There are many types of mining lasers, and it can be quite confusing for the newcomers, so here's a summary of what they are and what they are used for:

Laser name (abbreviation)	Note	Uses mining crystals
Miner I (or named)	can be fitted on any ship, entry class laser, also has various named variants
Miner II	can be fitted on any ship
Strip Miner I	must be fitted on mining barges or exhumers
Modulated Strip Miner II (MSM2 or T2 Strips)	must be fitted on mining barges or exhumers, practically useless without crystals, cannot mine	x
Modulated Deep Core Strip Miner II (MDCM2)	can be fitted on any ship, fits on all ships with a turret slot and fits all crystals	x
Modulated Deep Core Strip Miner II (MDCSM2)	must be fitted on mining barges or exhumers and used only to mine Mercoxit	x (can only fit Mercoxit mining crystals)
T1 Ice Harvesters	must be fitted on mining barges or exhumers
T2 Ice Harvesters	must be fitted on mining barges or exhumers

Skills you will need : Caldari Cruiser 1, Spaceship Command 3

This puts an end to our first section. If you can retain everything you read in this first section, you are already on your way to a brilliant career ! Before heading to the fourth section of this guide, there are skills you should have trained .

Skills you should now have: Caldari Frigate 4, Caldari Cruiser 3 or 4, Mining 4 or 5, Astrogeology 4, Mining Upgrades 1