Well in fact you dont switch ship per say in the new rebirth, you need a mining ship with you and you simply *tag* asteroid for the mining barge to pick up. Your job is to find asteroid, break it up into managable piece, then you tag them... thats it....
While it is quite simplistic i *think* you can gather a few ore into the albion skunk for early game mining, not sure tho, i think i remember seeing something about an ore collection mode in the main menu in the latest video about space exploration.
In any case, ill be happy once the game is released even if some feature/gameplay element isnt quite right in my book because i consider this release like the X-Beyond frontier release, the first of a new serie and we all know where that first game got the game/franchise into, if im disapointed i know the next exapnsion will mostly cover my disapointment or the community will make mods that will make the game even more enjoyable.
Speaking of wich, i do know there will be scripting using a language similar to the mission editor and also use XML in some place, but i wonder how open to modding the game will be. Man im going to sink so much time into that scripting once its out... not even funny.... Spent weeks creating scripts to help me manage my fleet and newly built ship in the past in X3-reunion and AP.
Can't you come out already? god dammit....