Guide to Mining

Mining can be dangerous, tedious, and boring. However no reward is without its risks. This guide provides the information you need to work as quickly and effectively as possible.

Ore

Ore is your main objective. You can send any unprocessed ore to the quartermaster to sell, and certain ores will also be useful to the roboticist, to the mechanics, and to yourself to upgrade your equipment. The arc smelter also requires a steady stream of raw materials. Each ore carries a basic toughness that corresponds to the tool needed to mine it. Certain ores are dangerous and require special care. If you plan to sell them, remember that raw ore (i.e. not a block or ingot) is often more valuable than processed alloys.

Note: The majority of ore and gems won't be usable in the mining fabricator unless you process them with the material processor or its portable version first.

Name	Image	Classification	Toughness	Description
Cobryl		Metal	2	Space silver! Decent money maker, but no real practical use. If you're a straggler stuck with nothing but a pick and barren fabricators, this is your breadwinner. Hand it to Cargo for some decent cash.
Syreline		Metal	4	Space platinum! Very difficult to mine without explosives and practically useless, but worth a king's ransom on the market. Give it to the Quartermaster!
Pharosium		Metal, Conductor	1	Space copper! Very useful for roboticists and mechanics and makes up half of a mining charge. If you like bombing rocks, this will be the first mineral to run out.
Mauxite		Sturdy Metal	1	Space steel! The roboticist makes his friends and the mechanics their box frames out of this stuff, so they'll go through a lot. Makes up one quarter of a mining charge.
Molitz		Crystal	1	Space glass! Another useful material for the roboticist and mechanic. Makes up the last quarter of a mining charge.
Bohrum		Dense Metal, Dense Matter	3	Space adamantium! The backbone of higher tier mining equipment, you'll want a lot of this in your fabricator to make anything worthwhile.
Cerenkite		Metal, Power Source	3	Space uranium! Horribly radioactive, digging in without a heavy hazard suit is a slow suicide. Occupies the same fabricator niche as plasmastone, but specializes in very desirable cyborg power cells instead of high-yield bombs.
Plasmastone		Crystal, Power Source	2	Space fuel! Mildy radioactive and explodes violently if shocked by mining charge, so stick to drills and stuff it inside an ore satchel quickly. A few top-shelf mining goodies want this, but it's most useful refined into extra fuel in the engineering gas extractor or stuffed inside pipebombs.
Claretine		High Energy Conductor	3	Space MgB²! Required in bulk for all high-performance digging gear and industrial armor, the two most desirable things on a miner's wish list.
Gold		High Density Matter	4	Space gold! As you'd imagine, the QMs would love to get their hands on a shipment. Curiously, unlike other ores, gold is sold to the market as ingots, not its raw ore form.
Koshmarite		Metal, High Density Matter	2	Eldritch granite! A magical substitute for uqill, and a very sturdy one at that. The only downside is its slight radioactivity.
Viscerite		Not construction-grade material	2	Martian meat! Can be used as raw material for the cloning apparatus, an Organic substance in the Nano-Fab, or as cloth material for fabricators, once processed.
Char		Not construction-grade material	-1	Space coal! Prime furnace fuel and secondary trade good for the quartermaster.
Ice		Not construction-grade material	-2	Space water ice! Also completely worthless. Will melt when you are holding it in your hand for too long.
Rock		Not construction-grade material	1	Space dirt! Completely worthless unless you're a rock worm. However, rock worms are known to frequent the trading circles, so the QM probably won't mind if a few lumps end up in your latest cobryl dispatch.

Gems

Gems are rare and valuable. A mined rock may contain only 1 gem at a time. Use your geological scanner to find gems quickly. If you plan to sell them, remember that raw gems are often more valuable than processed alloys.

