Unless I'm missing something it feels like getting ore is so few and far between. I've been playing for 45 minutes without hitting any mines and I have a grand total of $15 and the only reason it's that high is because I got one singular coal that is worth $10. Considering the first upgrade costs $149 this signifies to me that this game is going to be a huge slog and not worth playing in it's current state
I just finished playing for 1h, and I feel like the income is still very small. The issue isn't even ore drop rate, but more so that I'm not seeing any improvement in my average income per full equipment.
Maybe consider implementing a way to intentionally find better ores, like an ore compass?
Great game!