Interesting idea indeed, and a good way to make beta more attractive.

+1

higher tier beacons also need more ppl to activate, so I assume most of the mechanics is coded already

WTB: Oil rig..... i wanna feel like a rich Texan.

Then all ill need is more guns

True Pros make a Podcast to influence the Devs minds, 
The rest of you guys are Hacks

PS. I got my Highways & stopped playing b4 they came in & have never used them! ...... Irony much ?

Syrissa - you missed the difference between your request, and his:

Kuo, nice idea. I like it - still needs the interaction of one or more agents, and probably the mining extensions counting in there too. I just wouldn't make it mine something that is already ingame, but different raws, necessary for PBS construction, that cannot be obtained on alpha.

Adding in another rare mineral is a good idea, and making it complicated to mine is good too. I would say that this should be implemented in gamma islands though, and as anni suggests, tied to PBS construction.

The scenerio is something like;

You need to mine beta-I,II Islands for epi to create the PBS Mining tower.
PBS mining tower can only be deployed on Gamma, and is needed to mine Trollololomite
Trollololomite is used to build PBS outposts on Gamma.

Mining tower is as OP suggests.
Outpost is TBD.

This means that corps will be exposed on gamma islands while they mine for the new materials, making them vunlernable to NPC's and PVP. The mining rig is expenisve, but replaceable, while the outpost will be very expensive, but still replaceable.

Trollololomite should also have uses in combat towers, bigger bombs, or other modules that create a decision to use it for PBS or on soemthing consumable.