umm... put 2-3 scouts in the mined system, and watch them do their thing?

Yep, use the scouts.  Sometimes they'll still get blown away if they aren't being extremely careful, but they're inexpensive & quick to replace.  I personally use 4 or 5 when there's a very large bunch of mines, and they make very short work of them.

Yay mods!

scouts fleeted with flak will wipe clean any minefield, no need for a dedicated minesweeper

Basically what I just said.  Having a dedicated minesweeper would be just plain overkill. 

As has already been said, scouts "reveal" mines so all your other units can attack them.  Flaks kill mines viciously quickly.  Scouts + flaks = dead mines.  Not only is there no need for a miracle unit when this combo does the job so well, it would be overkill and push mines into absolute uselessness.

true in real life, to overkill things is better then to underkill

video games on the other hand are more designed for fun and enjoyment so to overkill things is actually not a good idea

also if you compare the rate at which bombers cost (cost of carriers) vs the cost of dedicated anti-structure vessels, the anti-structure vessels win out were as the flak and scout (i usually do about 3 scouts with 20 flak) combo is already cheap and to get the same effect would not be very cost effective unless you made the vessel very cheap or very powerful both of which have problems of their own

This isn't even comparable. To counter a starbase, you need at least 10 squads of bombers, more like 20 if you want to do it quickly.  If it's got backup, you may need upwards of 50 squads to get the job done reliably.  If mines aren't protected, a single scout and flak combo will actually clean it up quite quickly. 

In case A, 100 command of units can clear up any starbase, that's a little excessive (particularly early game) so a low-cost specialist alternative unit was created.

In case B, 6 command of units can clear up any minefield, there is no need for a low-cost alternative when such an efficient choice already exists.

some, like you and me, like to build huge fleets and pound the enemy into submission with the biggest hammer we can find

others like to do quick hit and run raids that throw the enemy off balance before giving the killing blow

for ones like you and me, bombers are the most effective weapon of choice

for those that like hit and run the antistructure vessels are better

as for the mines you barely need anything and there is no need to suit a tactical need

just go above or below the mines

z-axis control for the win. Most people don't take the time to place their mines in a 3d manner.

same goes for StarBases. You normally dont see them early on mostly midgame. Unless your dealing with a Starbase rush. And thats what AntiStructure Cruisers were actually brought in to combat. Ive never had to use them. Even when a Starbase is thrown into a minor gravity well i control. With only 4 Bomber Squadrons and 4 Fighter Squadrons they still take down a Starbase with ease. Even a semi upgraded Starbase doesnt last long. The only one I havent gone up against is one with 20k hull, Mostly because I dont let them get that far. But my opinion is, for me the AntiStructure Cruisers are a nice option but in my case a waste of fleet supply On the other hand Id really like to see a MineSweeper Frigate as it would allow me to clear a path into the gravity well without having to Micro the movement of my ships around not just the enemy forces but their mines. the trick with flak is nice but flak need support to stay alive. That means bringing in HC's and LRFs which also need Hoshi's. Which comes back to my point. Jumping an entire fleet directly into a minefield is doing exactly what the enemy wants you to. Not every ship is going to avoid these things even if their able to see them. Most times theyll push through. My only counter is to push my fleet out to the farthest part of my gravity well and then jump them into the enemy gravity well where theyll drop out of phasespace in the outer ring gravity well of the enemy planet.

No micro whatsoever is required. Build scout. Build flak frigate. Fleet scout and flak frigate. Jump to minefield. Sit back and watch the explosions. I suggest actually trying this before continuing to theorycraft in this thread.

So in other words, you want a single ship you can build that renders mines entirely useless?

first of all we dont spam, one or two scouts with 5 to 10 flak is not spam

second you are not make even a point except that you want a new ship