Why not post in the topic that you or your friend already made?
There is zero practical difference between waiting 4 15 second cycles for a total of 60 seconds and waiting for one 60 second cycle, besides that you can warp away earlier now if a threat appears and still gain some of the ore, or that you waste less of a cycle when the asteroid is done.
Can you explain why 15 second cycles feel ‘more action packed’ than a 60 second cycle?
As a miner I leave my laser on the asteroid continually until it disappears, so the cycle time could even be 1 second and my gameplay (and my perception of my gameplay) would not change at all!
Why does it change for you?