Mining

The mining system is used to produce stone for stonecarving and metals for blacksmithing, weaponsmithing, and armorsmithing.

Eventually, gems will also be minable.

Locations

See Category:Mines.

Tools

• Shovels: These tools remove less material than pickaxes per swing, but are less likely to waste materials.
• Pickaxes: Faster to dig out an area than shovels, they also are more wasteful.

Basics

Prospecting

The first step to mining is to find an appropriate area and PROSPECT to determine what materials can be found there.

The materials that can be found are entirely dependent on the geology of the area:

• Sedimentary
• Metamorphic
• Igneous

See Crafting Materials for more details.

The likelihood of finding a particular material depends on whether it is considered common, uncommon, rare, or very rare.

PROSPECTing will also allow you to see how much material is left to be mined in a given room.

From most to least, the remaining amount is

1. enormous quantity remains to be found
2. substantial quantity remains to be found.
3. good quantity remains to be found.
4. decent quantity remains to be found.
5. small quantity remains to be found.
6. scattering of resources remains to be found.

PROSPECT DANGER will allow you to attempt to make a dangerous situation safer in any single room.

PROSPECT CAREFUL will allow you to attempt to locate more material.

Mining

Once the desired area is selected, holding either a pickaxe or shovel in the right hand, simply proceed to MINE.

When first mining, only raw stone is produced, until a vein of either metal or gems is hit.

Rare Materials

There is always a small chance of rare materials being found in the course of normal mining. They will not be visible to PROSPECT, and are only found by chance. This is more likely to occur the closer the area is to being tapped out.

Very rarely, an area may have a full blown vein of rare materials, which can be seen via PROSPECT.

Material Storage

Once a material is found that is worth keeping, either pick it up by hand, or PUSH it to the side to have a nearby attendant store it for a small fee. If attendants are not available in your mining location, deed packets purchasable from either crafting society can allow you to deed your claim by PUSHing the material with your packet. Note that deed packets will require a small amount of time to pass before your material becomes available for use within any crafting society.

Dangers

The more activity in a given area, the greater the chance of a mishap. The type of dangers is practically dependent upon the stone type of the area.

The dangers have a variety of results, such as either direct damage, outright death, or just destruction of all mineable materials in the area.

Gas

Warning signs:

A bitter smell seeps into the air.

Studying the geology, you are certain that continued mining will be somewhat dangerous because the hiss of foul smelling gas could choke and stifle you.

• Your <tool> punctures a thin veneer of stone and releases a plume of corrosive gas. You manage to avoid getting any of it in your lungs, but the underlying material appears unsalvageable.
• Sweet smelling air fills your nostrils following the swing of your <tool>. As you reflect on the pleasant nature of the smell, blackness consumes your vision and your mind goes blank.
• Fetid warmth washes over you after your <tool> releases gas trapped beneath some stone. The stench seems to pervade your senses, leaving you with a lingering nausea.
• A sharp hiss follows the blow from your <tool>. Your nostrils detect nothing, but moments later you feel your muscles seize up in response. Vertigo sweeps over you and then passes, leaving you somewhat out of sorts.
• Your <tool> crashes into stone and punches through with surprisingly little resistance. Stumbling forward, you inhale a lungful of caustic fumes, burning and searing your throat in the process. The gas seems to shoot through your veins, instantly wracking your entire body with pain. Every muscle in your chest clenches at once and you collapse to the ground!

Explosion

Warning signs:

The ground rumbles ominously.

Studying the geology, you are certain that continued mining will be rather dangerous because the ground rumblings signal a pending explosion.

• The stone erupts under your blow! Large rock fragments slam into your <tool>, leaving it gouged and bent.
• You swing your <tool> towards a promising bit of stone and are rewarded with a detonation of rocky fragments! Shards of earth rip into you, leaving bloody gashes and quickly deepening bruises, while the force of the impact knocks you clear off your feet.
• Your <tool> collides with nearby stone, setting off a blast that launches debris flying in all directions. A large, oblong fragment slams into your forehead and you feel yourself toppling backwards as the world goes black!
• The world seems to move in slow motion as your <tool> slices towards a section of rock. Little things catch your eye -- a slight instability in the rubble, a bulging section of stone that could be under pressure. Something is not quite right. You try to halt the swing, but it is too late. Your <tool> strikes the earth just so, puncturing a pressurized section of material that detonates with incredible force. A tidal wave of shattered earth slams into you, hurling you into the air!
• Your <tool> strikes the rocky surface and it detonates abruptly outward! Flying shards of stone miraculously miss striking anyone, but the remaining material appears to be damaged beyond usefulness.

Collapse

Warning signs:

The floor shudders briefly, causing pebbles and bits of stone to cascade to the ground.

Studying the geology, you are certain that continued mining will be slightly dangerous because the unsound stone walls are likely to result in collapse.

• A disconcerting rumble follows the swing of your <tool>, but fortunately only a handful of stones shower down. One of them clips you lightly as you try to take cover.
• Ominous rumbling reverberates somewhere in the distance after you strike the earth with your <tool>. A hail of debris follows, pelting you with boulders and razor-sharp stone fragments!
• You strike a glancing blow against exposed rock with your <tool>. A disproportionately large shudder resonates throughout the area, followed immediately by a huge sheaf of stone and gravel that cleaves away from the wall and rolls right over you! You seem to be pinned in place.
• Careless of any structural hazard you might be inducing, you swing your <tool> at the nearest stone surface. Cracks ripple outward from your blow and the entire rock facing fractures! Spills of rock slide down from above, burying the work area completely. It'll take awhile to dig through that!
• Sparks fly as your <tool> punches through an outer layer of stone. Unfortunately, the underlying material can no longer support its own weight and collapses in a spray of gravel and useless pieces of rock. This area may not be suitable to mine for some time.
• The ring of your narrow pickaxe against stone seems unnaturally loud. An disconcerting silence follows, but only for a moment. The entire wall of rock fractures at your blow and comes crashing down atop you! You feel miraculously unhurt, but realize you are entirely unable to move!

Mining Percentages

For a break-down of metal percentages per mine, check the Mining Percentages page.

Related Forum Posts

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• Crafting Materials
• Crafting