I went poking around for some other threads on this topic and many of them suggest direct damage, but I don’t think that’s fun or interesting. A mining laser isn’t just cutting rocks with that laser, it’s gathering the ore and transporting it back to your ship without destroying it. What if Strip Miners could do mutual residue damage? The damage dealt minus your enemy’s resists gets reflected back as the shield, armor, and hull are heated and siphoned away directly toward the miner.
Why bother? Well, it would give Barges a little more bite in combat against ships with weaker tanks, especially corvettes. It also opens up some interesting opportunities for Bait Barges that operate like Q-Ships, but it’s not going to save them from a bigger tankier ship by any means. The Barge will just contribute to blowing itself up in the process of trying.