Minerals
A commodity found on the F8 markets screen.
Unrefined mineral ores, with trace elements of useful metals.
Splitting asteroids into boulders, and then into splinters, will yield minerals when the splinters are scooped.
Traded in TCs & stored in the Cargo Hold for trade.
Cheap on agricultural worlds, dirt cheap at Rock Hermits and more expensive at industrial worlds.
Ore Processor OXP
Installing an Ore Processor on your ship allows processing the scooped asteroid splinters for more valuable commodities.
Hermitage OXP
Alternatively, if you own your own Rock Hermit, you can install a processor (mineral refinery) there instead! See Hermitage for more details.
New Cargoes OXP
New Cargoes is an OXP which allows trade specifically in such items as quirstone, arthropod shells and durassion ore. Some of these are most cheaply sourced from Rock Hermits.
The major legal specific variants of the minerals commodity are
- Quirstone: Asteroids that tumble with one side consistently facing the sun eventually attract a thin coating of polarised Quirium from the solar wind. While too sparse to be extracted for fuel, it gives the underlying rock a brilliant sparkle, and the stone, if extracted intact, is valuable in the production of decorated goods.
- Crystal Ores: Mineral ores and deposits rich in gems.
- Arthropod shell: Exoskeletal species such as lobsters are often able to use the shells of other arthropods to repair minor damage to their own. The raw materials are considerably cheaper than usual medical kits.
- Corals, growing in certain life-rich oceans, are valuable for both their decorative properties, and in some species, their flavour. Those without the jaws to digest rock-like substances are advised to stick to decoration.
- Durassion Ore: A common ore in asteroid regions, this is refined and strengthened into the duralium alloy used in most ship hulls.
- Igneous Rocks: The residue of intense volcanic activity, these rocks are sometimes used decoratively, but the majority of exports go to be used as fertiliser on the richer agricultural worlds.
- Industrial lubricants: A variety of industrial lubricants, generally transported in liquid or powder form. The original ones were mineral in nature; recent innovations in the use of mountain slug secretions have not led to a change in Galcop taxation category.
- Sedimentary Rocks: Mostly commonplace and worthless, a few systems produce sedimentary rocks of great decorative or commercial value.