Name	Image	Classification	Description
Gemstone		Crystal	Space jewels that come in three tiers (level 1 being the hardest and most valuable). Regardless of type, they're primarily good for money only. Slip them inside cash ore shipments. Tier 1: diamond, ruby, topaz, emerald, sapphire, amethyst Tier 2: jasper, garnet, peridot, malachite, lapis lazuli, alexandrite Tier 3: onyx, rose quartz, citrine, jade, aquamarine, iolite
Telecrystal		Crystal, High Energy Power Source	Shiny cones that let you break the laws of physics. Can be used in some machinery, for cyborg upgrades and be sold off for a good sum. No, you can't use them to get more Syndicate gear.
Fibrilith		Not construction-grade material	Space asbestos. Can be processed into fabric with a material processor or used in the arc smelter. Raw lumps of the stuff fetch a good price on the open market, though.
Uqill		High Density Matter	Crystallized scifi magic. Required for high-end mining gear, certain upgrades at robotics, always sells well at the cargo bay, and can be used to make replacement ammo for the RCD.
Miracle Matter		Anomalous	Mineral wild card. Can be used as a stand-in for certain other materials, e.g. uqill, mauxite or claretine. Can morph into different substances at welder-level temperatures. Makes excellent decor.

Special Rocks

Certain rocks may have special conditions on them. Using your geological scanner will give specific information and spit out symbols denoting these conditions.

Type	Symbol	Description
Icy		Always contains chunks of water ice in addition to other materials.
Super Dense		Has a hardness rating of 10 and is extremely difficult to break through. Super-dense asteroids tend to have a significant quantity of gems at their core, so the effort can be justified.
Weak		Rock has -1 toughness.
Dense		Rock has +1 toughness.
Hazardous		Rock contains either radioactive or volatile ore. Radioactive rock will glow blueish once exposed. Volatile ore will glow red when struck, giving you only a few moments to escape.
Foreign Object		Contains a smuggler stash, an artifact or a sleeping rock worm. Poke it with the scanner to find out what.
Gem		Rock contains a gem. No reason not to crack it open.
Hotspot		Sections of Oshan Lab's Trench full of trapped geothermal energy. They don't have a special icon, but you'll know you've struck one when the rock you're breaking suddenly releases sparks and makes an rather ominous hissing sound. If mine them out, the Engineers will love you for boosting their vent units' power generation.

Other materials

These materials can't be found in asteroids, but you may encounter them when working with the arc smelter or a material processor.

Name	Image	Classification	Description
Erebite		Power Source	The Devil's plasmastone. As dangerous as it is rare, it makes a menacing pipebomb or an extremely fast-charging cyborg cell. Only available in very rare asteroids located through the Quantum Telescope and through the QM shipping market. Will cause a violent explosion when it is hit or it hits something. (Eg. Thrown at someone)
Starstone		Crystal	Extremely valuable, but can only be found in certain highly-dangerous Z5 asteroids, extremely rare starstone asteroids located by the quantum telescope, and the remains of meteor showers. Sell them to certain merchants to become an instant millionaire! Can also be used to infuse certain chemicals into metals and alloys.
Slag		Metal, Sturdy Metal	By-product of smelting and a low-quality substitute for mauxite.
Steel		Metal, Sturdy Metal	The processed equivalent of mauxite, made with char and mauxite.
Glass		Crystal	The processed equivalent of molitz.
Electrum		Metal, Conductor, High Energy Conductor	A gold-cobryl alloy excellent at conducting electricity.
Soulsteel		Metal, Conductor, Energy Source	Steel infused with Discount Dan's secret ingredient: human souls! Or at least, a more malleable, easier-to-process form of it. Objects made solely from soulsteel can be piloted by Ghosts.
Gnesis/Translucent Gnesis	/	Metal, Conductor, High Energy Conductor	Flockmind metal. As good a conductor as electrum, with a neat teal color too. Can be, obviously, obtained from smashing converted tiles, as well as somewhere in deep space.
Iridium-Alloy		Metal, Dense Metal, Sturdy Metal	The Syndicate's pride and joy. Ridiculously strong (80 hardness and density); can be dropped from Nanite swarms in their respective asteroids, and a certain secret source.
Carbon Nanofiber		Conductor, Cloth/Fabric	Jack of all stats, and nearly a master of all. Not only is it super dense and super hard, yet surprisingly permeable, but it's also excellent at conducting electricity and heat alike. One of its only shortcomings is rarity. They can only be found in nanite clusters, super-rare Quantum Telescope "asteroids" that house huge swarms of angry nanobots.
Ectofiber	TBA	Conductor, Power Source, Cloth/Fabric	Ghost hair. A surprisingly good material for custom power cells, but you need a special weapon to obtain it, and just finding it is a quest.

