Mining

Mining is digging ore, coal, stone, crystals and gems out of a province mine. The ore goes to the smeltery to become metal bars, the coal feeds its furnaces, and the stone goes into the settlement's buildings. Mining is also the name of the skill that makes you better at it; see the mining skill below.

Where to mine

Mines are province buildings dug into rocky ground, up to five in a province, and anyone may work one. Stand at the mine's lot and enter to reach the mine entrance, then enter again to go down the shaft. A wooden sign at the entrance lists what you can do there.

The mine's tier sets how deep it goes: a Restored mine has one level, an Improved mine three and an Advanced mine four. Deeper levels hold richer ore and worse dangers.

A mine is worked until every seam within its reach is dug out, or until its timbers wear out. mine status at the entrance shows how much rock is left, and when only a few seams remain, mine map marks the ones near you with '!'. The council can then reopen the mine deeper with build upgrade, or seal it with mine reset to free the lot.

What you need

• A mining pick, wielded. Every province storehouse sells a cheap iron pick, and Sobrin's Trinklets, in the basement of the Hall of the Master Artisans in Vaerlon, sells better ones (ask sobrin about picks). A better pick digs faster and wears more slowly.
• A mining cart from the shed at the entrance: take mining cart. Rubble you dig loads into the cart by itself when the cart stands beside you, and push cart <direction> moves it.
• Endurance. Every swing tires you.

Digging

mine <direction> swings at that wall, for example mine north. Each swing brings down rubble, and a wall worked long enough opens into a new tunnel. mine map shows the tunnels around you. To go deeper, install lift builds a lift from three logs and two timbers, and mine down then digs to the level below.

Now and then a swing gives you a few seconds to act:

• use chase follows a rich pocket of ore for purer rubble.
• use prise frees a gemstone whole, before it falls and chips.
• use cleave crystal splits a crystal cleanly, before the strike dulls it.

Mines are dangerous. A swing can release poison gas, bring down the roof or the floor, set off an explosion, flood the tunnel or wake something living in the rock. Supports make this rarer and slow the mine's wear: lay two logs and a timber on the floor of a bare tunnel and install support. The inner sense skill lets you feel the rock and avoid the strikes that would bring it down.

Below the top level a miner sometimes breaks into something older than the mine. Such places are dangerous, and each can be found only once. The settlement that owns the mine, and those who fight beside its members, can claim what it keeps.

Which ores

Anyone with a pick can start on coal, lead, tin, copper and zinc. Each swing builds your miner's prowess, and as it grows the harder ores open in turn: aluminium, iron, nickel, silver, gold, platinum, titanium and beyond. A vein you are not ready for tells you so when you swing at it. Harder ores also take longer to dig.

Each piece of rubble has its own purity. The mine sets the usual purity, your mining skill nudges every swing up or down, and a rich pocket chased in time gives purer ore. Purer ore can make finer bars at the smeltery.

After the dig

Push your cart back up to the entrance, then:

1. wagon unload rubble tips the cart into your bin. bin shows your own rubble and ore.
2. sort rubble splits the rubble into ore, coal and stone. The ore stays in your bin, the coal goes straight to the smeltery's fuel, and the stone stacks on the pile at the mine mouth. sort <ore> rubble works one metal out of a mixed pile, and sort <ore> splits your ore into a premium and a rough pile.
3. Take the ore to the smeltery. Bring a handcart from the storehouse or a wagon from the stables, wagon load <n> <ore> at the mine and wagon unload <n> <ore> onto the smeltery's racks. You can also withdraw <n> <ore> chunks, carry them and deposit ore at the smeltery.
4. smelt <metal> at a smeltery furnace turns your ore into bars. It needs Trusted standing in the province; see Smelting.

The stone on the pile belongs to the settlement. unstack <n> pile or wagon load <n> stone takes up to your share for the day, and the storehouse yard pays for every block you bring it. haul crystal sends crystal fragments to the smeltery, where they are cleaned and polished before a cutter can work them; see gem cutting.

The mining skill

Affiliated stats: strength (primary), dexterity (secondary) and wisdom (tertiary).

The skill works by itself whenever you dig. It makes each swing quicker, brings out purer ore and spares your pick. It also helps you break stone with gather stone and at a quarry, dig clay at a clay pit, and split a heavy lump of ore with split <ore> in half length.

Mining grows slowly as you dig, up to 100%. The Apprentice Miners teach the basics, and the Professional Miners take it to mastery, along with inner sense and, from their fifth level, geology. Knowledge of minerals also speeds your digging and sorting.

See also

• Mine, the command reference
• Crafting, for what becomes of the ore
• Province buildings