GUNC Stars Reach Field Guide

Stars Reach: Mining & living terrain

A good mining run needs more than a deposit: you need a safe way in and out, room in the Terraformer hopper, and somewhere to take the material afterward.

Mining leaves a lasting change in the world. Loose ground can shift or collapse, liquids can flow into a cut, and different materials take different amounts of work to remove.

Mining Iron and Manganese with a Terraformer.

Plan the mining run

Match the material stage

Read the recipe or GovBot requirement and see whether it needs a deposit, ore, refined material, alloy, or finished component.

Make sure the planet lists it

Select the target and make sure the current planet lists it before spending a long time searching.

Make room

Check durability, Backpack space, and the Terraformer hopper before leaving town.

Know where the haul is going

Keep Refinery stock, camp supplies, town contributions, trades, and tailings separate.

Read ecology and local permissions

Look at Mineral health and local zoning before a large extraction.

What useful deposits can become

SandSand can become Silica Ore, and Silica Ore can become Glass.ChertChert can become Magnetite, Silica Ore, Hematite, Ceramic, or Ochre.CoalCoal can become Coal Ore or Methane. Coal Ore can become Carbon or Washed Coal, and Washed Coal can become Coke.BasaltBasalt can become Basalt Powder, Argentite, Chalcopyrite, Cobaltite, Feldspar, Amethyst, or Ruby.LimestoneLimestone can become Lime Ore and several other materials, including Galena, Sphalerite, Malachite, Amethyst, and Fluorine.GraniteGranite can become Bismuthite, Cassiterite, Feldspar, Quartz Crystal, Aquamarine, or Zircon.

Find a safer way into the deposit

Narrow the scan first

Move far enough for each reading to matter and start digging only after the signal has narrowed the search.

Read the surface

Look for sand, silt, soil, slopes, water, old mines, roads, Homesteads, and public routes before choosing the entrance.

Begin with a walkable ramp

A narrow tunnel or ramp is safer than opening a wide unsupported room at the surface.

Keep the exit open

Do not cover the way out with tailings or cut it away while following the deposit.

Follow the deposit without losing the tunnel

Follow the useful material

Trace the deposit instead of hollowing out the whole chamber and filling the hopper with extra tailings.

Stop before everything is full

Move useful material and empty tailings while there is still room to work.

Put tailings somewhere safe

Use them for a ramp or backfill, not on a road, entrance, or the deposit itself.

Use the right terrain tool

The Depositor returns carried material to the world. The Chronophaser heats, erodes, or lithifies supported terrain.

Look again after a large cut

Check the ceiling, walls, hopper, exit, and route to the surface before going deeper.

Back at the surface

Sort before refining

Keep deposits, ores, refined materials, alloys, and tailings apart before using the Refinery.

Note a useful PQRV find

Write down the material and planet when a find has PQRV worth returning for.

Make the entrance safe

Backfill dangerous holes, move tailings off public routes, and mark anything that cannot be repaired before leaving.

Check Mineral health again

After a large haul, look at the Ecology Kiosk before sending another group to the same resource.

Terrain behavior

Extraction timeHarder materials take more work to remove than softer soil and stone.

Cave stabilityWeakly bonded materials shift and collapse more easily.

Sinking and risingDense materials tend to settle beneath lighter ones when they can flow.

State changesHeating and cooling can melt, freeze, evaporate, or transform material.

Tools for changing terrain

The Terraformer scans for and extracts minerals. The Depositor returns carried material to the world, and the Chronophaser heats, erodes, or lithifies terrain. Instaformer and Paver belong to building work rather than mining.

More help with mining

GUNC Planet ReconContinue with this related Stars Reach resource.GUNC Refinery recipesContinue with this related Stars Reach resource.Planet health and Servitor edictsContinue with this related Stars Reach resource.

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