Mining Rig
The mining rig is a small industrial machine to unearth resources on planets.[1] The rigs mine autonomously until they are full of raw materials. The rig is collected by the Rhino for further processing the materials with the refinery module. They must be manually emptied by the commander to resume mining.
The mining rig comes pre-installed with the Rhino. Up to 12 mining rigs are available per Rhino. Only 6 rigs can be deployed simultaneously. Their replenishment in the field is available through synthesis. The number is displayed on the left side of the Rhino's HUD when choosing a hatch to release the rig.
Guide
The Rhino can deploy a heavy industrial mining rig. To deploy it, you must first use the detailed surface scanner to detect planetary mining deposits. They will be illuminated with a purple area, after which it is necessary to drive up to the deposit area and use the secondary fire control to deploy via the mining rig hatch. The mining rig is not installed immediately after a short press — to deploy it, you need to hold down the appropriate button or key. Once the rig has been installed, you must drive away from the installation site in order for the rig to be activated. Several rigs can be installed in one deposit zone, but the rigs are installed at a certain distance from each other which limits the simultaneous number per zone. However, rigs can be installed in different planetary mining deposit zones to increase material extraction.
After installing and activating the mining rig, it will appear on the Rhino's HUD above the target information screen and begins to work immediately. The rig fills its internal storage with up to 12 units. When the storage is full, you need to select the mining rig as a target and, through the left menu on the «Contacts» tab, select the mining rig itself and go to the interaction menu to select «Prepare for mineral collection», after which the installation will fold up. Then drive above the rig so that it's located under the Rhino. Then transfer the materials from the mining rig to the Rhino and the refinery will begin. If it is necessary to mine further, then you can simply drive away from the rig.
To install the rig, you must select the mining rig as a target and, via the left menu on the «Contacts» tab, select the mining rig itself and go to the interaction menu to select «Prepare for installation reception», after which the rig will fold and ready to be lifted aboard the Rhino. It is also enough to drive over the rig so that it's underneath the Rhino.
If the rigs are running and you leave instance area with your ship then all rigs will self-destruct. The same effect occurs when the game session is interrupted. So you cannot leave the area and return to collect the materials at a different time. You can replenish your stock of mining rigs through synthesis.
The extracting efficiency of the rig decreases on very hot or cold planets.[2] So you can charge the rig to 100% efficiency.[2] On one side of the mining rig is a charging port for manual calibration. You can activate it by approaching the mining rig on foot and charge it with the Energy Link.
Gallery
- Mining Rig and a Rhino
- Rhino and Mining Rig late afternoon
- Rhino SRV and mining rig key art
- Mining Rig activated
- Mining rig and energy link
References
- ↑ Rhino – Available Now Via ARX Early Access - 2 Sep 2026 - Elite Dangerous
- 1 2 Only just noticed this little tidbit about the Rhino mining rigs. Anyone else? - Reddit - 1 October 2026