Ores and raw resources
Iron Ore
Iron ore feeds a wide range of early construction and production. A powered mine and dedicated smelting line turn a vein patch…
WHERE & HOW TO FARM
Iron Ore
Iron vein deposits on the starting planet, preferably near your early factory and power grid.
Before you go
- Mining Machine
- Power connection
- Conveyor belts
- Smelter and a place to route iron ingots
Farming steps
- Find an iron patch and inspect the miner's coverage area as you position it over the veins.
- Rotate the machine to cover more veins where the terrain and nearby buildings allow.
- Connect the miner to power and attach an output belt.
- Run the ore belt to smelters, keeping the iron route separate from other ores.
- Connect smelter outputs to the iron-consuming production lines or a nearby buffer.
- Check the vein patch and belt when the factory falls short; add another miner or open a fresh patch.
- Covering more veins raises mining speed, but also consumes those veins more quickly.
- If belts or smelters back up, check downstream demand before expanding the mine.
Repeat, collect and use
Mining and smelting repeat while veins remain. When a patch is exhausted, relocate or extend the supply from another iron deposit.
Common mistakes
- Placing the machine over only a small part of a patch; rotate and reposition it to include more veins.
- Mixing iron ore or ingots with another material on an unfiltered line; keep the iron route distinct.
- Expanding extraction when the actual bottleneck is smelting or a blocked output belt; clear the downstream jam first.
When to stop or switch
Stop adding miners when the iron line reliably meets current demand. Revisit the patch or establish a new mine when the supply drops or a new production block needs more ingots.
Sources & fact checks
What you can get here
Open a guide to find other locations and see what the item is used for.