Here we'll review how to fracture and extract mineables with a ship. For specifics on mining heads, gadgets, and finding mineables please reference those specific guides. To begin, you'll need:
A mining ship (MISC Prospector, ARGO Mole, Drake Golem, etc.)
Food and water
Find a mineable rock - this photo is of surface deposits, but you can do asteroid mining too.
Switch to the mining operator mode with [middle mouse click]. Looking at a rock will scan it automatically. Depending on your ship and its parts you may not be able to fracture every rock. If you are finding too many difficult/impossible rocks, or you're struggling with certain aspects of mining, try:
Swapping to a different mining laser (if possible, not all ships allow this)
Modifying your mining laser with modules (either passive or active) OR
Attach a gadget to the rock to modify the rock's attributes directly!
Below is a photo of a rock that is impossible for the prospector with the default Arbor mining laser (with no modules) to fracture. Rock clusters have a variety of sizes and difficulties, so just look for smaller rocks keep scanning until you find one that does not say impossible.
Ships have two mining modes - FRACTURE MODE and EXTRACTION MODE. Switch between them with [left alt] + [left click]
Once you find a rock you can mine (here is an "easy" one in the same cluster), engage fracture mode with [left click].
Adjust your physical distance from the mineable (range indicator on left) by moving your whole ship, and adjust your laser power (bottom right) with [scroll wheel] until the charge level rises into the optimal range. Continue adjusting your distance and power as necessary to avoid overcharging the rock.
After you have finished fracturing, switch to EXTRACTION MODE with [left alt]+[left click]. Before engaging your beam, scan each piece to decide if it is worth harvesting. The piece's composition shows on the right side after looking at it for a few seconds. Avoid extracting pieces that are high in inert material unless offset by an extremely valuable mineable.
[Left click] to engage your extraction beam. This will harvest the mineable and deposit it automatically in your ship's mining bags.
Repeat these steps until you get bored or have filled your ship's storage! See the REFINERY GUIDE for help with processing and selling your material.