[@Lady Selune]
Diggin machines were used to make holes, and one big hole. Given the technoboost of twenty to thirty years, plus the investment they'd receive by being used for a first colony, they'd be notably more efficient than modern day excavators and the like. I've used an excavator; the fusion reactor chamber isn't that big (certainly not an entire control center there), and an excavator can dig rather quickly when working around the clock. Concrete is also not that hard, especially when on flat ground without anything in the way. 

That being said, I do agree I did it too fast, but I didn't know I had that many people. You skimped on a lotta details, and you've only been confusing with even simple questions/replies. I'm winging it because I have no bloody clue of the specifics. 

A'course, if every posting cycle is a year, then I can take away specific timestamps. By the first posting cycle, all of our colonies would be very definitely finished, and then some.

Also, that's not Donald Trump.

(and saying that they're [i]starting[/i] on a strip mine is much different than actually having one completed)

I threw in about 4x the time for that settling.