Ice Mining Guide
In this guide I will try and sum up the basics you need to know for ice mining. To begin there are only two types of ships that can ice mine. They are the mining barge and exhumer class. To ice mine you will need ice harvesting to level one and t1 ice harvesters. With these skills your ice cycle time will be above 500 seconds. This might seem long time but with skills and better ships it will decrease. When you have ice harvesting to level 5 you will have 20% decrease in ice cycle time and you will be able to use the t2 ice harvester which also decreases your base cycle time by 100 seconds. Like ore mining there are mining upgrades that will help with ice mining. Unlike their ore mining counterparts the ice mining upgrades decrease cycle time but do not increase yield.
Mining Barge
Procurer
Retriever
Covetor
These ships have no bonuses specifically to ice mining.
Exhumers
Skiff
Hulk
If you are flying the mackinaw you will get 2 units of ice per cycle but the negative side to this is a 25% increase in cycle time. (This can be counter acted by exhumers to level 5 or Ice harvesting to level 5).
There are multiple types of ice but there are only four common types in high sec space. Blue Ice is located in Gallente space. Clear Icicle is located in Amarr space. Glacial Mass is located in Minmatar space. White Glaze is located in Caldari space. Depending on which type of ice you mine you will get different objects from them when you refine. These objects help with fueling Pos and Capital ships.
The following are the results of refining ice with max skills and no take from the station
White glaze gives 300 Nitrogen isotopes, 25 liquid ozone, 50 heavy water, and 1 Strontium
Glacial Mass gives 300 Hydrogen isotopes, 25 liquid ozone, 50 heavy water, and 1 Strontium
Clear Icicle gives 300 Helium isotopes, 25 liquid ozone, 50 heavy water, and 1 Strontium
Blue Ice gives 300 Oxygen isotopes, 25 liquid ozone, 50 heavy water, and 1 Strontium
With exhumers and ice harvesting to level 5 in a mackinaw fitted with t2 ice harvesters and the t2 ice harvester upgrade you will have a time between 270 seconds and 300 seconds. The lowest ice cycle time in high sec is 187.12 seconds with max t2 mackinaw with a pilot who has the 5% decrease in ice cycle time implant who has max mining skills for ice harvesting. To achieve this time you will also need a person with max orca bonuses including the orca implant.