Equipment

Most equipment can be manufactured at the mining fabricator. This includes your basic beginning gear if you lose it or show up late and all of it is gone.

Note: The majority of ore and gems won't be usable in the mining fabricator unless you process them with the material processor or its portable version first.

Starting Equipment

Item	Image	Description	Cost
Engineering Space Suit Set		See Engineering Objects.	3 Fabric, 3 Metal, 2 Crystal
Engineering Diving Suit Set		See Engineering Objects. You technically don't need this to mine underwater, but it'll protect you from the cold, making movement much faster.	N/A
Flippers		See Flippers. Again, technically unnecessary for mining in the trench, but it'll make moving underwater much easier.	N/A
Jetpack		See Engineering Objects.	2 Dense Metal, 10 Conductive Material
Mining Belt		Holds most of the gear and equipment you will need to mine.	N/A
Geological Scanner		Use the scanner in your active hand to scan all rocks in view. The scanner will spit out a report and put symbols on rocks with something out of the ordinary in them. Using it on a piece of asteroid will tell you specifically what ore is present, its toughness, any danger conditions, and the presence of any foreign items.	1 Metal, 1 Conductive Material, 1 Crystal
Ore Satchel	File:Satchel.png	Holds up to 30 units of ore. To quickly pick up ore, click and drag one piece onto the satchel and you will automatically begin grabbing all ore of that type in every space surrounding you. Clicking the satchel in your active hand will dump its contents onto the ground. Use it on a fabricator or crate to empty it into that container.	5 Fabric
Ore Scoop		This very useful utensil allows you to collect ore by merely walking over it. Simply insert an ore satchel, hold the scoop in your active hand and you're good to go. Click on the scoop to unload the satchel, or anywhere else to dump the ore on the floor.	N/A
Meson Goggles		See Engineering Objects. Also allows you to see the composition of asteroids.	3 Crystal, 2 Conductive Material
Breath Mask		See Clothing. Required for full spacesuit gear.	1 Fabric

Advanced Equipment

Item	Image	Description	Cost
Industrial Space Armor Set		Replaces the standard spacesuit and helmet. Mediocre melee and bullet resistance but provides excellent protection against radiation and explosions, as well zero movement slowdown.	15 Dense Metal, 7 High Energy Conductor, 3 High Density Matter
Mechanized Boots		Gives the wearer a permanent speed boost, both in space and indoors. Moving around quickly will also deplete the contents of your jetpack faster, so be careful.	15 Sturdy Metal, 7 High Energy Conductor, 3 Power Source
Large Ore Satchel	File:Satchel.png	Like a regular satchel, but holds 75 ore instead of 30.	25 Fabric, 3 Dense Metal
Cargo Transporter		Sends stuff to a cargo pad. Use it in your active hand to pick a destination, then click on the target to teleport it. Has 8 uses before it must be recharged. Compatible objects: crates, closets/lockers, gas canisters, large tanks and artifacts.	N/A
Flashlight		See General Objects. Provides additional light if you opt to go exploring derelicts and other foreboding parts of space, but useless for mining.	1 Metal, 1 Conductive Material, 1 Crystal
Space GPS		Useless for mining, but can potentially help you make your way back to the station if you ever get lost in space/the trench. See Space GPS for instructions on usage.
Material Analyzer		Shows the properties of raw as well as processed ore.	N/A
Slag Shovel		Used to remove slag from the arc smelter.	N/A

Tools

The greater the difference between tool strength and rock hardness, the more difficult it is to tunnel through the asteroid. Equipment with a strength at least equal to the rock's hardness rating is guaranteed to work on the first try.

