Mining
List of Mining Rigs
A complete list of all available mining rigs for mining on the surface of asteroids and fragments.
List of Satellites
A complete list of all available satellites.
To mine, you need a ship with a free port and sufficient cargo space. You also need a mining rig. Make sure at least one module on your ship (usually the command module) has a free port.
Select the nearest fragment field on the radar. If you don’t see fragments on the radar, make sure the fragment display is enabled in the filter on the right side of the screen.
Click the target and select “Approach”. For asteroids, the target must be within your zone of influence.
Once you’re close enough, select “New mining site” on the target body and assign a mining rig. If the rig is still packed in your cargo hold, you must unpack it first.
Open the rig by clicking its icon on the asteroid or directly on the radar, and start the mining cycle. During the cycle, the rig drills the surface and stores a mix of ice and regolith in its container.
If you don’t see your rig, check that mining rigs are enabled in the right-side filter.
After the cycle is complete, open the rig and choose the option to release yield containers into orbit. Only then can you start another cycle.
A ship with sufficient cargo capacity must collect the containers. Keep in mind that they can be stolen by other players, drift away, or fall back to the surface over time.
Fragments will eventually deplete and become unusable. Asteroids, on the other hand, are inexhaustible, but the quality of mined resources is lower.
Each ongoing mining operation occupies a production slot. The number of rigs you can own is limited. To add more, increase your limit or decommission old rigs.
Transport the collected yield to a station. NPC stations offer basic refining or direct trading.
The temperature of the body (determined by its distance from the star) affects mining speed, recharge rate, and the ice-to-regolith ratio. Satellites allow recharging, remote control of rigs, cargo transport, and hiding mining activity from scanners.
Foreign rigs placed on asteroids are undetectable.
Mining rocks provides raw materials for further processing. Through gradual refining, all inorganic materials can be produced from them.
There are two types of rocks to mine – ice and regolith. They usually occur together in varying ratios depending on the body’s temperature. The farther from the star you mine, the colder the material and the higher the ice content.
Mining takes place on interplanetary bodies. We distinguish two types: asteroids and asteroid fragments.
General mechanics
Extraction
The drill extracts regolith and ice from an asteroid and transports them into orbit. Different rigs have different mining speeds and cycle counts. A cycle represents one batch of resources launched into orbit.
Collection and transport
The mined material is collected from orbit by a ship and transported to a refinery for further processing.
Processing
Processing takes place at stations with industrial blocks. NPC stations offer basic processing, while player stations allow advanced methods but are limited by energy and storage capacity.
Types of mineable objects
Asteroid fragments
Fragments are smaller parts of interplanetary matter without a fixed position. Unlike asteroids, there are millions of them. Their positions constantly change and can only be partially predicted.
Fragment fields are identified by number, while individual fragments can only be identified on-site. They are usually found near NPC stations and in asteroid belts in every star system.
Fragments eventually deplete, but they can be mined even outside your zone of influence.
There are tens of thousands of them in a system, and they can be detected by anomaly scanning.
Asteroids
Asteroids (sometimes comets) are large, stable objects. They are named and mapped in the sector map.
Asteroids cannot be completely mined out. The quality of extracted material is generally lower.
Mining on asteroids is only possible within your zone of influence.
The drill extracts regolith and ice based on asteroid type and temperature, which depends on distance from the star.
Collectible debris
Debris that can be salvaged – either ship wrecks or corpses of Evil entities.
To collect them, your ship must have a module with the Salvaging ability and a crew with the Scavenger profession.
Cards affecting mining
How to start
1. Preparation
Before you begin mining, buy or build a mining rig. Your ship must have slots available for it.
2. Mining
The ship must be in orbit of an asteroid. Click the asteroid and select “New mining rig” to begin. The rig menu provides information on cycle time, material purity, and the regolith/ice ratio.
The rig extracts regolith and ice depending on asteroid type and its temperature, which depends on distance from the star.
3. Collection
After a mining cycle is complete, the resources are launched into orbit where they can be collected by a ship with sufficient cargo capacity.
Mining limitations
The rig communicates reliably up to 100 km from the ship. For longer distances, a station or satellite must be present to maintain communication.
Foreign rigs on asteroids are undetectable.
Each active mining operation blocks one production slot. The number of simultaneous operations is therefore limited.
The total number of rigs per player is limited. To build more, increase your limit or decommission old rigs.
New mining cannot start while the rig’s container still holds resources. They must first be launched into orbit, where they can be stolen, drift away, or fall back to the surface.
Satellites placed in orbit allow:
- Recharging rig batteries.
- Remote control of rigs without a nearby ship.
- Transporting materials to a chosen location.
- Hiding mining activity from scanners.
Temperature effects farther from the star
- The colder the location, the slower the mining.
- Recharging from satellites is slower.
- Higher ice ratio compared to regolith.
Materials in orbit can be collected by any ship and may be stolen by other players.
Other mining methods
Salvaging / Scavenging
Salvaging is the process where specialized astronauts search ship wrecks or corpses of Evil entities, risking their lives to retrieve usable materials.
Requires a Salvaging module and Scavenger crew members. The larger and rarer the wreck, the more scavengers and time are needed.
Organic material can be obtained from Evil corpses. The rarer and larger the entity, the rarer the organic material.
