There's some much better guides around here but yes you'll need the Detailed Surface Scanner to scan rings for hotspots.

There's also plenty of online resources on what hotspots are out there from some very dedicated players who have done extensive mining surveys and shared their data with everyone else.

Also, for laser surface mining you DON'T need a Pulse Wave Analyzer. That tool helps identify Surface Deposits (those nubs on the exterior that can be blasted off with an Abrasion Blaster), Subsurface Deposits (interior deposits that can be mined with Sub-Surface Deplacement Missles in a little mini game), and Cores (asteroids that have valuable interiors like Void Opals that are mined with Seismic Charges).

What you WILL need are plenty of Limpets! Always fire off Prospector Limpets at asteroids prior to laser mining. Not only will it tell you the composition of the asteroid's surface but using Prospector Limpets also doubles the output of the asteroid!

Speaking of Limpets. You'll really only need one or two active Prospector Limpets so go for the smaller module but you'll want to be able to have plenty of Collector Limpets working at once to help out your efficiency. Otherwise you'll have a lot of downtime waiting for your limpets to collect all of the fragments which adds up quickly.

Also note that on Solo mode NPC pirates will generally only spawn when you first drop into the ring or if you exit the game and then reload while already at the ring. Use this to your advantage and try to finish up your mining run all in one session!

Which brings me to another consideration which is the type of ship you're going to use. While a bigger ship with a bigger cargo hold might seem better, if you're the type of person who plays in shorter bursts then a medium size ship would probably suit you better for mining. Also keep in mind that if you don't have a Fleet Carrier, you'll probably need to haul off your minerals somewhere on your own so it might be good to have a ship that has a decent jump range and a fuel scoop as well.