Copper Ore

Copper Ore is the first metal ore most colonies encounter. As a raw building material, it provides a +10% decor bonus, which makes it useful for early decorative infrastructure such as Fire Poles and Mess Tables before more refined metals are available.

It is a metal ore resource that can be processed in several ways. A Metal Refinery converts Copper Ore into Copper at a 1:1 mass ratio, while a Rock Crusher can crush it into Copper and Sand at a 2:1 split. Copper Ore is also edible by certain critters: Stone Hatches can eat it and excrete Coal, and doing so increases the chance that they will lay Smooth Hatch eggs. Smooth Hatches, in turn, eat Copper Ore and excrete Copper, making them a renewable way to produce refined metal from ore.

Copper Ore blocks are found primarily in the Temperate Biome, usually in moderately large nodes surrounded by vacuum or carbon dioxide. Smaller isolated blocks can also be buried in natural blocks, and strips of ore may line cavities. It can also be found in geodes, in some Meteor Showers in the Space Biome, and as a reward from Space Missions on Rocky Asteroids. On rocket missions to renewable Space POIs, it can be harvested from:

• Rocky Asteroid Fields at a rate of 108–324 kg per cycle
• Metallic Asteroid Fields at a rate of 94.5–283.5 kg per cycle
• Sandy Ore Fields at a rate of 54–162 kg per cycle

Like other natural blocks, Copper Ore can be dug out by Duplicants, producing a high-pitched sound similar to cutting metal. Once harvested, it serves as an early-game source of both metal and decor-friendly construction material.

A few practical notes make Copper Ore especially valuable in the early and mid game:

• It is one of the easiest paths to first refined metal, either through the Metal Refinery or by letting critters process it.
• Using it as feed for Stone Hatches turns excess ore into Coal, while Smooth Hatches turn ore into Copper.
• Because it grants decor while still being a raw ore, it is often preferred for basic utility buildings where appearance matters.
• Copper Ore taken from areas surrounded by Slime may carry germs, but those germs do not survive long in pure oxygen.
• Oxygen Diffuser interaction is not relevant to Copper Ore itself, but ore taken from contaminated areas may still require handling if it comes with germs or is stored near polluted materials.