mining is great for me as well ... i lost some money when i mined with tt tools , but then i switched to crafted tools which suits my skills and i got noticeable improvment in my success - so far all runs with profit or at least breaking even. however if i am profiting from mining, most of time i also get some loses because of ammo spent for self protection .. but all in all i have some profit
tip for all who have lost some money from mining after VU - check stats for tools and take tools with higher average depth. i have skillgain bonus for matterfinder103 but i still use 102 because i have better depth with that tool. i can live without that skillgain bonus if i get higher profit
and one more thing - since many ppl now are mining like mad try to mine in places far away and with strong mobs around (if you can kill them or at least avoid good enough). since VU i have met many miners on my trips - even very very far from closest TP