To create tools that are more complicated than a stone axe or a mortar and pestle, you’ll need to do some mining. Here’s what you’ll need to create usable metals:
Some ores don’t require smelting to be used. Furthermore, raw ore is a requirement for some of the recipes.
If you want to create tools (also knives and bow/crossbow ammo) with your smelted ores, you’ll also need to create an Anvil Bench.
Higher-tier ores require stronger Pickaxes to mine and higher-level furnaces to process — this is noted in the table below.
You will need the Machining Bench and Forge, or the Fabricator and Foundry, to do a lot of crafting work with rarer metals.
Stone and Oxite can be picked up off the ground as well as mined from deposits.
Hidden caves have blocked entrances that yield stone when mined.
(Olympus, Styx) It’s possible to see some of the nodes exclusive to the caves outside of them, in close proximity to the entrance.
(Prometheus) Some Swamp and Basalt creatures yield ores when skinned. For example, Drifters yield Oxite, Lava Broodlings may yield Stone, and StoneJaws can yield multiple ores like Scoria, Iron, and Copper.
(Prometheus) Miasma-corrupted ores dropped by Drifters and Swamp creatures will have to be cleaned before they are smelted.
(Prometheus) Frozen ore will have to be defrosted before being smelted. Defrosting yields a random ore, which can be more valuable than the source.
Deep Mining
There are two powerful drills that can be built and placed on Deep Mining Ore deposits, which are found throughout the Icarus landscape, as well as in some medium and large caves. These drills are expensive to craft, but will slowly mine a large amount of ore — if supplied with the Biofuel or Electricity they require to operate.
The mining speed varies depending on both the type of drill and the type of ore. The Electric version mines 25% faster than the Biofuel drill. The Biofuel drill mines Sulfur and Copper at a rate of 1 ore per minute, and Gold at a rate of 0.75 ore per minute.
To use a deep-mining drill, simply place it onto a deep ore deposit (it should snap into place) and then supply it with the requisite power source.
SulfurIronSilica
GoldCopper
How to Carry More Metal
If you’re finding yourself making too many trips back and forth from your base to the cave, you can bring your furnace to the cave! Ingots weigh significantly less than ore, and the weight of the furnace is worth the difference in weight between smelted and unsmelted ore.
The Gatherer’s Backpack grants you -45% Carry Weight of Ores, which makes it much easier to move ore around — while smelting the ore still ultimately makes it lighter, the backpack can help in many situations.
Clay, Scoria, and Obsidian (Prometheus)
Clay, Scoria, and Obsidian nodes are unique to the Prometheus map and do not appear like the other metal and mineral ore nodes. They look like a small boulder of the material fell from the sky and struck and embedded itself in the ground. The type of material is indicated by color: Clay is red, Scoria is reddish-brown, and Obsidian is a glossy black.
One Clay node can easily provide 100-200 Clay Bricks.Better grab that Scoria piece before it rolls underground!Obsidian mining and forgot the Sledgehammer. Fail.
These nodes must be mined with a Sledgehammer instead of a Pickaxe. After several hits, a piece of the rock will break off and must be picked up. Unfortunately, if the piece falls to far below the surrounding rock it will become inaccessible, so pick up each piece as soon as it breaks off.
Super-cooled Ice Mining (Prometheus)
[Note: This section is under construction]
The New Frontiers DLC expansion brings a new alloy–Cold Steel–to ICARUS crafting. Smelting Cold Steel requires steel and super-cooled ice, and super-cooled ice requires an Ice Borer to extract.
Unabashed FromSoftware fanboy still learning to take his time with games (and everything else, really). The time he doesn't spend on games is spent on music, books, or occasionally going outside.
Don’t forget the Gatherer’s Backpack gives 45% in weight for ore and wood, which cumulated with various talent bonuses is incredible (7kg for 50 iron for me, for exemple)., enough to collect all nodes from a cave in one run. Essential for stockpile prospects.
Just got and tried the Inaris Neves Pickaxe. brought down iron ore to less than 4kg per 50!
Too bad these tools break so quickly (except for the bow, it’s almost eternal)
Don’t forget the Gatherer’s Backpack gives 45% in weight for ore and wood, which cumulated with various talent bonuses is incredible (7kg for 50 iron for me, for exemple)., enough to collect all nodes from a cave in one run. Essential for stockpile prospects.
Great tip, thanks! I’ll get that in the guide.
Just got and tried the Inaris Neves Pickaxe. brought down iron ore to less than 4kg per 50!
Too bad these tools break so quickly (except for the bow, it’s almost eternal)