Item	Image	Toughness	Notes	Cost
Pickaxe		1	Mostly useless for anything beyond basic rock. Unlimited uses. You basically get this whenever your powered pickaxe or power hammer runs out of charge/is deactivated, since their unpowered versions both have 1 toughness.	1 Sturdy Metal
Powered Pickaxe		2	Starting equipment. Has 30 uses before it must be recharged.	2 Sturdy Metal, 5 Conductive Material
Laser Drill		3	Has infinite charge.	15 Sturdy Metal, 7 Dense Metal, 10 High Energy Conductor
Power Hammer		4	Holds 30 charges. Also available from the quartermaster.	1 High Density Matter, 8 Conductive Material
Concussive Gauntlets		4	Worn on your hands and allows you to simply punch rocks with an empty hand. Infinite charges. Also increase your basic punching damage a bit.	15 Dense Metal, 15 High Energy Conductor, 2 Power Source
Low-Yield Mining Explosives		N/A	Plant on an asteroid to produce a small concussive blast. Will break nearby rocks and weaken rocks at the edge of its blast. Has a 5 second countdown. Starting equipment and can be made in the fabricator in sets of 5.	3 Metal, 3 Crystal, 7 Conductive Material
Mining Explosive		N/A	A stronger variant of the mining explosive, also in packs of 5.	7 Metal, 7 Crystal, 15 Conductive Material

In addition to these tools, you also design your own mining equipment using parts from the Mining Nanofabricator. These custom-made tools never run out of charge and most will hit multiple rocks at a time, but, depending on the material used in the tool head, will require a few hits to break rocks.

Item	Notes	Cost
Mining Tool	A tool for mining asteroids. Type of tool depends on components used. Optional modifier slot.	(10) Metal, (1) Mining Tool Head, (1) Optional Tool Mod
Tool head (Drill)	A Drill head. Goes 3 tiles forward and can break down rock in a couple of hits, depending on the material used.	(5) Material
Tool head (Hammer)	A Hammer head. Goes 3 tiles wide and can break down rock in a couple of hits, depending on the material used.	(5) Material
Tool head (Blaster)	A Blaster head. Goes 2 tiles forward in a T-shape, but takes a lot of hits to break a rock.	(5) Material
Tool head (Pick)	A Pick head. Hits only one tile, but can break rock in just one or two hits, even with softer materials.	(5) Material
Tool mod (Concussive)	A mod for mining tools that increases Area of Effect. Concussive drills will hit a 3x4 tile area forward, concussive hammers will hit 5x4 area roughly centered on the wielder, and concussive blasters will hit in a 5x5 orb.	(45) Radioactive Material, (1) Explosive Charge

Machinery

Large mining machines can be used to harvest or process great deals of ore.

Item	Image	Description	Cost
Nano-Crucible		Ore can also be processed into alloys with various properties. For more information, refer to Ore Processing.	N/A
Mining Pod		Provided they've been upgraded with the right gear, pods can be a great asset for the miners. Please see Space Pod for more information.	N/A
Mining Minisub		The Oshan Lab counterpart to other stations' mining pods, and just as useful if equipped with the right gear, detailed below. Please see Space Pod for more information.	N/A
Conclave A-1984 Sensor System		Like standard pod sensors, but with optical mason scanners and geological scanner for mining asteroids.	1 Power Source, 5 Crystal, 2 High Energy Conductor
Ore Scoop/Hold		Heavy-duty version of the ore scroop for pods, with a maximum capacity of 300 pieces of ore. Install and activate the system, fly over ore to collect it, drag & drop the pod onto an adjacent tile to empty out the hold when necessary. This component spawns near the mining pods.	N/A
Mining Phaser System		Fires weak phaser bullets that can break rock in a few hits but can barely destroy ore-bearing rock. Starting equipment for Oshan's mining minisubs.	N/A
Plasma Cutter System		Shoots bolts of plasma that instantly dig through up to three rows of rock.	10 Power Source, 10 Dense Metal
Rock Drilling Rig		Digs up asteroids, one row at time. Cuts up pods and people like nobody's business.	10 Power Source, 10 Dense Metal, 20 Extraordinarily Dense Crystalline Matter

Mineral Magnet Machinery

A subset of special mining machines specifically meant to be used with Cogmap1/Cogmap2/Destiny/Clarion's mineral magnet. .

