Spiniform Stalagmite Crystal

Spiniform stalagmite crystal is a rare natural resource found only on ocean planets throughout the galaxy. Its veins are often submerged, so foundations must be placed beneath them to raise them to surface level before mining. The resource is primarily valued as a direct precursor to Carbon Nanotube, letting players bypass the longer oil-and-coal chain entirely and greatly simplify early and midgame production planning.

In a chemical plant, Spiniform stalagmite crystal can be processed into Carbon nanotube in a single step. Compared with making Carbon nanotube from Crude Oil and Coal, which takes four steps, this saves time, logistics complexity, and factory space. Since it is used in only one recipe, it is usually best to convert it immediately rather than stockpile the raw material.

• Turning Spiniform stalagmite crystal into Carbon nanotube reduces logistic demand to one-third of the original and improves storage efficiency: six stacks of Spiniform stalagmite crystal become one stack of Carbon nanotube.
• Large deposits can yield millions of units from a single vein, which is enough for the main game and very helpful when first establishing a Carbon nanotube supply.
• Even after Fire Ice or Ice Giant-based production becomes available, it remains useful because it can cut the number of chemical plants needed by about 40% and avoids dealing with excess by-product Hydrogen.
• Aquatica has by far the largest total deposits by planet type, but it appears relatively rarely. A cluster may even generate without any, in which case total available reserves drop sharply.
• Because of that, the best time to begin using it at large scale in the late game depends on how far veins utilization has progressed and on the cluster’s actual resource distribution.