Mining ships should be compared by more than how much ore they hold.

The Golem and Prospector both carry 32 SCU, yet they occupy very different price points. The Golem is the economical entry into the profession; the Prospector makes more sense for someone who already knows mining will be a regular solo activity.

The MOLE's 96 SCU capacity matters, but the larger jump is mining hardware and crew scaling. Three independent mining stations allow a group to apply far more capability to difficult deposits than one solo Size 1 platform.

That makes the progression look like:

Golem → Prospector → MOLE

but only if your playstyle changes along with the ship.

For a permanently solo miner, the Prospector can be the end of the progression rather than a temporary stop before the MOLE.

Mining Ships vs ROC and ATLS GEO

Not every useful mining machine is a ship.

CIG's Industrial Gameplay Guide separates mining into hand tools, ground vehicles, and dedicated mining spacecraft. Current ground options include the Greycat ROC, ROC-DS, and ARGO ATLS GEO, while ships such as the Golem, Prospector, and MOLE operate at another scale.

Greycat ROC

The ROC remains one of the cheapest ways to enter vehicle-based mining.

It is a single-seat ground miner intended for deposits larger than hand-mining targets but below the scale handled by dedicated mining ships.

The catch is transportation.

A ROC cannot quantum travel between mining locations, so you need a carrier with enough vehicle space. That changes the buying decision: the mining vehicle itself is inexpensive, but the complete ROC setup may require another ship.

ATLS GEO

The ATLS GEO occupies another part of the mining ladder, providing ground-based mining capability rather than functioning as a self-contained spacecraft.

It can make sense for surface operations or as part of a larger expedition setup, but it should not be ranked against the Prospector or MOLE as though they perform the same role.

For a player specifically searching for a mining ship, the Golem is the true low-cost starting point.

What About the RSI Arrastra?

The RSI Arrastra should not appear in a current Alpha 4.10 mining ranking as a flyable option.

CIG's Arrastra specification sheet describes a larger mining and refining ship with a five-person concept crew, internal and external storage, remote mining equipment, and an onboard refinery.

Those are planned design specifications, not a current Live implementation.

The RSI Loaner Ship Matrix, currently marked for 4.10.0-live.12519617, still lists:

Arrastra → MOLE + Arrow

That confirms Arrastra owners are using loaners rather than a flight-ready Arrastra.

The ship is relevant to future mining progression, but not to a list answering what players should actually fly now.

What Alpha 4.10 Changes for Miners

Alpha 4.10 does not replace the basic Golem–Prospector–MOLE hierarchy, but it changes some of the logistics surrounding industrial gameplay.

According to CIG's official Star Citizen Alpha 4.10 Patch Notes, ore and commodity containers acquired after the update were added to Long Term Persistence.

That makes detachable container logistics more relevant to miners who want to preserve and move ore outside a simple mine-and-immediately-refine loop.

Alpha 4.10 also rebalanced vehicle fuel capacity, consumption, and fuel pricing across the fleet. For miners covering long distances between search areas, refinery destinations, and operating bases, fuel becomes another part of the trip economics.

Neither change alters the main buying distinction: solo miners benefit most from ships built around one operator, while the MOLE becomes strongest when its multiple mining stations are actually crewed.

Which Mining Ship Should You Buy?

For most players, the choice can be reduced to three scenarios.

Buy the Drake Golem when you want to enter ship mining as cheaply as possible. At just over one million aUEC, it gives one player a proper mining ship and 32 SCU of ore capacity without requiring Prospector money.

Buy the MISC Prospector when mining is already one of your main solo activities. The purchase costs substantially more, but the platform offers the stronger long-term fit for independent miners.

Buy the ARGO MOLE when you have a reliable crew or organization and want to target mining operations that benefit from several independent Size 2 stations. Its higher capacity and mining capability are valuable because people can use them simultaneously.

Do not buy the MOLE simply because its numbers are larger.

The right upgrade happens when the way you mine changes, not when you can finally afford the next ship.

FAQ

What is the best mining ship in Star Citizen?

For most players in Alpha 4.10, the MISC Prospector is our best overall mining ship. It is designed for a single operator, carries 32 SCU, and offers a cleaner solo workflow than the multicrew MOLE.

What is the best mining ship for beginners?

The Drake Golem is the best budget starting ship. It currently costs 1,005,480 aUEC at its cheapest Alpha 4.10 shop location and carries 32 SCU of ore.

Is the Golem or Prospector better?

The Golem offers the better entry price, while the Prospector is our stronger long-term solo choice. Both currently carry 32 SCU, so the Prospector should not be treated as a simple cargo-capacity upgrade.

Is the MOLE good for solo mining?

It can be used alone, but the MOLE is designed around separate pilot and mining positions. Constantly moving between those stations adds workload that the Prospector avoids. With multiple players aboard, the MOLE's three independent mining stations become its defining advantage.

How much ore can the MOLE carry?

The MOLE has 96 SCU of normal active ore capacity, using eight full 12-SCU pods at a time. Its additional collapsed mineral pods support a broader pod-rotation workflow and should not be confused with 288 SCU of simultaneously filled onboard ore storage.

Is the Arrastra available in Star Citizen?

Not as a flyable player ship in Alpha 4.10. The current RSI Loaner Ship Matrix assigns Arrastra owners a MOLE and Arrow until the Arrastra becomes flight ready.

Final Verdict

The MISC Prospector is the best current mining ship for most players because the majority of independent mining benefits more from an efficient one-person workflow than from unused multicrew capability.

The Drake Golem is the better starting point when budget matters. Its 32-SCU capacity matches the Prospector on paper while costing far less, making it a practical way to learn whether mining deserves a permanent place in your fleet.

The ARGO MOLE sits at the other end of the current flight-ready range. With 96 SCU of active ore capacity and three independent Size 2 mining stations, it has the highest production ceiling of the three—but that ceiling assumes other players are present to use the ship as intended.

For Alpha 4.10, the buying decision is therefore unusually clean: Golem for entry, Prospector for solo mining, MOLE for a crew.