Item	Image	Description	Cost
Mining Magnet		This large, immobile magnet pulls in asteroid you can mine. For further information, see Miner.	N/A
Mineral Magnet Controls		A computer for controlling and accessing the condition of the mineral magnet. It comes with the following functions: Activate Magnet: Pull in a randomly-generated asteroid into the magnet area, with a cooldown of about three minutes. Activate telescope location: Pull in a specific asteroid discovered by the quantum telescope Override Cooldown: Toggles whether you can use the Activate Magnet ability when it's still in cooldown Enable Automatic Mode: Toggles whether the magnet will automatically pull in a new asteroid every three or so minutes.	N/A
Mining Magnet Replacement Parts		Required to repair the mineral magnet in case of catastrophic damage. Use it on the chassis.	5 High Density Matter, 30 Dense Metal, 30 High Energy Conductor
NT Magnet Link Array		Remote control for the mineral magnet (7 tile range) intended as an upgrade for mining pods. Interface with the magnet via Use Comms System in the Pod tab.	N/A
Mineral Accumulator	File:MineralAccumulator.png	Allows you to send large quantities of ore to a cargo pad. To use, select a destination first, drag the accumulator to the desired location and then turn it on. Any loose ore within an eight-tile radius will be pulled to the device and teleported to the cargo pad. Must be turned off before it can be moved again. The accumulator cannot be picked up, only dragged around. The miners get one accumulator for free at the start of the shift.	25 Sturdy Metal, 15 High Energy Conductor, 2 High Density Matter
Power Cell		See Engineering Objects.	4 Metal, 4 Conductive Material, 4 Any Material
Cerenkite Power Cell		A self-recharging power cell that any cyborg would be glad to have. Capacity is 15000.	4 Metal, 4 Any Material, 2 Cerenkite
Erebite Power Cell		Self-recharges more quickly than the cerenkite cell, but is also highly volatile. Capacity is 15000.	4 Metal, 4 Any Material, 2 Erebite

The Quantum Telescope

A marvelous computer, with a rather unassuming appearance, for finding especially mineral-rich asteroids. It's actually quite simple to use.

First, you do a preliminary Scan for celestial objects, using the appropriately labeled button on the lower left corner. After a while, you then select a Celestial body on the right side of the screen to look for, guess its location by clicking somewhere on the map, Scan it, and after a few seconds, you'll know how far off you are but not in what direction. With a few more attempts, you'll have a few points to triangulate from or at least be able to Marco Polo your way to the correct location.

Once you've homed in on the asteroid's right location, you can click the Track button, and it'll automatically add its coordinates for you into the mineral magnet controller. You can then pull it into the station's mineral magnet by going to the mineral magnet controller and picking the Activate telescope location option.

Interesting Finds

In addition to ore and gems, you may unearth a variety of interesting objects and critters.

Rock Worms

Harmless creatures that will move around, eating up rocks, ore, and gems. If you can manage to kill one, you might get a surprise.

Abandoned Crates

Abandoned crates contain a large variety of goodies not otherwise available on the station. There are two types of locking mechanisms and generally speaking, high-security crates (military supplies for instance) are more difficult to open. A failed attempt will usually reset the code and trigger the anti-theft system (if any), potentially injuring you. Be advised, however, that certain security measures will destroy the crate's contents instead.

• Deca-Code Lock: Will prompt you to enter a number between 1 and 10, and you are allowed 3 guesses. To improve your odds of success, you can use a multitool on the crate and it will tell you whether the last code entered was too high or too low.

• Password Lock: As the name implies, you'll have to find the password. Enter one letter at a time to attempt to reveal part of it. A multitool is essential here, as it allows you to see the exact length of the password and keep track of the known characters.

If you don't feel like opening the crate yourself, check to see if any departments back on the station will be willing to receive it.

Alien Artifacts

Large items of unknown origin and purpose. Can be sent to the research wing for artifact research or to the cargo bay for sale.

Other

Easter eggs, combat drones, stockings, smuggler's caches... go around and explore!