There are a few elements of the game that I find boring and under-developed. Mining is one of them. So I propose a destructible mining structure that can be built, at great cost, on an asteroid or in an asteroid field. The multiple purposes that this structure would serve would be as follows:

1. to provide ore to players who think, as I do, that mining is a remarkably boring process that unfortunately is a necessary torment for gaining access to some ships and port addons;

2. to create a goal-oriented, team-focused excuse for prolonged and strategic combat. Structures, because of their cost, would need to be paid for by groups of players and be owned in the same way as conquerable stations;

3. and finally, to contribute, perhaps, to the upcoming manufacturing system. Mining would no longer be a vestigial means of providing income to players, but also an integral part of the game economy. Certain types of ore, rare or otherwise, would be necessary to produce certain ships and weapons, etc.

Likewise, communal or shared storage structures could be built for storing, for example, CtC cargo. This would make CtC less boring (in terms of traveling with the cargo) and, again, would complicate the strategic process in a pleasant way. Also, manufacturing structures could be built that either exclusively control or add benefits to the manufacturing process. Alternatively, we could simply use station building (which I think is in the works?) to replace these last two suggestions.

Interesting idea. +1, for now.

They must be destructable, though. Base armor and perhaps shields, for an extra price.

The basic concept - a stationary mining drone - is both old and meritorious.

The new twist - making the drone a stationary structure that would either sit on or around the roid - is neither needed(a drone can be made both expensive and hard to create) nor easier to implement (Devs feel free to correct me, but I believe that fixed structures and anything to do with stuff build on roids requires addtional coding).

Unmanned, floating XC-like cargo storage barges aren't a bad idea, though deployment might be tricky.

Great idea. How would it be implemented in VO space?

At first, Constellations park in important sectors, as ferric, and deploys bots and hire miners, and sell in wholesale.

These Connies should be player owned and operated. Capable of self-defense while conquerable and destructable. Very expensive, but pays itself in 6 months of operation undisturbed. Think of a player-owned queen... owner equip auto-turrets for defense or mining.

A great thing to be guild-owned and operated. Very hard for a single player to keep it.

Later, buildable stations in bigger roids...

Or...
simply create a set of missions that give mining xp without actually having to mine stuff.

+1

While I expect to see lone miners digging rare ores in gray, the exploration of basic resources, as Iron, Carbon and Water only makes sense in bulk volume, in safe zones.

Automated mining ships are better suited for VO universe than fixed structures. Maybe a new ship, expensive, sluggish and ugly, not capable of wormhole crossing... A brick with turrets and engines. With bots/NPCs for basic automation (mine/sell/defense/transport to stations).

Exactly like a player owned station, key-managed. Conquerable if owner is not inside and all turrets are destroyed. Also destructable.

@PaKettle:
This is more about incorporating mining into economy than easy XP. Indeed, this mining vessel should return no XP. Only credits.

The OP is a very good idea. I think it seems fairly straightforward, it'd definitely add a lot of possibilities, but it wouldn't create the same problems as building stations would. I think having buyable, movable storage containers with key-controlled access would be the best idea that I've ever heard... guilds could buy them and hide them in remote sectors, then use them for storage of materials, handing out keys to their own guild members, and this would be a vastly more useful idea than any shared station side cargo bay would be. Then they could be stolen by other people who happen across them, or something. +1 to OP.

I also like Alloh's idea, however I think the OP would be a better short term solution.

Automated mining is in fact what all those hive bots are suppose to be doing....

Dont get me wrong I am not against player owned automated mining rigs as long as they are not very profitable....

Automated mining should be limited to basic ores: aquean, ferric, carbonic.

Owner set what he wants, and bots/NPCs go out mine, Some other ore will come also, but just like in RL the iron mining produces tons of gold, as a sub-product.

It should be just like if you breed a mining station to a constellation. Sluggish to move, and able to automatic operation.

For me, this is a perfect idea for mining operation, something that can be moved, but it interrupts its operation. And limited to jump only one sector at time.

From implementation / game engine perspective, it is simply another cappie, with automated mining. Or the player's queen counterpart.