I've done quite a bit of mining with the transporter. The cargo size makes the ship viable and the given injector bearable. To my experience oxps are needed though, since mining is not really a sane option as a primary source of income in the core game.
The oxps I use with mining start are asteroid tweaks for asteroid respawning, tracker, mining contracts and ore processor. I also use manifest mfd for quality of life purposes with the ore peocessor.
And as a true miner, one does not sell gems, they gamble them in the gem casino
And regards to the start options oxp. It as puritan as possible. The only core change it does is to give adder the cargo bay expansion. And of course make the transporter player flyable.
