Mining
List of Drill Rigs
A complete list of all available drill rigs for mining on the surface of asteroids and fragments.
List of Satellites
A complete list of all available satellites.
Mining is a key method for acquiring essential materials for the global economy and consists of the following activities:
General Mechanisms
Extraction
A drill rig extracts regolith and ice from an asteroid and transports them to orbit. Different drill rigs have varying mining speeds and cycle counts. A cycle represents the number of resource launches to orbit.
Collection and Transport
Mined materials are picked up by a ship from orbit 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 enable advanced methods but are limited by energy and storage capacity.
Types of Mineable Objects
Asteroid Fragments
Small rock pieces forming clusters near planets, in the real asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, and beyond Neptune's orbit. Their mining is not dependent on station proximity.
Ore richness ranges from 0 to 100%.
They appear in tens of thousands within a system and can be detected via the sector map.
Asteroids
Large rock masses visible and named on the space map. Their locations are clear and public. Each system contains a maximum of a few hundred of these.
The drill extracts regolith and ice based on asteroid type and temperature, which depends on the distance from the star.
Mining asteroids requires a Headquarters station nearby, and the asteroid must be within the influence zone.
Ore richness is lower, but asteroids are inexhaustible.
Collectible Debris
Debris that can be salvaged, such as ship wrecks or Evil carcasses.
Salvaging requires a ship module with this capability and astronauts with the Scavenger profession.
Getting Started
1. Preparation
Before starting mining, you must purchase or manufacture a drill rig. The ship must have slots to use it.
2. Mining
The ship must be in orbit of an asteroid. Clicking on the asteroid and selecting "New Mining Drill" begins the process. The drill menu provides details about cycle time, material purity, and the regolith/ice ratio.
The drill extracts regolith and ice based on asteroid type and temperature, which depends on the distance from the star.
3. Retrieval
After completing a mining cycle, the resources are launched to orbit, where a ship with sufficient storage capacity can collect them.
Materials in orbit can be loaded by any ship and are vulnerable to theft by other players.
Additional Mining Options
Mining Large Asteroids
Large asteroids have lower ore purity but are inexhaustible. Mining requires a player station within the asteroid's reach.
Salvaging
Salvaging is a process where specialized astronauts search shipwrecks or Evil carcasses, risking their lives to extract usable materials.
It requires a Salvaging module and scavengers. Larger and rarer wrecks need more scavengers and time.
Evil carcasses can yield Organic Material. The rarer and larger the Evil, the rarer the organic material obtained.
