Mining

[Panzer]

Wars: whatever they seem to be waged over, their true objective is resources. The war in Tau 31 is in fact over its resources.

Should the idea of the specialized mining vessle be enacted, I think it should be the only ship fit (and maybe even allowed) for mining. Because of the somewhat bulky dimensions of the mining ship, it is not as easy to move around as transport ships. That is how a symbiosis could be formed. The miner gathers minerals, the trader comes to him and buys a full hold. Later, he sells it with a sizeable profit both for himself and the miner. I don't know about you, gentlemen, but I can see the first symptoms of free market in FL. The prices would no longer be fixed values.

Clans, especially house clans would benefit greatly from mining, mostly in terms of RP. We all know, that states don't rely mostly on trade to balance their budget. They gather resources and sell/process them. What is more: there could be something like mining concessions, exclusive mining rights, illegal mining operations suppression...All these would add greatly to the gameplay and the clan's budgets. A clan, controling a system, where there are valuable minerals (no matter, what kind) could sell a mining concession to a player, who pays a predefined sum. There could even be auctions about exclusive mining rights, referring to a certainf asteroid field. All this and more could take place, provided mining becomes equally or more profitable, than trade in the form seen today.

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