ya see that is where I feel I play hardcore, I want to mine my metals not grow them or breed bees to do so, I may breed the crops or bees to that level but only to say i did it or add a tiny piece to a large whole.
thanks for the suggestion though. I am actually thinking about drilling core samples randomly in the hills to find hidden veins with a BC mining well. But that's extreme measures for my play style.
I am a tunnel rat and explorer for resources. stone and gem pick axes all the way, till I can make an IC2 drill. I'd use GT drills if they didn't just die, replacing a drill head or battery is understandable, but trowing the whole drill away cause of a broken bit doesn't work for me.