(Almost) All mineable resources with just two bases [Discussion]
I clicked through all refining recipes trying to find the minimum number of inputs to get all resources you can with the extractors, assuming you already have a stack of everything and just want to be able to restock.
The obvious first answer is 6, since you can't refine anything into activated stellar metals and will need a base on planet with extreme weather on each of the 5 system types, plus a base on an exotic planet, which never have extreme weather, as far as I'm aware, to get gold.
However, I feel like late-game, you don't really need activated stellar metals and if you are doing frigate missions somewhat regularly, the mining expeditions will bring you enough activated metals to restock the small amounts you use.
So assuming you don't need activates stellar metals, the minimum of resources I came up with are:
Activated quartzite, crystallized helium, methane, oxygen, silver and gold.
You get all of them with only 2 mining bases. One on a gas giant, which will always have activated quatzite, crystallized helium, methane and oxygen and one on an exotic planet that will always have gold and oxygen. Silver can be a third resource on either planets. Technically you can more ferrit using oxygen, but since you'll need a lot of it, it will probably be smart to have magnetzied ferrit as a third resource on the other planet.
With oxygen you can make more carbon, ferrit, chlorine, salt, cobalt and sodium.
Gold and Ferrit will give you all biom specifiv minerals (parafinum, pyrite, uranium, ammonia, phosphore, dioxit, basalt)
Activated quartzite will give you 1:4 chromatic metal, which will allow you to refine all non-activated stellar metals.
Methane can be refined into all other biom specific gases.
Crystallized helium and activated quartzite will get you lithium.
This is not very efficient, since, for example you'll...
late ravine
