Mother Lode
05 May 2020Jonny_saturn
Its been a quiet month of mining out in the Borann system, with just about every other miner and their dog, digging for those diamonds. Word got around that this was the place to be.It’s a bit repetitive. Very repetitive, but somehow, in the right state of mind, its also quite calming and meditative. I play a bit of music, flick the radio on, or talk to nearby friendlies who are out here doing the same. And of course the Cutter also offers a nice level of comfort and space to do it all in. I've had time to play my new VR game, which is all about life in the 21st century, where I play a family man who has to earn money, help raise a family and deal with random events. Very immersive, I sometimes find reality and the game just kind of blur into one and I'm not sure which is real.
Anyway - back to the real world. I see some commanders are back and fourth more often, chipping and shipping low quantities of diamonds, in smaller vessels. The advantage being shorter visit times and better prices without the excessive tax that comes with large cargo loads. But I prefer to sit it out for long periods, filling my cargo to the brim before plotting a route to the nearest system with decent prices and high demand. Prices and demand fluctuate a lot though, so timing is crucial.
I’ve been mining in a 512 capacity Cutter, but rather doing the sensible thing and reducing this haul size, I’ve gone bigger. There is a challenge, an itch I’ve wanted to scratch… the billion credit haul. Could I get a billion credits in one go, selling a load of diamonds in one transaction? So I ditch the shield and one of the collector limpets to increase my cargo capacity further to 640 tonnes.
I fill up my cargo to the brim over a few days, even over spilling into the refinery. The fewer collection limpets not really slowing me down as much as I thought it would, but the hull is down to 46% after a few knocks and a couple of confrontations with pirates. No matter, I nervously make my way to a station some 200ly away to sell my cargo, where around 1.6 million per tonne is being offered, along with ample demand. Buy the time I get there, the price has dropped a little. Total for the load - 991 million - ah, just shy of a billion, but a welcome reward which I gladly bank. If only I was able to make money like this in that game I'm playing...