I'm not quite as high on my mining, but I've been branching out in order to defend myself a bit. I just built my first fighter, I have sheilds and rocket launchers, and next I'll build a small cargo ship for raiding. Then I'll finish building my mines up, and then I'll expand research and technology. Then bigger ships. I'm interested in the idea of using recycler ships to scavenge materials from destroyed ships after a battle? How can I tell who is at war? I know I need to spend some on espionage, and I am closing in on building my first fusion plant.
I have to build my deut. mines up one more, and research one more level of energy before I can build the fusion plant. I also need to add another level of solar plants in order to keep my mining up until the fusion reactor goes online.