Is there an official dollars-per-kilo price?

Not in the store text or the 1.0.3 and 1.0.4 notes. The intake shows a number. Trust that screen over any table that claims a universal dust price.

Do belts pay less than carrying the dust yourself?

Patch 1.0.3 says dust and stone arriving by belt are paid as they come in, and the intake pays exactly what its screen shows. A launch-week bug that made belt dust vanish was addressed by that payment fix and by later belt fixes. Watch the screen on your own base.

Shipments · Patch 1.0.4

How to make money fast in Moon Sweepers

You get paid when dust or stone reaches the deposit intake, and since patch 1.0.3 the intake pays the number on its screen, including loads that arrive by belt. There is no published price per kilogram. Dollars per hour is that payout divided by the minutes the loop took, times 60. Use the calculator with your own figures.

A depot with an orange stripe, the shape of the white buildings in the Steam key art. Pay is whatever number the intake shows.

The only income formula that does not invent a rate

Dollars per hour equals the payout shown for one delivery, divided by the minutes that delivery took, times 60. Kilograms per hour is the same sum with the kilos you delivered. If three people loaded that delivery, the rate belongs to the crew, not to each person again.

When to launch

Launch when you are about to walk back empty, or when the catcher is full. There is no published bonus for waiting on a clock.
The capsule catcher holds 100 kg as of 1.0.4, and the glass shows what is inside. A flashing red bin on J.O.O.N.A.S. means that robot is full.
Region payments, including the Region Bounty, were missing from the map and were fixed in 1.0.4. If a cleared section paid short on an older build, check the map again after the update.

Depot placement is the speed upgrade

The store loop is storage, depot, shipment. The slow part on a toothbrush is the walk. Put the depot on the dust you are clearing. Buildings may not move once placed, so the second depot is often cheaper than a long belt back to a bad first one. After the depot is right, a belt into the intake removes the walk. That is the money guide. A secret dust price is not.

Questions

Is there an official dollars-per-kilo price?: Not in the store text or the 1.0.3 and 1.0.4 notes. The intake shows a number. Trust that screen over any table that claims a universal dust price.
Do belts pay less than carrying the dust yourself?: Patch 1.0.3 says dust and stone arriving by belt are paid as they come in, and the intake pays exactly what its screen shows. A launch-week bug that made belt dust vanish was addressed by that payment fix and by later belt fixes. Watch the screen on your own base.