So time for engineering and you need to top off your raw materials. I've compiled a "suggested plan" to do just that. This IS NOT the only way to do this. Probably not even the most efficient as it assumes a great many things. If you have the ship, this is pretty damn quick!
Lets get some Antimony, Polonium, Ruthenium, Selenium, Technetium, Tellurium and Yttrium.
While several in-game menu's (and external wiki's like Inara or Wikipedia) state these materials are grade 5, they are NOT. Seems Grade 5 was removed several years ago, during a major restructuring, and the in-game references were not changed. Grade 5 is a lie! 🤣
Right....first thing is first! Do you have an Anaconda? No? Go get one!
Second.....is your Conda configured as a Jumpaconda? No? Go do that!
Now if you don't mind taking an hour to get to someplace you can skip the above two items. Fair warning, from Sol to HIP 36601 is roughly 1600 light years (LY). A Jumpaconda with 83.4LY range can do that in 15 jumps...less if you use neuton and premium synth jumps. Choice is yours! Moving on.
Note: Unless you want it, cargo racks are NOT needed. Materials are stored as part of the pilot's "magic inventory". Meaning, it follows you around no matter what ship you are flying. While empty cargo racks have no effect on jump range, unless you think you might be collecting "stuff", you do not need them.
Thirdly.....you will be landing on planets! So get an SRV bay. I suggest the 4G Planetary Vehicle Hangar as this gives you 2 SRV's. A spare in case of sudden explosive disassembly!
Fourth.....You will be scanning planets! Load a 1I Detailed Surface Scanner into your ship. (I did not just edit this post to remind myself to load the damn thing!)
OK.....you are ready to start collecting!
Step 1 - Jump to HIP 36601
Step 2 - Fly up to the planet which has the material you need:
- HIP 36601 C 1 a and collect Polonium at coords 29.1071 / 145.8807
- HIP 36601 C 1 d and collect Ruthenium at coords 7.2400 / -37.6600
- HIP 36601 C 3 b and collect Tellurium at coords -17.6700 / -55.1800
- HIP 36601 C 5 a and collect Technetium at coords 6.8200 / -23.8100
Step 3 - Using the coordinates provided, fly to that location.
Step 4 - Deploy the SRV and start collecting the Crystal's. At each site, you should fill your inventory in about 15 minutes or less.
Step 5 - Visit all planets listed in Step 2.
OK, you now have most of the materials you are after. Time to move on. The next system you want is Outotz LS-K D8-3.
Step 6 - Jump to Outotz LS-K D8-3
Step 7 - Fly up to and scan each of the following planets:
- Outotz LS-K D8-3 B 5 c and collect Antimony at coords -62.4905 / 80.2426
- Outotz LS-K D8-3 B 5 a and collect Yttrium at coords -1.9216 / -145.7013
Step 8 - repeat steps 3, 4 and 5 for each planet listed in Step 7.
OK.....so out of the 7 possible raw materials you can get, you've just got 6 of them filled to the max.
The 7th, Selenium, is a little more difficult. So here is the method I use to get it.
Step 9 - Return to where your mining vessle is parked. You need to change ships.
Step 10 - Time for Selenium! This step has 2 options.
Option 1: Jump to system LHS 417 or Meliae
- If you went to the Meliae system, go to planet 7A, scan the rings then drop in anywhere and start mining. Set "add to ignore list" for everything but Selenium and get to mining.
- If you went to LHS 417 system, you have several options. The system has several ringed planets and many, many landable planets for Selenium mining. Check out the EDDB entry for LHS 417 for specific planets. Either ship mining or SRV mining is possible. Planet LHS 417 9 E A contains the largest Selenium at 4.9%
Option 2: Jump to system "Kappa-1 Volantis"
- Go to planet B 3 F A and land at coords 26.4489 / -88.8628
- Shoot the growths in the trees to get Tellurium, Tin, Tungsten, Zinc and Selenium
As I said in the begining, this may not be the best/most efficient/funnest method for getting maximum raw materials. It's what I do!
Hope this helps you in your travels Commander.
Fly dangeriously!