Nuke mines are powerful space weapons. One could cripple a bigger ship.
It is a capital crime for a civilian ship to carry one, although some smuggler ships would carry some for special cases. As they were too expensive (50000[1], as much as a smuggler ship's cargo), a ship could carry a fake one for tactical use, being nothing more than an empty casing with radioactive material.
The Phantom carried one while traversing the Hallin system. It used one against a Kilrathi Targu-class frigate and used a fake one to scare off a second frigate. Thesingle mine was able to twist and melt the frigate's forward section, and could potentially cook all the Kilrathi crew inside (depending on the interior design and shielding).[2]