Procurer's Have A Beautiful Hull

If CCP is looking to attract more miners with the upcoming mining ship changes, they have succeeded with me, at least for a few weeks.  I'm falling in love with the new Skiff, and the Procurer isn't too bad either.  If you are looking for an intelligent discussion on the new mining changes, check out Mabrick's post on how he would change mining ships or listen to Voices from the Void #51 that features CSM 7 Chairman Seleene and Space Monkey Alliance's Gevlin.  For myself, I'm looking for a little excitement.

Excitement while mining?  Yes, because I've found that low-sec makes anything more fun, or at least more nerve-wracking.  I wouldn't want to take the existing mining barges into low-sec because they are too slow and clumsy.  I'm a Minmatar pilot and my ships must have three things: speed, agility, and duct tape.  While ORE builds their ships too well to require duct tape, the Procurer hull brings lots of speed and agility.

I love the Skiff, at least in theory.

My low sec choice for mining

High
1 x Modulated Strip Miner II

Medium
2 x Adaptive Invulnerability Field II
1 x Medium Shield Extender II
1 x Upgraded 1MN Microwarpdrive I
1 x Survey Scanner II

Low
1 x Damage Control II
1 x Nanofiber Internal Structure II

Rigs
1 x Medium Core Defense Field Extender I
1 x Medium Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I

With the skills on my industrial pilot this fit gives me a ship I'm looking forward to taking into low-sec to do a little mining.  I haven't figured out the math on how to calculate align times, but aligning and warping off is really quick.  And a 70,000 EHP tank should save me from rats if I mine in a belt.  I have a microwarpdrive because in low-sec getting in range of asteroids quickly is important.  The survey scanner I think is a must have because with a 200% boost to the strip miner an asteroid that normally would take 15 minutes to deplete now takes less than 6.  Keeping track of the size of asteroids is almost as important as keeping track of local and the directional scanner.  Sitting in a low-sec belt for 90 seconds mining a depleted asteroid is, to use a technical term, a bad thing.

The Procurer doesn't look too bad either, especially for a cheap T1 mining barge.

A Procurer is not bad either

High
1 x Modulated Strip Miner II

Medium
1 x Adaptive Invulnerability Field II
1 x Medium Shield Extender II
1 x Upgraded 1MN Microwarpdrive I
1 x Survey Scanner II

Low
1 x Damage Control II
1 x Nanofiber Internal Structure II

Rigs
1 x Medium Low Friction Nozzle Joints I
1 x Medium Core Defense Field Extender I
1 x Medium Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I

The Procurer has one less mid-slot but one additional rig slot than the Skiff.  I sacrificed tank for agility so I could escape faster in case unexpected visitors drop by.  Even so I have a respectable 46,000 EHP tank to go along with a 15,000 m3 ore hold.  For my crazy plan to mine in low-sec, the smaller drone bay makes choices harder.  With the Skiff's 50 m3 I can carry a full flight of light combat drones along with a full flight of ECM drones.  What do I do with the Procurer?

I have already purchased one Skiff and two Procurers and am just waiting for the changes to arrive on Tranquility.  In the meantime, I'm training up my defense and navigation skills because I can still make the statistics on the fittings I've shown a lot better.