Didn't know if Ellen's quirks were a bug or intentional coding to add uncertainty/real-word inequity. Any auger I have purchased has been provided, but the amount deducted from bank has often been more than 500 -- as high as 700. On a few occasions, I have purchased one of the lesser items (core driller), cost was deducted from bank, but the item did not show up on loading platform -- or anywhere else I could find.
I can not make this happen here 500 is a fixed value, just bought 10, log out log in and buy more none have ever been anything other than 500.
As an experiment, I located a mineral drill site; obtained a High Density core sample at depth, raised drill, inventoried sample, then lowered drill into same hole, and inventoried a second Hi Density sample. Then I moved drill 5 meters away, drilled and inventoried a third Hi Dens smpl of the same mineral. Took all three back to my base for testing in the Ore Module LIBS and received 100 bank credit for each of the three. This doesn't seem reasonable; but on the other hand, the 100 credit for all the work and dry holes that can go into finding a High Density sample in the first place seems like inadequate payment -- especially compared to, e.g., to the 100 credit missions from main base NPC that take no more than a minute to complete.
You should get credit for a discovery one time only, will check.
As a related issue, I wonder, if in a multiplayer competitive game, one could set up an auger right next to your competitors' augers. Sure would save a lot of prospecting : > )
Code should be in place to prevent this. I will test it.