Feelin' lucky punk? N12 camshaft wear R55 R56

[atomic-boomer]

Welcoming any advice and/or predictions for what may come with my R55.

I'm 2 months and 2k miles into ownership of a green/black 2010 Mini Clubman base, w/Getrag 6-speed. Very nice shape cosmetically, runs & drives well. It's 37k miles means it averaged only ~4k/year, in our New England climate.

Before buying (private sale), I was sure to start cold and listen carefully for any death rattle, of which there was none. But I really know nothing else about the car's history, other than the seller owned it for 7+ years and bought it with less than 10k miles. It was a ~6 hour round trip to the nearest Mini dealer for them, so their mechanic son did any/all work required - new rotors/pads all around, and one ignition coil is all I was told. Their last oil change was done at 'Pronto', based on the windshield sticker.

So far all I've done is put on new tires, replace the CCV membrane (with the Russian kit), and perform an oil & filter change (Castrol full synthetic).

Then yesterday morning on came the Check Engine Light, with a P0015 code. It cleared during lunch after I erased it and/or re-made the cam sensor connections.

Last night I removed both cam sensors and swapped their positions. The intake sensor was not Bosch (aftermarket?), and was very clean. The exhaust sensor was Bosch (OEM?), and had a VERY uniform and interesting band of grey deposits around it. Two patches covering ~90-degree segments around the circumference, ~180-degrees apart (see imaged). The magnet test confirmed that the gooey grey EXTREMELY fine powder was metallic in nature.

Take a look at the attached pics of the two exhaust cam lobes which are visible thru the oil filler cap, and the exhaust cam sensor. I'm thinking that this delicate 'Prince' experienced some sort of 'lubrication issue' at some point(s) in its (short) life. At a minimum, I'll keep an eye on the oil level, step up the oil/filter change frequency and maybe pour in the crankcase something that has the word 'Miracle' in its name...

Thoughts?