A Tagge Mining Explorer was a large utility craft used for research and exploration. The ships were clad with a green-colored hull and had an array of three engines at the stern. Hangars were located towards the mid-section of the vessel, typically housing a squadron of fighters and several shuttles. A Mining Explorer was about 500 meters long, and were capable of operating in most of the planetary atmospheres. The ship featured six double turbolaser turrets, one over the bow section, two in the mid section, and three around the aft bridge. Three quad laser cannons on the underside protected the hangar from starfighter attack. An aft mine launcher, normally loaded with heavy duty mines, rounded out the armaments. The mine launcher was nominally used in to help locate suitable sites for mining, could also be used to defend the ship from attack.

The ships were used by the Tagge Mining Company, a subsidiary of TaggeCo. They were originally designed when other megacorporations refused to provide ships to TaggeCo in an effort to stifle their business. They served as bulk freighters/survey ships/colony transports. However its main use in the outer rim was the search of spice, hence its nickname “Spice Sniffer,” deploying probes from the great ventral bay.

Baron Orman Tagge and his sister Domina often used a Mining Explorer as their flagships.