The mighty empires and war fleets of New Eden all depend upon humble miners, who methodically harvest the resources hidden in the depths of space, determined to prevail in the face of deadly dangers.

Mining is a crucial part of the EVE economy, since most items within the game are player built. Whichever resource you concentrate on, there will certainly be a market eager to buy. Many players begin their careers in EVE as miners. Building up a fortune allows them to pursue additional interests. The shipbuilders at ORE have designed a dozen unique hulls, each suitable for particular circumstances.

Your barge choice will depend on three major factors. What dangers lurk in your mining fields? How much attention can you give to mining? And how advanced are your skills?

I’ll walk you through five mining barges in this article, beginning with your character’s starter mining frigate. We’ll examine the mid-level hulls where you can make serious ISK per hour. By the end though, you’ll be drooling over the Orca, which should be the goal of every serious mining character.

The Venture

The humble Venture fires a mining laser at a nearby asteroid, harvesting Veldspar for fun and profit.

When you start playing, you’ll have the opportunity to get several Venture hulls. These small, nimble frigates are ideal for learning to mine. You can easily earn the cost of this ship with a few holds worth of ore, making it no risk to fly.

• Ventures are the cheapest mining ship to fly, maximizing profit ratio if lost
• These ships require twice the effort to pin down and kill, raising chances of survival
• Perfect for ninja mining, where you steal valuable ore from under your enemies’ noses
• Ventures are ideal for learning to mine in wormholes, which are the most dangerous and lucrative mining environments.

A Venture is a great starting hull for your mining career. Although you’ll probably upgrade to a better ship soon, keep your Venture handy. It is an ideal ship for trying something risky or stupid (like mining in wormholes) until you learn to do it profitably.

The Procurer

A heavily tanked Procurer ventures into a currently empty system in low sec, hoping for a quiet run, but ready to defend itself if attacked.

If your goal is to survive in a midsize mining barge, then you’ll want to fly in a Procurer. Miners call this ship the Turtle, and enemies routinely ignore it in favor of easier targets. Strong shields are the way to go when choosing fittings for this hull.

• This ship is optimized towards having the strongest tank in its class
• Even so, it has a respectable mining cycle rate, which makes for steady profits
• The ore hold is generous, so you won’t have to micromanage this ship all day
• With space for ten light drones, it can fly either combat and mining drones as needed

A fleet of Procurers, supported by an Orca is a tough nut to crack. You’ll rarely ever lose your ship, which minimizes loss of time or profits. This is a great barge to use while watching Netflix or doing work on a separate screen.

The Retriever

Rumor has it that Retriever pilots are given a complete set of the great Russian novels when they first set out, and always finish reading them all before their ore holds are filled.

When you want to point your mining lasers at an asteroid and walk away, you’re looking for a Retriever. Massive holds make this barge the most attractive for a solo miner with plenty of time on his hands. It also has the advantage of being middling tough, which increases your odds for survival.

• Running back to station to drop off your load of ore wastes time you could be mining
• Optimized for the largest ore holds, the Retriever increases your solo mining rate
• Though tougher than the Covetor, you’ll still have to watch out for gankers in this barge
• With only one flight of light drones, you’ll have to choose between mining or combat 

If you’re wanting to mine, but can only check on your ship once in a while, this is a great barge to consider. No matter how tough, any ship can be killed by a determined foe. But if you’ve found a quiet corner where no one bothers you, this may be your ship of choice.

The Covetor

Greedy Covetor skippers are notoriously hated for trying to take more than their fair share; but other pilots sometimes have the last laugh - Covetors are the first ones to die when gankers land on grid.

If your goal is maximum ISK per hour and you’ve got the time to devote to it, this is your baby. Fair warning, if you don’t have a buddy or a second account character (an alt) hauling for you then you’re gonna hate this ship. But in a well organized fleet, you’ll be chewing up ore faster than a cop with a dozen donuts.

• Optimized for the greatest yield, this ship will fill your ore hold in practically no time
• With great yield comes tiny ore holds - this ship needs micromanagement to shine
• The weakest mining ship available means you’ll be the first to die - but you’ll die rich
• This barge can fly a flight of medium drones, doubling the strength of their output

The Tech II version of this barge - the Hulk - is an enormously popular mining ship. It has also attracted the attention of PVP players, who occasionally organize ‘Hulkageddon’ events. Even though you may suffer losses from raiders, the Covetor will fill your wallet with ISK in record time.

The Orca

The uncontested mining barge king of high sec systems; Orcas boost, mine, haul, and kick ganker ass from one end of Placid to Molden Heath and back again from Lone Trek to Solitude. 

Every miner worth his salt likely dreams of flying an Orca. This is a battleship sized mining barge capable of providing an entire fleet with productivity or defensive boosts. Its holds are massive, capable of storing all the ore its fleet-mates produce.

• Boost modules upgrade productivity or defenses for the entire mining fleet
• Orcas boast an impressive degree of tank, appropriate to their battleship class/size
• Able to fit shield reppers, an alert Orca pilot is often able to save his fleet-mates
• The Ore Hold is massive, designed to allow a fleet of midsize barges to dump into it
• A Maintenance Hold allows fleet-mates to shelter valuable ships inside the Orca
• The Maintenance Hold is commonly used to haul valuable ships through New Eden
• Fleet members can share use of the Fleet Hold, allowing items to be easily swapped
• Able to fly both mining and combat drones, Orcas can defend or produce equally well

The Orca is the biggest, baddest mining barge commonly available to players. It takes time to train into it but the Orca is well worth the effort. Combining the strengths of all three midsize barges, being expensive is its only drawback.

Which barge is best for you?

In summary, the Venture is really useful in certain situations - especially ninja mining. Once you know your own style you’ll easily be able to choose your midsize barge. But for my money, the Orca is the best overall mining barge in EVE.

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